With business booming in St. Louis, St. Louis Wrestling Office promoter Sam Owens began thinking big – more specifically, about expanding his territory. After a series of spot shows in neighboring states got him in hot water with local promoters, Owens decided to re-think his strategy and called for a summit of promoters. At this summit, held in the fall of ’67, Owens proposed an alliance of promoters – a group of promotions who would share talent, work together, and recognize one true World Champion.
The promoters balked at the idea, content to run their own territories, but the seeds for the International Wrestling Alliance had been planted. Owens pursued the idea on and off for two years before the idea finally became a reality in September of 1969.
With the formation of the IWA, Owens’ St. Louis office became one of the top territories in the country which give him the ability to frequently book the IWA World Champion on his shows, increasing the house even more.
That December, a 32 man tournament was presented in St. Louis as the first IWA event resulting in current Missouri State Champion Bruno Moretti, a grizzled powerhouse veteran who made a name for himself by touring the country and body slamming the biggest men in every territory including the massive Giant Colton, being crowned as the very first IWA World Heavyweight Champion.
As 1970 began, Moretti launched into the champion’s schedule, defeating young scientific grappler Scotty Saunders on New Year’s Day in a match that the fans hailed as an instant classic. After the match however, Moretti was attacked by a masked man who came to be simply known as The Mauler. The Mauler informed the world that he would win the IWA World Title and retire Moretti. After a brutal assault in March that ended with Mauler using his dangerous clawhold to split Moretti’s head open, few were doubting the Mauler’s threats to be very real.
On Memorial Day, Moretti and the Mauler met in a one-on-one showdown. The big Italian beat the Mauler from pillar to post, attempting to unmask him on several occasions. But in the end, Moretti got caught with a clawhold. Moretti got to the ropes, forcing a break… a break that never came. The referee was forced to disqualify the Mauler – an action that got the referee locked in the clawhold as well. As a result, the Mauler was slapped with a 90 day suspension! A furious Moretti tore through his next defense in six minutes, a shocking result for long-time St. Louis fans used to seeing matches well over 30 minutes.
Moretti was counting down the days until the Mauler’s return, constantly reminding St. Louis fans on television of when the masked man would come back. On the 90th night, Moretti pledged to stand in the middle of the Kiel Auditorium all night until The Mauler showed up. The night progressed with Moretti sitting at ringside to watch all the action. During the Main Event, Moretti stood several times and shouted in the direction of the locker room but no one arrived. A frustrated Moretti got in the ring after the match and spoke to the fans about the Mauler’s cowardice.
The next night, Moretti was defending the title in the Kentucky Wrestling Federation when the Mauler emerged from the crowd and cracked a steel chair over his head! The fans heard the story firsthand on St. Louis television that weekend and were stunned. No one had ever crossed territorial boundaries to assault a rival before. The rematch was booked for the following month at the Kiel.
Another sell-out crowd was in the house to see Moretti defend the gold against the Mauler. After a bloody war, the Mauler was able to secure the clawhold and get a pinfall victory to the shock of the St. Louis fans. After the match, the Mauler removed his mask and revealed to the world that his name was Blackjack Patterson. Patterson had made a name for himself in the South as a big brawling babyface but had just sent a major statement to the wrestling world by winning the IWA World Title.
Patterson’s victory would be the last time the IWA World Title would be seen in the Kiel for several months as Patterson returned to his roots, touring the South and defending the gold throughout his home region.
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Patterson would hold the title until the fall of 1971 when he was defeated in controversial fashion by “Gorgeous” Johnny Most, losing it before returning to St. Louis.
In March of 1972, Terry Shane Jr., son of the legendary Terry Shane Sr., defeated Jack Stein, earning a future IWA World Title match in the process. The IWA World Title match would occur one month late and would see Shane defeat the rulebreaking Most with relative ease to become the new World Champion. Shane thrilled the St. Louis fans when he got on the mic after the match and vowed to return to St. Louis every month to defend the title. And he did… for a few months. But soon, the schedule of the World Champion got the edge on him and Shane Jr. went six months without defending the title in St. Louis.
So, when Shane returned to St. Louis in February of 1973 with the World Title, he did not receive the warmest of welcomes from the fans who felt lied to. In one of the oddest nights in St. Louis wrestling history, the majority of fans in St. Louis actually booed Terry Shane Jr. against one of the most bloodthirsty competitors in the entire IWA, Dagger Oates. The local newspaper’s sports page featured a half page shot of Oates digging a fork into a bloody wound on Shane’s forehead with the headlines “LOCAL BOY GETS COLD SHOULDER AT KIEL.” Needless to say, Oates was disqualified for his actions and a no DQ match was scheduled for April.
But when Terry Shane Jr. returned in April, it was without the World Title as he had lost it to fellow second-generation star Cameron O’Connor in Kansas City. O’Connor came to St. Louis in April as well for his St. Louis debut – following in his father, Karl O’Connor’s footsteps. The fans immediately took to the cleancut O’Connor and cheered him on to victory over Oates as Terry Shane Jr. defeated Danny Dawson on the undercard.
The two fan favorites continued to appear on the same show after show, racking up win after win, leading up to Shane challenging O’Connor for the title on Labor Day weekend of ’73. The match, perhaps predictably, went to a 60 minute time limit draw. The two men just seemed too evenly matched for a winner to be named. Shane Jr. went to the well, calling for a no time limit match but that one ended in a double countout.
On Christmas night, a two out of three falls match occurred with Shane Jr. winning the first fall with the spinning toehold. The second fall saw O’Connor capture the fall with his father’s sleeperhold. And in the final fall, O’Connor once again hooked on the sleeper, earning a victory in the middle of the ring. With the fans roaring their approval for him, O’Connor celebrated… until a steel chair was smashed off the side of his head by a jealous Terry Shane Jr.
As 1974 began, Sam Owens had the headlining feud that made dollar signs dance in his eyes as the newly-turned Terry Shane Jr. would be chasing Cameron O’Connor. The feud took a personal turn in February when O’Connor missed a Kiel show due to weather and Shane Jr. took the opportunity to demand that O’Connor’s father live up to his contractual obligations. Ever the warrior, Karl O’Connor obliged and was forced to submit to the spinning toehold that Shane would not release for several moments, ending with the elderly O’Connor being taken out on a stretcher.
But as April of 1974 arrived, Owens’ dream became a nightmare as the IWA announced their intention to put the Shane/O’Connor feud on the road, sending it into every IWA territory since it was the hottest thing the promotion had. Owens was informed that he would not get either man back in the Kiel until the fall. The touring Main Event hit several territories throughout the summer of ’74 and was selling out arenas everywhere it went. The “six months” turned into much, much longer and while Owens still got the two men on occasion, it was not the extended run he was looking for.
As a result, Sam Owens threatened to pull the Office out of the IWA. The IWA tried to appease Owens by sending him The Giant Khan, “Pretty Boy” Petey Choice, Ronin Hashimoto, and a young rookie named Hamilton Graham to keep the territory in the IWA.
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In 1975, Southern Championship Wrestling, one of the hottest promotions in the country, was brought into the IWA and quickly upstaged the St. Louis Wrestling Office as the premier territory in the IWA. SCW promoter Jim Somers was far from the most popular promoter in the IWA however because he often drifted out of his established territory of Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and the Carolinas – a no-no in those days.
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In the April of 1976, Cameron O’Connor and Terry Shane Jr. returned to St. Louis under a storm of promotion as the IWA sent the World Title match that the world wanted to see right back into the building where it was born. However, a defiant Sam Owens opted to put his new star, Brett Bryant, in the Main Event over them. Shane and O’Connor, backed by the other IWA promoters, threatened to walk out on the huge show before Owens kicked in a bonus to keep them in the building. Owens began making noise around this time of leaving the IWA and striking out on his own but veteran advisors managed to keep him from making the jump.
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In the summer of 1976, Hamilton Graham and Brett Bryant toured several IWA territories as a tag team, facing some of the IWA’s finest rulebreaking duos, leading up to a huge IWA tag team tournament being held in Philadelphia as part of the bicentennial celebration. Graham and Bryant reached the semifinals of the tournament before losing to the brawling Moonshiners.
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In early 1977, Hamilton Graham made a challenge for IWA World Champion Cameron O’Connor to come back to the territory where he’d gotten his start to defend the title against him. However, O’Connor had some negative feelings regarding his last stay in St. Louis and refused to return, causing some problems between Sam Owens and the rest of the IWA promoters who refused to force their star to work someplace he didn’t want to. Graham would leave St. Louis to challenge O’Connor throughout the IWA for another fantastic series of matches.
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As 1978 began, former World Champion Terry Shane, once again the top champion in St. Louis, demanded that now multi-time World Champion and longtime rival Cameron O’Connor return to St. Louis to defend the title against him. Faced with the money that a rematch two years in the making would draw, O’Connor agreed to return in the spring to defend the title against his old rival but Sam Owens had other ideas. Owens had negotiated the returns of Hamilton Graham and Brett Bryant to St. Louis, both of whom asked for title shots against O’Connor as well. Add in the special attraction of The Great Khan and Owens set up a “March Madness” event where the four top contenders would meet in a Round Robin tournament with the winner earning the title shot against O’Connor.
The Round Robin event was a bust as the Great Khan won all four of his matches in unspectacular fashion. For a territory well-known for its top flight matches, the Great Khan’s success was a big blow. With three of the region’s top performers sidelined for the big title match in April, Owens prepared for the Great Khan vs Cameron O’Connor by offering O’Connor $100,000 if he could beat the giant.
And beat the giant he did… by countout. It was a result that the fans despised and they were quick to let the promoter know it.
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Hamilton Graham and Brett Bryant jump ship for other IWA territories in the summer of ’78.
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On New Year’s Day 1979, Hamilton Graham achieved his dream and defeated Cameron O’Connor for the IWA World Championship in Dallas, Texas.
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In late 1979, the St. Louis Wrestling Office was on the verge of bankruptcy. Sam Owens attended a meeting of IWA promoters and begged for something to save his territory. The IWA promoters obliged, offering the services of the new World Champion, Hamilton Graham for an exclusive six month period. An elated Owens immediately booked Graham vs Terry Shane Jr. for the first show of 1980 in a non-title match. At this same meeting of the IWA promoters, Jim Somers was elected President of the IWA, a very powerful position.
For six solid months, Owens booked the two men against one another. And for six solid months, he sold the house out with some of the most epic matches the sport has ever seen. In a six month period of shows, there was seven 60 minute draws and three 90 minute draws plus one double DQ when the two men shoved down the ref to get at each other.
On the final night of Graham’s exclusive St. Louis stay, there was one final showdown… and in the end, Terry Shane Jr. had won the World Title for the second time. It was a huge moment for the city of St. Louis and for Terry Shane Jr. who had toiled so long to get another shot at the gold. But as the World Champion often did, Shane immediately left St. Louis to embark on the grueling championship schedule. He would return to St. Louis once every couple of months, yielding two more 60 minute draws with Graham before the year was out, concluding their series of matches that led to them winning Feud Of The Year as well as Match Of The Year.
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In February of 1981, Hamilton Graham was a free agent and used that status to sign with two of the biggest promotions in the IWA, Blackjack Lynch’s Premier Championship Wrestling out of Texas and Jim Somers’ Southern Championship Wrestling. Shortly after arriving, Graham won the IWA World Title. He embarked on a grueling touring schedule, defending the title all over the globe for a particularly intense period of time. During this period, Graham’s hottest rivalry was with 19 year old phenom Tommy Fierro, a feud that lead to a big encounter in Fierro’s hometown of Atlanta, Georgia.
Graham would regain the title a short time later from an injured Fierro by forcing him to submit to an Indian Deathlock.
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Terry Shane returned to St. Louis as the IWA World Champion in the summer of 1981 for a series of Champion vs Champion matches against old rival Cameron O’Connor, the current Missouri State Champion. The matches once again thrilled the pure wrestling fans in the area but younger fans were turned off by a six year old feud rearing its head once more. Owens had a nasty backstage argument with Shane over a payday for one of the matches after a bad house which resulted in Shane immediately leaving the company.
As 1982 rolled around, Hamilton Graham, Terry Shane Jr., and Karl O’Connor had shocked long-time fans in the Midwest by announcing a split from their wrestling home at the St. Louis Wrestling Office in order to form their own promotion – Central States Wrestling.
One of these owners, Terry Shane Jr., was the reigning IWA World Champion when this split occurred, resulting in a rush of negotiations between the new promotion and IWA management. Karl O’Connor fronted the negotiations for the new group and turned out to be a shrewd businessman, offering the rights for Terry Shane Jr. and Karl’s son, Cameron, to tour four months per year for the IWA in exchange for regular appearances of the IWA World Champion in Central States Wrestling. But the stunning announcement was still to come as the IWA soon revealed that the St. Louis Wrestling Office and Sam Owens, the man who created the IWA to begin with, were being ousted from the IWA and Central States Wrestling was being invited in as the newest member promotion.
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In 1984, Oliver Strickland returned to Premier Championship Wrestling in Texas, quickly earning the Texas State Championship. This title reign in a major territory earned Strickland a meeting with the front office of the International Wrestling Alliance. They wanted to bring Strickland aboard and put the power of the promotion behind him. Strickland quickly accepted and by the middle of 1985, he was one of the IWA’s top stars, touring all over the United States.
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In the late 80s, the IWA begins to crumble under the pressure of promotions attempting to go national, ignoring the old-fashioned territorial boundaries.
As 1987 arrived, SCW Promoter Jim Somers was struck with a new vision… to purchase every single territory in the IWA, giving him the chance to promoter worldwide while still retaining separate territories. Many promoters rebuked his offers but Somers was able to purchase smaller territories in Florida, Texas, and Virginia to bolster his SCW territory.
At an IWA meeting in early ’88, Somers outlined this vision to the remaining IWA promoters, naming this new coalition the Worldwide Wrestling Alliance. Again, Somers met with some resistance but was in negotiations to purchase Blackjack Lynch’s Premier Championship Wrestling and Brett Bryant’s territory in Los Angeles when he passed away suddenly on Labor Day of 1988. The loss of Somers stopped SCW’s momentum cold as they took the remainder of the year off. The IWA promoters were stunned as well and hosted an emergency meeting that saw a new President of the alliance elected.
On New Year’s Day 1989, Michael Somers took over his father’s business and declared he was abandoning all plans for expansion, returning to his Southern roots. The competing IWA promoters were pleased by this move and welcomed Michael into the fold with open arms. But many in SCW did not feel the same way, believing that Jim Somers was a visionary who had the right idea for the future. A split occurred in the SCW locker room as many broke off into their own promotion – International Championship Wrestling – with their own vision of worldwide expansion. The split weakened SCW dramatically and the IWA promoters were very concerned about the new company being formed.
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In 1993, ICW formed a strong challenge to the IWA – especially to Michael Somers’ SCW – forcing Somers to run outside of his territory with spot shows in Arizona, California, and New Mexico. The IWA promoters were split on the move, some believing Somers had no choice but to make the move while others believed that Somers was violating long-held territorial boundaries by running the shows.
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In 1995, ICW went under at the hands of an aggressive Michael Somers who used the new income from his larger territory to hire away much of ICW’s locker room and front office. With a full locker room once more, Somers kept up the aggressive schedule, running shows in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Virginia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, California, New Mexico… and even ran a tour of Mexico itself. The houses were packed, the fans were excited, and it looked like SCW was about to break through into a national promotion – something Jim Somers had dreamed of.
Michael Somers ignored the frantic calls from the IWA promoters to back off. In fact, he went one step further. On July 4th, 1995, Michael Somers and Southern Championship Wrestling “declared independence” from the International Wrestling Alliance, stating their intention to be their own separate nationwide promotion with their own World Champion. The decision was a devastating bodyblow to the rest of the IWA.
An emergency meeting of the other promoters was held where a new IWA President was elected – Blackjack Lynch representing PCW out of Texas. Lynch struck quickly, using his vast connections throughout wrestling to announce a tournament to be held on Labor Day Weekend in Dallas, Texas with a new IWA World Champion be crowned. Lynch was able to convince the other IWA promoters that a national promotion under Somers was a serious threat to all of their business and that they needed to be aggressive in the defense of their territories. Lynch believed that the first sign of weakness would not only embolden Somers but also rumored national promotions based out of Portland, Canada, and New York that were being discussed in certain circles in the industry.
IWA TITLE HISTORIES
December of 1969 – Bruno Moretti wins tournament
September of 1970 – Blackjack Patterson (as The Mauler) defeats Moretti