World Championship Wrestling (Australia)
Acronym | WCW |
---|---|
Founded | 1964 |
Defunct | 1978 |
Headquarters | Melbourne, Australia |
Owner(s) | Jim Barnett |
World Championship Wrestling was an Australian professional wrestling promotion that ran from 1964 until 1978.
History
The promotion gained valuable publicity through televising programs through the Nine Network which was presented at noon on Saturdays and Sundays.
An average of 6,500 people attended in the first 3 months of the promotion's existence, a crowd of 8,000 attended a show on 7 November in Melbourne when the first title change in the new promotion took place as Dominic De Nucci defeated Killer Kowalski. WCW also promoted throughout Southeast Asia, particularly in Singapore and Hong Kong.
When WCW began operations in 1964, the promotion created the International Wrestling Alliance as a sanctioning body for WCW's original championships, the IWA World Heavyweight and World Tag Team Championships. WCW joined the National Wrestling Alliance in August 1969, but they continued to recognize the IWA World championships until 1971, when they were abandoned in favor of new NWA-sanctioned titles (see below).
In 1978, the Nine Network ceased coverage of WCW; with no TV coverage promoters were facing financial ruin, thus the death of the glory days of professional wrestling in Australia. The "World Championship Wrestling" name was later revived by Georgia Championship Wrestling in the United States for its own TV program, which became the roots of the American promotion later known by the same name. At the time, the promotion's former owner, Jim Barnett, was working as an adviser to Georgia Championship Wrestling.
A documentary about the promotion was released in 2007 called "Ruff, Tuff N Real".
Roster
- Abdullah the Butcher
- Allan Pinfold
- "Amazing Antonino Argentino" Rocca
- Andy "Animal" Harpas
- André the Giant
- Andreas Lambrakis
- Angelo "Little Jumping Joe" Savoldi
- Antonio Pugliese
- Art Nelson
- Big Bad John
- Blackjack Slade
- Brute Bernard
- Bugsy McGraw
- Bulldog Brower
- Bruno Sammartino
- Butcher Brannigan
- Bobby Shane
- Bob Blassie
- Ciclón Negro
- Chief Big Heart
- Chief Billy White Wolf
- Clyde Steeves
- Con Dandos
- Czaya Nandor
- Dale Lewis
- Dennis McCord
- Dennis Stamp
- Dick Dunn
- Dick Murdoch
- Dominic De Nucci
- Don Carson
- Dr. Jerry Graham
- Peter Scalise
- Dusty Rhodes
- George Barnes
- George Gouliovas
- George Lackey
- The Golden Terror
- Gorgeous George
- The Great Mephisto
- Hans Schroeder
- Harley Race
- "Haystacks" Calhoun
- Jack Claybourne
- Jack Brisco
- Jack Little
- Jerry Brisco
- Jan Jansen
- Jimmy Golden
- John de Silva
- John Tolios
- Johnny Gray
- Kevin Martin
- Killer Karl Kox
- Killer Kowalski
- King Curtis
- Larry Hennig
- Larry O'Dea
- Lars Anderson
- Lou Liotta
- Mario Milano
- Mark Lewin
- Max Tamboola
- The Missouri Mauler
- Moose Morowski
- Murphy the Surfie
- Mr. Fuji
- Mr Wrestling
- Nikita Kalmikoff
- Ox Baker
- Pat Barrett Paddy
- Pat Paterson
- "Playboy" Gary Hart
- Ray Stevens
- Ric Flair
- Ron Miller
- Roy Heffernan
- Sheik Wadi Ayoub
- Skandor Akbar
- Skull Murphy
- Sonny Dalton
- Spike Robson
- Spiros Arion
- The Spoiler
- Steve Rackman
- The Medics (Bob Griffin and Dale Lewis
- Tiger Singh
- Tex McKenzie
- The Tojo Brothers (Hiro 'The Great' Tojo & Hito Tojo)
- Tony Kontellis
- Tony Parisi
- The Von Steiger Brothers
- Waldo Von Erich
Championships
Championship: | Final champion(s): | Active From: | Active Till: | Notes: |
---|---|---|---|---|
IWA-sanctioned championships | ||||
IWA World Heavyweight Championship | King Curtis Iaukea | October 1964 | 1971 | WCW joined the NWA in August 1969, but continued recognizing its own world champion until 1971.[1] |
IWA World Tag Team Championship | Kurt and Karl Von Steiger | June 1966 | 1971 | [1] |
NWA-sanctioned championships | ||||
NWA Austra-Asian Heavyweight Championship | Ron Miller | 28 April 1972 | December 1978 | [1] |
NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team Championship | André the Giant and Ron Miller | 2 December 1972 | December 1978 | [1] |