“Fireball” Ken Keening was a mainstay of the independent wrestling scene in the American Northwest and Canada from the early 70’s. He is the youngest son of John and Mary Keening and the brother of Gary Keening and the deceased USMC Staff Sergeant Michael Keening Sr. He is the father of Kurt Keening and Kyle Keening and is also the uncle of Jason Keening and Michael Keening.
Ken Keening was a talented athlete all through high school and he especially excelled in Greco-Roman wrestling. His life took a different turn one night in 1971 when he attended a card held by the North West Wrestling Coalition, a small independent federation based out of Portland, Oregon. That night, one of the wrestlers challenged anyone in the audience to face him in the ring and Ken was the only one to step forward. He lost that very first match but the promoters were impressed by his performance and signed him to a contract on the spot. His parents were disappointed that he never went on to college but he embarked on a highly successful professional wrestling career and never looked back.
In 1975, he wrestled a special exhibition match in Vancouver against Canadian wrestling legend “Blizzard” Jack Tundra. That fateful meeting led to the formation of one of the best tag teams ever seen in professional wrestling, The Primal Elements. “The Fireball” and “The Blizzard” dominated the Canadian wrestling scene for years and held the British Columbia Wrestling Federation Tag Team titles for six years, a record that remains unbroken to this day. The Primal Elements dissolved when Jack Tundra retired from professional wrestling in 1983 but “Fireball” Ken Keening went on to compete in the Great Canadian Shield Wrestling federation and in 1990, he won the Canadian Heavyweight Championship belt which he held until his retirement in 1992.
While still physically fit, numerous knee operations had left him with a permanent limp and he was unable to continue competing at his usual level. By this time, he was also happily married to his wife, Wendy, and was the father of two boys, Kurt and Kyle. Wanting to provide some stability for his family, they moved to Seattle where they’ve remained ever since. He took a job with his old promotion, North West Wrestling Coalition, where he worked as a referee until the company folded in 1995.
He worked a number of odd jobs until early in 1997 when he was contacted by his niece, Geri who was forming a small company to manage the careers of her husband and brothers, Keening Wrestling Inc. Ken took on a consulting role with the company and was instrumental in her recruitment by his old tag team partner, Jack Tundra, who brought her into the CIWF’s Executive Board. As part of his role with Keening Wrestling Inc, Ken also become the manager and adviser for his sons who followed in his footsteps and formed a tag team that they dubbed The New Primal Elements.
Having taught and mentored members of his family as professional wrestlers, Ken finally stepped into the role for which he is currently most famous when he opened the Keening School of Grappling Arts in October of 1999. This world-renowned training facility in Seattle, Washington has trained hundreds of professional wrestlers and has now expanded to two other locations in Allentown, Pennsylvania and Tucson, Arizona.
Ken prefers to act as a mentor to young wrestlers and does not often work for wrestling federations although he has made guest appearances over the years in the EMWC, UEW, and RCW in support of his nephews. He continues to run his school in Seattle and teach up-and-coming wrestlers to this day.