Charting The Territories

In the fourth quarter of 1978, the top wrestlers in Mid-America included Randy Savage, Dutch Mantell and Bobby Eaton.

In the third quarter of 1978, the top wrestlers in Mid-America included Dutch Mantel, George Gulas & Tojo Yamamoto.

In the second quarter of 1978, the top wrestlers in Mid-America included Randy Savage, Dutch Mantell and Don (Fargo) Garfield.

In the first quarter of 1978, the top wrestlers in Mid-America included Randy Savage, Ox Baker, Pez Whatley and Lanny Poffo.

NWA Mid-America, promoted by Nick Gulas (with Harry Thornton as co-promoter in Chattanooga), operated out of Nashville. The split with Jerry Jarrett happened the year before, so at this point in time the promotion ran a much smaller geographical area than in the past. Starting in May the promotion would run opposition to Jarrett in Louisville, with Jarrett retaliating by running opposition in Chattanooga. By the end of the year, both stopped running opposition and focused on their defined areas. The weekly loop looked like this: Mondays - Birmingham, AL (Feb-Dec) Tuesdays - Birmingham, AL (Jan) Wednesdays - Nashville, TN Fridays - Huntsville, AL Saturdays - Chattanooga, TN -Chattanooga was run on Sundays 14 times during the year and once on Friday, but every other week was a Saturday -They ran Louisville, KY between May and September; the shows bounced around between Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays I have data for 258 cards from 10 different cities. These maps show the c

If you've been following this blog, you know the key feature is the SPOT ratings, which measures a wrestler by their average spot on the card over a period of time. It most certainly has its limitations, many of which I will discuss in this post. But the overarching theme and what you should take away from this post is this ... SPOT  is best used to evaluate wrestlers in a specific territory in a specific time frame. What's Wrong With SPOT: All Towns/Venues are Not Created Equal - The way the SPOT formula currently works, the wrestlers in the advertised main event of a specific card get equal billing. So the main event for a card at Madison Square Garden would get as much "credit" as the main event at the Jaffa Mosque in Altoona, PA. It's obvious that main eventing the Garden means more, but what SPOT does is merely aggregate a wrestlers' position over a variety of cards, some big and some small. I certainly could add some sort of factor that takes into c

In the fourth quarter of 1966, the top wrestlers in Florida included Jose Lothario, Sam Steamboat, Les Welch, the Infernos, Don McClarity and Rocket Monroe.

In the third quarter of 1966, the top wrestlers in Florida included Jose Lothario, Eddie Graham, Wahoo McDaniel, the Masked Medics, Sputnik Monroe and the Von Stroheims.

In the first quarter of 1966, the top wrestlers in Florida included Eddie Graham, Klondike Bill, Danny Miller, the Missouri Mauler, the Masked Medics and Hiro Matsuda.

In the second quarter of 1966, the top wrestlers in Florida included Eddie Graham, Don Curtis, Jose Lothario, the Missouri Mauler, Sputnik Monroe and Tarzan Tyler.

Championship Wrestling from Florida, more commonly known as the Florida territory, operated out of Tampa. The most frequently run cities in 1966 (that I have data for) were: Mondays - Orlando and West Palm Beach (Jan-May)/Fort Myers (Jun-Dec) Tuesdays - Tampa and Eau Gallie (Jan-Apr) Wednesdays - Sarasota and Miami Beach (Jan-Apr)/Eau Gallie (May-Oct) Thursdays - Fort Myers (Jan-Jun) Fridays - Fort Lauderdale and Tallahassee (Jul-Sep)/Belle Glade (Nov-Dec) Saturdays - Leesburg (Feb-Apr)/West Palm Beach (Jul-Aug)/Tallahassee (Oct)

In the fourth quarter of 1966, the top wrestlers in Australia's World Championship Wrestling included Spiros Arion, George & Sandy Scott, Ray Stevens, Skull Murphy & Brute Bernard.

In the third quarter of 1966, the top wrestlers in Australia's World Championship Wrestling included Mark Lewin, Bearcat Wright, Vittorio Apollo, Brute Bernard, Skull Murphy and Professor Tanaka.

In the second quarter of 1966, the top wrestlers in Australia's World Championship Wrestling included Bruno Sammartino, Mark Lewin, Killer Kowalski, Harley Race, Larry Hennig and Waldo Von Erich.

In the first quarter of 1966, the top wrestlers in Australia's World Championship Wrestling included Dominic DeNucci, Dick Steinborn, Pepper Gomez, Killer Kowalski, Waldo Von Erich and Art Nelson.

World Championship Wrestling promoted in Australia from 1964 to 1978. They generally brought in big name wrestlers from the U.S. for several months at a time as headliners and used local wrestlers on the undercards. Unlike most of the territories I'll be covering, I am using results from just 2 cities which were run on a weekly basis. They are the two largest cities in Australia, and I feel the sample size is enough to get a good feel for the promotion. Fridays - Sydney Saturdays - Melbourne

In the fourth quarter of 1966, the top wrestlers in Central States included Bearcat Wright, Pat O'Connor, Joe (Jody) Hamilton, Iron Mike DiBiase, Bob Geigel & Bob Brown.

In the first quarter of 1966, the top wrestlers in Central States included the (Mongolian) Stomper, Bobby Shane, Sonny Myers, Bob Geigel, "Bulldog" Bob Brown and the Butcher (Vachon).

Heart of America Sports Attractions, more commonly known as the Central States territory, operated out of Kansas City. The most frequently run cities in 1966 (that I have data for) were: Mondays - Dubuque, IA Tuesdays - Sedalia, MO Thursdays - Kansas City, KS Fridays - St. Joseph, MO Saturdays - Waterloo, IA Sundays - Cedar Rapids, IA

In the fourth quarter of 1966, the top wrestlers in Amarillo included Dory Funk Sr, Ricky Romero, Terry Funk, Killer Karl Kox, Dick Steinborn and Professor Tanaka.

In the third quarter of 1966, the top wrestlers in Amarillo included Dory Funk Sr, Terry Funk, Ricky Romero, Iron Mike DiBiase, Killer Karl Kox and Art Nelson.

In the third quarter of 1966, the top wrestlers in Central States included the Stomper, the Viking, Bob Geigel, Bob Brown and Jack Donovan.

In the second quarter of 1966, the top wrestlers in Central States included Cowboy Bob Ellis, the Stomper, Big Tiny (Grizzly) Smith, Bob Geigel, the Butcher and the Viking.

In the second quarter of 1966, the top wrestlers in Amarillo included Dory Funk Jr, Wahoo McDaniel, Dan Miller, Iron Mike DiBiase, Dutch Savage and Fritz Von Erich.

In the first quarter of 1966, the top wrestlers in Amarillo included Dory Funk Sr, Wahoo McDaniel, Terry Funk, Iron Mike DiBiase, Dutch Savage and Don Jardine.

Western States Sports, more commonly known as the Amarillo territory, operated out of western Texas. The most frequently run cities in 1966 (that I have data for) were: Mondays - Abilene, TX Tuesdays - Odessa, TX Wednesdays - Lubbock, TX Thursdays - Amarillo, TX Fridays - Clovis, NM Saturdays - Littlefield, TX Sundays - Albuquerque, NM

This blog is going to take a look back at pro wrestling territories in a way that hasn't been done before. There are numerous web sites, blogs, message forums and social media accounts dedicated to covering the history of professional wrestling. There are even a couple of databases with scores of information. But I want to present the information in such a way that you can look at ONE piece of data and instantly understand that wrestlers' place in the grand scheme of things; or as Arn Anderson once famously spoke of, their spot.