List of outlaw wrestling promotions

This is a list of outlaw wrestling promotions in the United States, sorted by regional area, and lists "outlaw promotions" from the 1940s to 1980s. This list does not include pre-1948 groups active during the "Pioneer Era" (1900s-1940s) or modern-day "indy promotions". Outlaw promotions are traditionally defined as professional wrestling promotions not affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance, not recognizing the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and promoting shows in direct competition against NWA regional territories. Wrestlers who had been blackballed from the sport or were winding down their career often found a home with such promotions. These groups were often short-lived as NWA promoters would receive top stars from other members to prevent a potential takeover of a territory. This was not always the case, however, as some promotions freely cooperated with the NWA promoters (e.g. National Wrestling Federation) while others operated in areas where there was not an established NWA presence. Longtime NWA members, such as Jim Crockett Promotions, the Universal Wrestling Federation and World Class Championship Wrestling, left the organization in order to compete with the World Wrestling Federation during the 1980s wrestling boom.

New England

Name	Location	Owner(s)	Years active	Notes
Big Time Wrestling	Boston, Massachusetts	Tony Santos, Sr.	1960–1975	[1]
Century Wrestling Alliance	Boston, Massachusetts	Tony Rumble	1989–1997	Joined the NWA as NWA New England in 1997.[1][2]
International Championship Wrestling	Boston, Massachusetts	Angelo Savoldi Mario Savoldi	1985–1995	[1][2]
International Wrestling Federation	Reading, Massachusetts	Killer Kowalski	1979–1996	[1][2]
New England Wrestling Alliance	Lynn, Massachusetts	Jack Viles	1975–1977	[1]
New England Wrestling Association	New Bedford, Massachusetts	Joe Eugenio	1988–1993	[1]
New England Wrestling Federation	Massachusetts	Richard Byrnes	1982–1985	Also known as the United States Wrestling Federation.[1]
Northeast Championship Wrestling	New Haven, Connecticut	Tom Janette	1983–1993	[1]
Northeast Wrestling Federation	Springfield, Massachusetts	Musky Sallow Bob Backlund	1984–1985	[1]

East Coast

Maryland

Name	Location	Owner(s)	Years active	Notes
National Wrestling League	Hagerstown, Maryland	Dick Caricofe	1988–	[1]
Wrestling Independent Network	Baltimore	Ed Zohn, Jeff Capo, Juli Blanton	1992–1993	[1]

New Jersey

Name	Location	Owner(s)	Years active	Notes
Eastern Wrestling Alliance	New Jersey	Ted Stanley	1985	[1]
Empire Wrestling Federation	New Jersey	Jack Barnett Enzo Morabito	1983–1985	[1]
Universal Wrestling Alliance	Woodbridge, New Jersey	Dennis Galamb Jim Ryan	1985–1990	[1]
World Wrestling Association	Woodbury, New Jersey	Larry Sharpe	1989–1998	[1]

New York

Name	Location	Owner(s)	Years active	Notes
Camp IWF	Brooklyn, New York	Johnny Rodz	1986–1990	[1]
International Championship Wrestling	New York	Steve Devito	1989	[1]
International Wrestling Association	Buffalo, New York	Pedro Martínez	1975-1978	[1][3][4]
National Wrestling Federation	Buffalo, New York	Pedro Martínez	1970–1974	[1][3][4]
New Independent Wrestling Association	Ardsley, New York	Micky DiFate René Reyes	1984–1985	[1]
Ringside 41	New York City, New York		1976	[1]
Universal Wrestling	Rochester, New York	Roger Reed	1977	[1]
Vega International Wrestling	New York City, New York		1978–1980	[1]
World Wrestling Council	New York/Pennsylvania	Mark Tendler	1986	[1]

Pennsylvania

Name	Location	Owner(s)	Years active	Notes
Atlantic States Wrestling Alliance	York, Pennsylvania	Ed Zohn	1989–1991	Also known as the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Alliance.[1]
Atlantic Wrestling Federation	Hanover, Pennsylvania	Max Thrasher	1988–1993	[1]
East Coast Wrestling Federation	Easton, Pennsylvania	Paul Swanger	1983–1984	[1]
North American Wrestling	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Mike Donatelli	1986–1995	[1]
National Independent Championship Wrestling	Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania	Bob Raskin	1985	[1]
National Wrestling Federation	Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania	DC Drake Bob Raskin	1986–1994	[1]
Super-Pro Wrestling	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Gene Dargan	1984	[1]
Three Rivers Wrestling Association	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Gene Dargan	1977–1979	[1]
World Wide Wrestling Alliance	Colmar, Pennsylvania	Dino Sanna	1981–	[1][5]

Midwest

Illinois

Name	Location	Owner(s)	Years active	Notes
Tri-State Wrestling	Bridgeview	Robert J. Brooks	1989	[6]
Pro Wrestling International	Chicago	Terry Scholl	1984–1995	[1]
Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling	Springfield, Illinois	Herb Simmons	1984–1992	[1]
Windy City Wrestling	Chicago	Sam DeCero	1988–2010	[1]

Indiana

Name	Location	Owner(s)	Years active	Notes
American Wrestling Federation	Danville, Indiana		1989–1992	[1]
International Wrestling Alliance	Indianapolis, Indiana		1989–1990	Merged with the American Wrestling Federation in 1990.[1]
World Wrestling Association	Indianapolis, Indiana	Dick the Bruiser	1971–1990	Ran against the NWA's Detroit office under Ed Farhat from 1971 to 1974.[1][7]

Iowa

Name	Location	Owner(s)	Years active	Notes
Midwest Championship Wrestling	Quad Cities, Iowa	Dale Edwards	1984–1986	[1][8]
Ringside Wrestling	Clinton, Iowa	Rocky Brewer	1982–1983	[1]

Michigan

Name	Location	Owner(s)	Years active	Notes
Michigan Championship Wrestling	Lansing, Michigan	Fritz Burns Ricky Cortez	1977–1994	[1]
Midwest All-Pro	Belleville, Michigan		1988–1993	Merged with Motor City Wrestling in 1993.
Superstars of Wrestling	Detroit, Michigan	George Cannon	1976–1983	[1]
Universal Wrestling	Detroit, Michigan	Jack Cain Tony Marino Terry Sullivan	1974–1976	Also known as International Wrestling in the Toledo, Ohio area. Ran against the NWA's Detroit office under Ed Farhat during the mid-1970s.[9]
Wolverine Wrestling	Lansing, Michigan	Bert Ruby Fritz Burns Ricky Cortez	1968–1977	[1][10]

Minnesota

Name	Location	Owner(s)	Years active	Notes
Pro Wrestling America	Minneapolis, Minnesota	Eddie Sharkey	1985–1996	Ran against the American Wrestling Association in the mid-to-late 1980s.[1]
Western Wrestling Association	New Brighton, Minnesota	Bill Wasserman Patricia Brown	1988–	[1]

Missouri

Name	Location	Owner(s)	Years active	Notes
Greater St. Louis Wrestling	St. Louis, Missouri	Larry Matysik	1983	Split with the NWA's St. Louis office following the retirement of Sam Muchnick.[11]
Mid-Missouri Wrestling Association	St. Louis, Missouri	Tony Casta	1985–	[1]
NWAA	Malden, Missouri	Henry Rogers	1963–1987	[1]

Ohio

Name	Location	Owner(s)	Years active	Notes
American States Wrestling Alliance	Mansfield, Ohio	Charlie Fulton Mike Collins	1988–	[1]
American Wrestling Federation	Athens, Ohio	John Brammer	1990–1992	[1]
Great Lakes Wrestling Association	Euclid, Ohio	Lou Kokley Joe Weaver	1989–1994	[1]
Midwest Championship Wrestling	Jackson Center, Ohio	Jim Lancaster	1981–1992	[1]
Ohio Championship Wrestling	Cleveland, Ohio	Henry Robinson	1982	[1]
Ohio Championship Wrestling	Cleveland, Ohio	Tim Hampton Ken Jugan Ed Bonzo J.W. Hawk	1982–1983
Ohio Championship Wrestling	Ohio	Bob Fradd	1984–1985	[1]
Professional Promotions	Ohio	Bailey Barnes Wayne Oberton	1976	[1]
Tri-State Wrestling Association	Ohio	John Summers	1985–1986	[1]
Universal Wrestling Federation	Dayton, Ohio	Bobby Davis Don Lewin Mark Lewin	1971	[1]
Wrestling Show Classics	Cincinnati, Ohio	Bobby Davis	1969–1970	Ran against the NWA Detroit office under Ed Farhat for control of northern Ohio. Held the first ever wrestling card at The Spectrum in Philadelphia in the fall of 1969.

Wisconsin

Name	Location	Owner(s)	Years active	Notes
Mid-West Wrestling	Milwaukee, Wisconsin		1986	[1]
Superstar Wrestling	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Al Patterson	1982	[1]
United Wrestling Association	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Al Patterson Grace Brazil Sam Wells	1983	[1]
Wisconsin Wrestling Federation	Palmyra, Wisconsin		1984	[1]

Rocky Mountains

Name	Location	Owner(s)	Years active	Notes
Diamond Belt Championship Wrestling	Boise, Idaho	David Gould	1980–1981	[1]
Rocky Mountain Wrestling	Riverton, Wyoming	Bill Ash Raoul Sanchez	1980–1981	[1]

Southeast

Alabama

Name	Location	Owner(s)	Years active	Notes
Dixie Wrestling			1982	[1]
South Wrestling	Huntsville, Alabama	Bobby Dee	1982	[1][12]
World Wrestling Organization	Mobile, Alabama	Mr. Ito	1988	[1]

Florida

Name	Location	Owner(s)	Years active	Notes
All-American Championship Wrestling	New Port Richey, Florida	Bob Hamel	1983–2013	[1]
Allied Sports	Miami, Florida	Mel Ziegler	1972	Ran against the NWA's Miami office under Bill Dundee in 1972.
Championship Wrestling Federation	Tampa, Florida	Boris Malenko	1991	[1]
Global Wrestling	Boca Raton, Florida	Bob Roop Boris Malenko Red Roberts	1986–1988	[1]
Independent Pro Wrestling Association	Davie, Florida	Rusty Brooks	1988–2003	[1]
Intercontinental Championship Wrestling Alliance	Tampa, Florida	Ron Slinker	1989–1995	Also known as the International Championship Wrestling Alliance.
International World Wrestling Alliance	Tampa, Florida	Boris Malenko	1984	[1]
Professional Wrestling Alliance		John Davenport	1985	[1]
Professional Wrestling Federation	Tampa, Florida	Dusty Rhodes Mike Graham Steve Keirn	1989–1991
Southern Wrestling Federation	Clermont, Florida	Jerry Grey	1988–1993	[1]
Sunbelt Wrestling	Jacksonville, Florida	Don Curtis Louie Tillet	1981	Ran against the NWA's Florida office following a dispute with Eddie Graham.
Suncoast Pro Wrestling	Bradenton, Florida	Henry Raines	1989–1993	[1]
Universal Wrestling Association	Panama City, Florida	Lynn Austin	1985	[1]
World League Wrestling	Jacksonville, Florida	Don Curtis	1981	[1]

Georgia

Name	Location	Owner(s)	Years active	Notes
All South Wrestling Alliance	Atlanta, Georgia	Ann Gunkel	1972–1974	Ran against Georgia Championship Wrestling after her husband's death.[1]
All Star Championship Wrestling	Macon, Georgia	Grady Odom	1985	[1]
American Wrestling Federation			1984	[1]
American Wrestling Federation	Bainbridge, Georgia	Frankie Cain	1986	[1]
Deep South Wrestling	McDonough, Georgia	Jody Hamilton	1986–1988	[1]
International Wrestling League	Atlanta, Georgia	Jim Wilson Thunderbolt Patterson	1974	Ran against Georgia Championship Wrestling in the mid-1970s. Filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the NWA in 1976.[1][13]
Southern Championship Wrestling	Atlanta, Georgia	Jerry Blackwell Joe Pedicino	1988–1990	[1]
Star Cavalcade Wrestling	Bainbridge, Georgia	Frankie Cain Lowell Takles Sue Takles	1988	[1]
Star Wrestling	Bainbridge, Georgia	Frankie Cain	1982	[1]
World League Wrestling	Atlanta, Georgia	Lars Anderson	1979–1982	[1]

Kentucky

Name	Location	Owner(s)	Years active	Notes
All-Star Wrestling	Paducah, Kentucky	Phil Golden	1972–1974	[1]
International Championship Wrestling	Lexington, Kentucky	Angelo Poffo	1978–1984	Ran against Continental Wrestling Association in Kentucky and assisted fellow outlaw promotion All-Star Wrestling in its war against the NWA-affiliated Southeastern Championship Wrestling in Knoxville, Tennessee.[1][7]
International Wrestling Association			1984	[1]
Mountain Wrestling Association	Georgetown, Kentucky	Dale Mann	1979–1995	[1]

North Carolina

Name	Location	Owner(s)	Years active	Notes
Atlantic Coast Wrestling	Mooresville, North Carolina	Nelson Royal	1988–1991	[1][14][15]
Carolina Championship Wrestling Alliance	Smithfield, North Carolina	Dexter Justice-Smithfield Glenwood Crocker Jerry Kennett Jim Massingale Sandy Lee	1987–1997	[1][16][17]
Eastern Wrestling Association	Lexington, North Carolina	Johnny Hunter	1974–1989	[1]
International Wrestling Alliance	Greensboro, North Carolina	Ken Spence	1979–1997	[1]
North American Wrestling Alliance	Burlington, North Carolina	James Wells	1980–1999	[1]
North American Wrestling Alliance	Kings Mountain, North Carolina	Buddy Porter	1982–1995	[1]
North American Wrestling Alliance	Lenoir, North Carolina	Mark Henderson	1982–2000	[1]
South Atlantic Pro Wrestling	Charlotte, North Carolina	George Scott Paul Jones	1990–1992	[1]
Southern Championship Wrestling	Lenoir, North Carolina	Chief Jay Eagle	1983–1990	[1]

South Carolina

Name	Location	Owner(s)	Years active	Notes
Atlantic Coast Wrestling	Columbia, South Carolina	Ira Parks	1981–1990	[1]
Big Time Promotions	Inman, South Carolina	Dale Stepp	1982–1992	[1]

Tennessee

Name	Location	Owner(s)	Years active	Notes
All-Star Championship Wrestling	Knoxville, Tennessee	Bob Roop Bob Orton, Jr. Boris Malenko Ron Garvin Ron Wright	1979–1980	Split from Southeastern Championship Wrestling following a dispute with Ron Fuller. Merged with Lexington, Kentucky-based International Championship Wrestling in 1980.
All Star Championship Wrestling	Knoxville, Tennessee	Bill Needham	1990–1992	[1]
Continental Wrestling Federation	Knoxville, Tennessee	Ron Fuller	1988–1989	[1]
Independent Wrestlers Union			1982	[1]
Mid-South Wrestling Association	Memphis, Tennessee	Russ Edwards	1982	Also known as Mid-South Pro Wrestling.[1]
Southern States Championship Wrestling	Knoxville, Tennessee	James Strange	1986–1991	[1]
USA Wrestling	Knoxville, Tennessee	David Woods Robert Fuller	1987–1988	[1]
Universal Wrestling Association	Knoxville, Tennessee	Buddy Lee Lou Thesz	1976	Ran against NWA Mid-America following a dispute with Nick Gulas.[1][18]

Virginia

Name	Location	Owner(s)	Years active	Notes
All-American Wrestling	Rye Cove, Virginia	Denny Million Jerry Vanover	1988–1996	[1]
American Championship Wrestling	Hillsville, Virginia	Bob Ross	1978–	[1]
United Wrestling Association	Castlewood, Virginia	Mike Samson	1989–1995	[1]
Virginia Wrestling Association	Richmond, Virginia	Dave Leehy	1988–1993	[1]

West Virginia

Name	Location	Owner(s)	Years active	Notes
American International Wrestling	Oak Hill, West Virginia		1954–1977	[19]
American International Wrestling	Logan, West Virginia	Larry Bowling	1989	[1]
North American Championship Wrestling			1980–1985	[1]
Three Rivers Wrestling		Ken Jugan	1977–1979	Merged with the Knoxville, Tennessee-based All-Star Wrestling in September 1979.
United Wrestling Alliance			1982	[1]

Southwest

Arizona

Name	Location	Owner(s)	Years active	Notes
International Wrestling Union	Phoenix, Arizona	Marcial Bovee	1983	[1]
Universal Wrestling Association	Phoenix, Arizona	Barry Bernsten	1972–1974	[1]
Western States Wrestling Alliance	Phoenix, Arizona	Barry Bernsten David Rose Marcial Bovee	1974–1991	[1]
World Athletic Association	Phoenix, Arizona	Al Fenn Ernie Mohammed	1954–1973	[1]

Oklahoma

Name	Location	Owner(s)	Years active	Notes
Universal Wrestling Federation	Tulsa, Oklahoma	Bill Watts	1979–1987	Originally known as Mid-South Wrestling from 1979 to 1986. Left the NWA in 1979 to compete against the World Wrestling Federation.[7]

Texas

Name	Location	Owner(s)	Years active	Notes
Dallas Wrestling Club	Dallas, Texas	Ed McLemore	1940–1968	Ran against the NWA's Dallas office under Norman Clark from 1952 to 1953. He later partnered with Fritz Von Erich and took over the territory as NWA Big Time Wrestling.[20]
North American Wrestling Alliance	Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas	Killer Tim Brooks	1990–1991	[1]
Southwest Championship Wrestling	San Antonio, Texas	Joe Blanchard	1978–1985	Ran against NWA Big Time Wrestling in the late-1970s.[1][7][21][22]
Texas All-Pro Wrestling	Houston, Texas	Tugboat Taylor	1989–1995	[1]
Texas All-Star Wrestling	San Antonio, Texas	Fred Behrend	1985–1986	[1]
Texas Wrestling Federation	Dallas, Texas	Gary Hart	1990–1991	[1]
Wild West Wrestling	Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas	Ken Mantell	1987–1988	Ran against World Class Championship Wrestling in 1987.[1]
West Texas Wrestling Association			1983
World Class Championship Wrestling	Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas	Fritz Von Erich	1986–1990	Originally known as NWA Big Time Wrestling from 1966 to 1982. Left NWA in 1986 to compete against the World Wrestling Federation.[1][7]

West Coast

Name	Location	Owner(s)	Years active	Notes
All-California Championship Wrestling	San Bernardino, California	Joe Palumbo	1987–1989	[1]
American Wrestling Alliance	San Francisco, California	Roy Shire	1961–1981	Ran against the NWA's Los Angeles office under Joe Malewicz. After running Malewicz out of business, Shire joined NWA in 1968 as "NWA Big Time Wrestling".[1][7]
Bay Area Wrestling	San Francisco, California	Woody Farmer	1989–1992	[1][23]
California Pro Wrestling	Los Angeles	Karl Lauer	1983–1990	[1]
Golden State Wrestling	Southern California	Bill Carr	1987	[1]
International Wrestling Federation	Culver City, California	Eric Shaw	1986–1990	[1]
Oregon Wrestling Federation	Portland, Oregon	Billy Jack Haynes	1988	Ran against Portland Wrestling in the summer of 1988.[1]
Pacific Coast Championship Wrestling	Hayward, California	Jerry Monti	1991–1992	[1]
Pacific Coast Crown Championship Wrestling	California	DA Thunder	1986–1987	[1]
Superstar Championship Wrestling	Seattle, Washington	Dean Silverstone	1973–1978	[1][24]
West Coast Wrestling Alliance	Fresno, California	Gloria Gale Lane	1991–1992	[1]
Western States Alliance	Southern California	Antone Leone	1981–1982	[1]
Western States Wrestling Association	San Bernardino, California	Billy Anderson Jesse Hernandez	1988–1991	[1]
Worldwide Wrestling Associates	Los Angeles	Mike LeBell	1958–1982	Originally known as North American Wrestling Alliance from 1958 to 1961. Rejoined the NWA in 1968 as "NWA Hollywood Wrestling".

References

General

• Hornbaker, Tim (2007). National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly that Strangled Pro Wrestling. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-55022-741-3.

Specific

1. Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
2. "The New England Indy Graveyard". The New England Independent. Metrocast.net. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
3. "'Pedro' Martinez, Famed Buffalo Wrestling Promoter, Dies". The Buffalo News. February 12, 1998.
4. Johnson, Steven (February 24, 2010). "Slam! Wrestling: Announcer Martinez was instrumental in IWA, video world". Slam! Sports. Archived from the original on 2013-01-15. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
5. Kracz, Ed (May 12, 2011). "Wrestling promoter hits a milestone". Bucks County Courier Times.
6. Zorn, Eric (February 17, 1989). "BODY-SLAM TO THE ARGO FUND". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
7. Dykens, Brad (August 2004). "The Nostalgia Pop #7: Promoting the Promoters". Wrestling Columns. OnlineWorldofWrestling.com. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
8. Gallipoli, Thomas M. (September 1, 2007). "Specialist: List of Deceased Wrestlers for 2006". Annual Obituaries. Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
9. "Historical Summary of Wrestling in Canton". Ohio Wrestling History. ProWrestlingHistory.com. Archived from the original on 2010-11-28. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
10. Eskenazi, Joe (November 6, 2003). "Lords of the Ring: Meet the Ruby's, a nice Jewish family — unless you're wrestling them". J. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
11. Edwards, John (2004). "Looking Back: Greater St. Louis Wrestling - September 3, 1983". KayfabeMemories.com. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
12. Dills, Tim (2004). "Memphis/CWA #9 Page #2". Regional Territories: Memphis/CWA. KayfabeMemories.com. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
13. Hornbaker, Tim (January 4, 2011). "National Wrestling Alliance Legal Problems". Legacyofwrestling.com.
14. Mooneyham, Mike (February 10, 2002). "Nellie Royal Leaves Behind Golden Memories". The Wrestling Gospel According to Mike Mooneyham. MikeMooneyham.com. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
15. "Nelson Royal: Class of 2009". Hall of Heroes Class of 2009: Nelson Royal. MidAtlanticGateway.com. 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-07-01. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
16. "Jerry Kennett: Wrestler enters new arena". The Dispatch. Associated Press. September 22, 1993. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
17. "Wrestling with city woes? Mayor's new arena is located in council hall". The Prescott Courier. Associated Press. December 9, 1993. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
18. Dills, Tim (2004). "Memphis/CWA #3 Page #2". Regional Territories: Memphis/CWA. KayfabeMemories.com. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
19. Snyder, Nancy (host) (1999). "Saturday Night Wrasslin'". Newswatch 4. WOAY-TV.
20. Hornbaker, Tim. "Dallas Wrestling Territory". Legacyofwrestling.com.
21. Oliver, Greg (March 22, 2012). "Slam! Wrestling: Joe Blanchard passes". Slam! Sports. Archived from the original on 2013-01-15. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
22. Kosub, LeAnna (March 22, 2012). "Former wrestler Joe Blanchard dead at 83". The Local Scene. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
23. Lano, Mike (April 23, 2007). "Slam! Wrestling: Woody Farmer leads three generations to battle". Slam! Sports. Archived from the original on 2013-01-15. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
24. Oliver, Greg (March 28, 2003). "Slam! Wrestling: Site of WMXIX has deep wrestling roots". Slam! Sports. Archived from the original on 2013-01-15. Retrieved June 21, 2012.

External links

• The War of 84 "The Prelude" Part 1