Charting The Territories

Our coverage of 1961 continues with a look at the week ending November 12th: McGuirk pulls out of (most of) Louisiana, The Great Antonio returns and is featured in several battle royals, a note about our coverage of 1961 going forward & more!

Our coverage of 1961 continues with a look at the week ending November 5th: Danny Hodge works the "B" towns, don't be the first person eliminated in a battle royal this week, why Mighty Bolo may have left the territory & more!

Our coverage of 1961 continues with a look at the week ending October 29th: Sputnik gets two title shots plus has a big loser leaves town cage match, in case an alligator wasn't enough we also have a bear this week, Torbellino Blanco gets some main events & more!

Our coverage of 1961 continues with a look at the week ending October 22nd: Sputnik-Clancy feud comes to a head, Great Bolo wins and loses the World's Junior Heavyweight title in the span of a few seconds, some Louisiana attendance notes & more!

Our coverage of 1961 continues with a look at the week ending October 15th: Texas death matches between Sputnik and Clancy, attendance notes from Shreveport, where's Waldo? (well, he's here) & more!

Our coverage of 1961 continues with a look at the week ending October 8th: Sputnik Monroe & Mike Clancy feud in several towns, a wrestling animal comes to the area (and it's not a bear!), Danny Hodge takes on a protege of his in a rare matchup in Tulsa & more!

Our coverage of 1961 continues with a look at the week ending October 1st: Sputnik moves into the upper orbit of the cards, two newcomers bring some international flavor, who the heck is Rough House Grogan & more!

Our coverage of 1961 continues with a look at the week ending September 24th: Donnie Fargo competes in several loser leaves town matches, McGuirk runs Jackson MS for the first time, a couple of Hillbillies leave and are replaced by a 6'10" 300+ pounder named "Tiny" & more!

Our coverage of 1961 continues with a look at the week ending September 17th: all the top tag teams do battle in various towns, Sputnik Monroe stumbles a bit in his quest to become a top contender to Danny Hodge, Great Antonio performs a unique feat of strength in New Orleans & more!

Our coverage of 1961 continues with a look at the week ending September 10th: two newcomers this week: 1) one of the most prolific talkers in wrestling history, 2) perhaps the least prolific talker in wrestling history, Hodge defends against a Fargo & more!

Our coverage of 1961 continues with a look at the week ending September 3rd: the Louisiana towns are shufflin', two newcomers are Scufflin', a Bruiser leaves to (maybe) become a Ripper & more!

Our coverage of 1961 continues with a look at the week ending August 27th: the Fargos headline one crew while the Bolos headline the other, what exactly is a Russian roulette style battle royal, how does one get a perfect 1.00 SPOT rating & more.

Our coverage of 1961 continues with a look at the week ending August 20th: 6'5" 450 pound The Great Antonio is NOT the largest man in town, the promotion runs a stacked outdoor show at a larger venue in OKC, Hodge squares off against Donnie Fargo a few times & more.

Our coverage of 1961 continues with a look at the week ending August 13, 1961. For new readers,  this post  and  this post  will help you understand the SPOT rating and what it means. Here's a look at the talent roster along with their SPOT ratings for the week. The first number to the right of each wrestler's name is their SPOT rating for this week and the second number is their rating for the previous week. Babyfaces are in blue on the left-hand side, heels in orange on the right. They are listed in descending order; wrestlers at the top were mostly in main events while wrestlers at the bottom were mostly in preliminary matches. I have data for the following house shows this week: Monday - Shreveport, LA & Tulsa, OK Tuesday - Little Rock, AR & Monroe, LA Wednesday - Baton Rouge, LA & Fort Smith, AR Thursday - New Orleans, LA Friday - Oklahoma City, OK Saturday - Ada, OK Analysis/Notes: The babyface side was bolstered with two...

Our coverage of 1961 continues with a look at the week ending August 6, 1961. For new readers,  this post  and  this post  will help you understand the SPOT rating and what it means. Here's a look at the talent roster along with their SPOT ratings for the week. The first number to the right of each wrestler's name is their SPOT rating for this week and the second number is their rating for the previous week. Babyfaces are in blue on the left-hand side, heels in orange on the right. They are listed in descending order; wrestlers at the top were mostly in main events while wrestlers at the bottom were mostly in preliminary matches. I have data for the following house shows this week: Monday - Shreveport, LA & Tulsa, OK Tuesday - Little Rock, AR & Monroe, LA Wednesday - Baton Rouge, LA & Fort Smith, AR & Springfield, MO Thursday - New Orleans, LA & Wichita Falls, TX Friday - Oklahoma City, OK Analysis/Notes: There were no ch...

Our coverage of 1961 continues with a look at the week ending July 30, 1961. For new readers,  this post  and  this post  will help you understand the SPOT rating and what it means. Here's a look at the talent roster along with their SPOT ratings for the week. The first number to the right of each wrestler's name is their SPOT rating for this week and the second number is their rating for the previous week. Babyfaces are in blue on the left-hand side, heels in orange on the right. They are listed in descending order; wrestlers at the top were mostly in main events while wrestlers at the bottom were mostly in preliminary matches. I have data for the following house shows this week: Monday - Shreveport, LA & Tulsa, OK Tuesday - Little Rock, AR & Monroe, LA Wednesday - Baton Rouge, LA & Fort Smith, AR & Springfield, MO Thursday - New Orleans, LA & Wichita Falls, TX Friday - Oklahoma City, OK The Tulsa info comes from  oklaf...

Our coverage of 1961 continues with a look at the week ending July 23, 1961. For new readers,  this post  and  this post  will help you understand the SPOT rating and what it means. Here's a look at the talent roster along with their SPOT ratings. The first number to the right of each wrestler's name is their SPOT rating for this week and the second number is their rating for the previous week. Babyfaces are in blue on the left-hand side, heels in orange on the right. They are listed in descending order and grouped into loose categories, so you can easily see who were the main eventers, mid-carders, preliminary wrestlers, etc. Known shows for the week: Monday - Shreveport, LA & Tulsa, OK Tuesday - Little Rock, AR & Monroe, LA Wednesday - Baton Rouge, LA & Fort Smith, AR & Springfield, MO Thursday - New Orleans, LA & Wichita Falls, TX Friday - Oklahoma City, OK & Paris, TX The Tulsa info comes from  oklafan.com Ana...

I continue looking at the year 1961, and this week is the first time we're able to look at week-to-week changes in the SPOT ratings for this year. For new readers,  this post  and  this post  will help you understand the SPOT rating and what it means. Here's a look at the talent roster along with their SPOT ratings. The first number to the right of each wrestler's name is their SPOT rating for this week and the second number is their rating for the previous week. Babyfaces are in blue on the left-hand side, heels in orange on the right. They are listed in descending order and grouped into loose categories, so you can easily see who were the main eventers, mid-carders, preliminary wrestlers, etc. Known shows for the week: Monday - Shreveport, LA & Stillwell, OK & Tulsa, OK Tuesday - Little Rock, AR & Monroe, LA Wednesday - Baton Rouge, LA & Fort Smith, AR & Springfield, MO Thursday - New Orleans, LA & Wichita Falls, TX Frida...

Here is our first look at Tri-State Wresting in 1961, covering the week beginning Monday, July 3rd and ending Sunday, July 9th. If you're new to the blog, reading  this post  and  this post  will help you understand the SPOT rating and what it means. Here's a look at the talent roster for the week along with their SPOT ratings. Babyfaces are in blue on the left-hand side, heels in orange on the right. They are listed in descending order and grouped into loose categories, so you can easily see who were the main eventers, mid-carders, preliminary wrestlers, etc. Known shows for the week: Monday - Shreveport, LA & Stillwell, OK & Tulsa, OK Tuesday - Little Rock, AR Wednesday - Fort Smith, AR & Springfield, MO Thursday - New Orleans, LA & Wichita Falls, TX Friday - Oklahoma City, OK The Tulsa info comes from oklafan.com Analysis/Notes: Promoter Leroy McGuirk, who had primarily been running shows in parts of three states (Oklahom...