Embedded Files
National Wrestling Alliance - St. Louis (1948-1982)
St. Louis was the home base of National Wrestling Association kingpin Tom Packs and while opposition in the area around St. Louis was not entirely unusual, running the city itself in opposition to Packs seemed like an impossible task. However, Sam Muchnick did just that in the late 1940s. A former sportswriter who could communicate with anyone from famous athletes to powerful politicians, Muchnick used this abilities to break away from his former boss and start running his own shows in St. Louis. After Packs sold out, Muchnick was able to get a toehold on the market and eventually local promoter and National Wrestling Association champion Lou Thesz merged his "Mississippi Valley Wrestling Club" with "Sam Muchnick Sports Attractions." Although they remained separate for another ten years, when they became the single "St. Louis Wrestling Club," the two promotions were both under NWA control. Soon after the merger, Muchnick began the celebrated "Wrestling at the Chase" TV program and became the definitive president of the NWA. St. Louis became known for its straightforward product with great pro-wrestling without all the theatrics that were becoming increasingly popular. After Muchnick's retirement in 1982, St. Louis was taken over by a group of promoters and things began to spiral downward for bothe St. Louis and the National Wrestling Alliance. Booker Larry Matysik broke away and ran independent of the NWA for a stint before joining the WWF himself in 1984.
Skandor Akbar
Mitsu Arakawa
Shohei Baba
Bob Backlund
Ox Baker
Red Bastien
Crusher Blackwell
Brian Blair
Freddie Blassie
Emile Dupre
Fabulous Kangaroos (Al Costello & Don Kent)
Mike George
Superstar Billy Graham
Great Togo
Bob "Swede" Hanson
Rip Hawk
Lord Alfred Hayes
John Paul Henning
Lee Henning
Hans Hermann
Invader (Dick Murdoch)
Don Jardine (The Spoiler)
Kinji Kimura (Kengo Kimura)
Taro Kobayashi (Strong Kobayashi)
Reggie Lisowski (The Crusher)
Bob Marella (Gorilla Monsoon)
Luis Martinez
Great Matsuda (Hiro Matsuda)
Mighty Ursus (Jess Ortega)
Bill Miller
Rocky Monroe (Sputnik Monroe)
Sonny Myers
Oates Brothers (Ted & Jerry)
Chuck O'Connor (Big John Studd)
Angelo Poffo
Lanny Poffo
Percy Pringle
Bruce Reed (Butch Reed)
Ron Reed (Buddy Colt)
Dewey Robertson (Missing Link)
Dr. Scarlet (Bill Watts)
Baron Scicluna
The Flying Scotts (George & Sandy)
Takachio (Great Kabuki)
"Sailor" Art Thomas
Les Thornton
Tarzan Tyler
The Valiant Brothers (Jimmy & Johnny)
Khosrow Vaziri (Iron Sheik)
Jim Wehba (Skandor Akbar)
Bob Windham (Blackjack Mulligan)
Ed Wiskowski (Col. Debeers)
Tim Woods (Mr. Wrestling)
Bearcat Wright
National Wrestling Allance - St. Louis (1982-1986)
Sam Muchnick had been a cornerstone or the keystone in the NWA for thirty-four years when he retired. The Alliance had changed greatly since he first resigned as president in 1975, but Muchnick and his home territory of St. Louis was a solid market. However, it too would change under the guidance of Kansas City promoter Bob Geigel, Pat O'Connor and Muchnick's protege Larry Matysik. Geigel and O'Connor owned a nearby city and had alterior motives, which frustrated Matysik, who eventually left the fold. St. Louis still carried great prestige and was able to host the premier talent of the day even as the NWA structure fell apart. Interestingly, St. Louis was one of the first long-time NWA cities to fall to the WWF juggernaut.
Chris Adams
Arn Anderson
Andre the Giant
Tony Atlas
Crusher Ayala (Hercules Ayala)
Shohei "Giant" Baba
Bob Backlund
Ox Baker
Crusher Blackwell
Tully Blanchard
The Fabulous Ones (Stan Lane & Steve Keirn)
The Fantastics (Tommy Rogers & Bobby Fulton)
Mike George
Superstar Billy Graham
The Grapplers (Len Denton & Tony Anthony)
Ray Hernandez (Hercules)
Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Dennis Condrey)
Kareem Muhammad (Ray Candy)
Ted & Jerry Oates
Rip Oliver
The Road Warriors (Hawk & Animal)
Rock-N-Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson)
Les Thornton
Tonga John (Barbarian)
Jerry Valiant (Guy Mitchell)
I'd like to thank Tim Hornbaker and his wonderful "National Wrestling Alliance" book. I'd also like to thank Steve Yohe, J. Michael Kenyon, Doc Silverkat, and "clawmaster" specifically for their various contributions via the internet. And, of course Royal Duncun and Gary Will's contributions to wrestling-titles.com
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