Pioneer Singles:
Gene Kiniski
Born outside of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Gene Kiniski was one of the first World Champions in professional wrestling to have a previous background in football.
After retiring from football, Kiniski trained with Dory Funk Sr. and Tony Morelli for a wrestling career, eventually making his pro debut on February 13, 1952 in Tucson, Arizona, where he defeated Curly Hughes. Kiniski’s first exposure on television was in Southern California in 1954 alongside other wrestlers such as Wilbur Snyder and Bobo Brazil. One year later, he teamed up with John Tolos to win his first major championship, the International TV Tag Team title, in Los Angeles, then challenged NWA World Champion Lou Thesz in November 1954. As an emerging talent, Kiniski got the opportunity to wrestle Lou Thesz at the Olympic Auditorium on November 3, 1954. Kiniski lost in two straight falls.
From there, Kiniski ventured to San Francisco and teamed with Lord James Blears to win the territory's version of the NWA World Tag Team title three times in 1955; after that, he went to Texas and, wrestling as Gene Kelly, captured the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship in 1956.
Kiniski began wrestling in his native Canada for the first time in November 1956, debuting for Toronto's Maple Leaf Wrestling. His first main-event match in the territory took place at Maple Leaf Gardens in January 1957, when he teamed with Buddy Rogers against Whipper Billy Watson and Pat O'Connor and saw the beginning of a lengthy feud with Watson that spanned across Canada; the Kiniski-Watson feud gained national exposure due to their matches sometimes being seen on CBC Television. He also challenged NWA World Heavyweight titleholders Watson, Thesz and Dick Hutton for the title on several occasions between 1955 and 1957.
In 1957, Kiniski competed in Montreal and Toronto. His feuds with Whipper Billy Watson, Yukon Eric, Edouard Carpentier, and Pat O’Connor pushed his career further.
Gene captured the British Empire title from O’Connor on May 2, 1957,
and the Montreal version of the world title from Carpentier on June 12,
1957. Kiniski headlined a wrestling card at Delormier stadium in Montreal,
where he dropped the Montreal world title to Killer Kowalski on July 17,
1957 in front of 21,000 fans
Kiniski joined the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in 1960 and defeated AWA World Champion Verne Gagne to win the title on July 11, 1961, also capturing the AWA World Tag Team title twice with Hard Boiled Haggerty. The title reign lasted less than a month. Kiniski won another title in West Texas a year later.
In 1962, Kiniski began what became the peak period of his career when he went to Vancouver to join NWA All Star Wrestling. Early on, he won the NWA British Empire Heavyweight title twice and the Pacific Coast Tag Team title three times, and he challenged again for the NWA World title, taking on Rogers in a main event at Empire Stadium in Vancouver on July 30, 1962 (Rogers beat Kiniski to retain his title), and Thesz in 1963. He made Vancouver his home base while also making appearances in other promotions throughout North America and in Japan, particularly a lengthy stint in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in 1964; while there, he challenged WWWF Champion Bruno Sammartino several times.
He also went to Dick the Bruiser's Indianapolis-based World Wrestling Association in December 1965 and captured its World Heavyweight title, holding it for four months. A few weeks later, Kiniski earned the opportunity to contend for the National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight title.
The pinnacle of Kiniski's career finally came on January 7, 1966, when he defeated Thesz to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in St. Louis, Missouri in front of 11,612 fans at the Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis.
As world champion, Kiniski wrestled many well-known luminaries. These included Bobo Brazil, Dick the Bruiser, Johnny Valentine, Bill Watts, Edouard Carpentier, Pat O’Connor, and the Funks, Terry and Dory, Jr., respectively.
He travelled worldwide to defend his title during his three-year reign as champion, including making frequent stops back in Vancouver to defend his title in NWA All Star, taking on challengers such as Lou Thesz, Don Leo Jonathan, Dutch Savage, Bill Dromo, Bearcat Wright, John Tolos, Chris Tolos, Abdullah the Butcher, Haystacks Calhoun, Bobby Shane, Dean Higuchi, Tex McKenzie and Paddy Barrett in the promotion.
After stops in Honolulu, Tokyo, and becoming the first World Champion to appear in Los Angeles in more than 11 years in November 1968, Kiniski was exhausted. At the 1968 NWA Convention, Kiniski announced that it was time to step down.
Kiniski continued winning championships in NWA All Star and elsewhere. He won the NWA Missouri Heavyweight title from Terry Funk in St. Louis on March 16, 1973, while back in Vancouver, he won the Pacific Coast Heavyweight title seven times from 1970 to 1979, and won the Canadian Tag Team title ten times between 1963 and 1976, and in Japan, he captured the NWA International Heavyweight title in 1970[3]. He also got involved in the promotional side of the business when he joined forces with Sandor Kovacs and Portland promoter Don Owen to acquire the Vancouver territory in the late 1960s; that, combined with Kiniski's NWA World title reign at the time, helped make Vancouver a wrestling hotbed for several years, until Kovacs sold his share in the promotion to Al Tomko in 1977. Kiniski retained his ownership stake in NWA All Star until around 1983.
Kiniski remained involved in the sport for a few more years, teaming periodically with his sons, Kelly and Nick, refereeing the main event of the inaugural NWA Starrcade (Ric Flair vs. NWA World Champion Harley Race in a steel cage) in 1983, and later promoting events for Stampede Wrestling and the AWA in Vancouver while occasionally stepping into the ring. His final matches as an active wrestler took place in Winnipeg's West Four Wrestling Alliance on February 25, 1992, defeating "Bulldog" Bob Brown and Randy Rudd in singles matches and teaming with Chris Jericho and Lance Storm to battle Brown, The Natural and Gerry Morrow to a no-contest in a six-man match at a WFWA TV taping in Winnipeg[5]. He acted as the cornerman for Dory Funk Jr. in a match between Funk and Nick Bockwinkel (with Verne Gagne) at WCW Slamboree in 1993.
In 2000, he was the interim president (commissioner) of All Japan Pro Wrestling's Pacific Wrestling Federation title governing body while they searched for a permanent replacement for Lord James Blears and to present the vacant AJPW Triple Crown Championship to the winner of a tournament.
Courtesy wikipedia.
