50th State Big Time Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Hawaii or Mid-Pacific Promotions) was a

professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event. Within ...

headquartered in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

in the United States that promoted

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

matches throughout Hawaii. The promotion was founded by Al Karasick in 1936 and became a member of the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...

in 1949. In 1961, Karasick sold the promotion to "Gentleman" Ed Francis. Along with his business partner

Lord James Blears Lord James "Tally-Ho" Blears (born James Ranicar Blears, 13 August 1923 – 3 March 2016) was a British-American professional wrestler, ring announcer, promoter, actor, mariner, and surfing personality. Early life Blears was born in Tyldesle ...

, Francis created a "

golden age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during wh ...

" of professional wrestling in Hawaii that lasted throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, with ''50th State Big Time Wrestling'' becoming one of Hawaii's most-watched programs. In 1979, Francis sold the promotion to

Steve Rickard Sydney Mervin "Merv" Batt (3 September 1929 – 5 April 2015), best known by his ring name Steve Rickard, was a New Zealand professional wrestler, trainer and promoter. As a wrestler, he traveled throughout the world during the 1960s and 1970 ...

, who one year later sold it to

Peter Maivia Fanene Leifi Pita Maivia (born Fanene Pita Anderson; April 6, 1937 – June 13, 1982), better known as Peter Maivia, was a Samoan-American professional wrestler, actor and stunt coordinator. Maivia was the grandfather of Dwayne Johnson, Dwayne ...

, who renamed it Polynesian Pro Wrestling (sometimes referred to as Polynesian Championship Wrestling). The promotion came to an end in 1988.

History

Mid-Pacific Promotion (1936–1961)

Mid-Pacific Promotions was founded in 1936 by Russian emigrant Al Karasick. Assisted by booker Bobby Bruns, Karasick staged weekly shows in Honolulu's Civic Auditorium, which he managed. Thanks to Hawaii's tropical climate, Mid-Pacific Promotions emerged as a popular destination for wrestlers looking for a "working vacation", with high-profile wrestlers such as

Lou Thesz Aloysius Martin Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002), known by the ring name Lou Thesz, was an American professional wrestler and wrestling coach. Considered to be one of the last true shooters (legitimate wrestlers) in professional w ...

and

Rikidōzan (born Kim Sin-rak; ; November 14, 1924 – December 15, 1963), better known as Rikidōzan (), was a Korean-born Japanese wrestler who competed in sumo and professional wrestling. He was known as The Father of Puroresu (professional wrestling ...

visiting Hawaii. In 1949, Karasick joined the

. In the early-1950s, Karasick began expanding into Japan, lobbying NWA president

Sam Muchnick Samuel Muchnick (born Jeshua Muchnick, August 22, 1905 – December 30, 1998) was an American professional wrestling promoter from St. Louis, Missouri. He is often regarded as wrestling's equivalent of Pete Rozelle (the forward-thinking commissio ...

to recognise Japan as his territory. By the 1960s, Hawaii was established as a hub for American wrestlers travelling to and from Japan.

50th State Big Time Wrestling (1961–1982)

In 1961, Karasick retired from promoting, selling the territory to "Gentleman" Ed Francis, who rebranded it "50th State Big Time Wrestling". Francis continued promoting weekly Wednesday shows at the Civic Auditorium, with the venue regularly sold-out. Shortly after Francis took over the promotion, a bout between

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...

wrestler

King Curtis Iaukea Curtis Piehau Iaukea III (September 15, 1937 – December 4, 2010) was an American professional wrestler better known as King Curtis Iaukea. Iaukea won championships in several of the major regional U.S. promotions, both as a single and in vari ...

and Samoan wrestler

Neff Maiava Neff Alfred Maiava (May 1, 1924 – April 21, 2018) was an American Samoan professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the United States with the Honolulu, Hawaii-based promotion 50th State Big Time Wrestling in the late-1950s ...

resulted in a violent riot. Francis appointed

as booker, with Blears quickly gaining a name for his "outrageous" and "goofy" characters. The promotion's top stars included

Johnny Barend John R. Barend (March 27, 1929 – September 20, 2011), better known as "Handsome" Johnny Barend, was an American professional wrestler. Early life Born in 1929 in Rochester, New York, Barend started wrestling as an amateur at the age of eight ...

, Curtis Iaukea,

Don Muraco Don Muraco (born September 10, 1949) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation from 1981 to 1988, where he held the WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship on ...

, Neff Maiava,

, and

Sammy Steamboat Samuel K. Mokuahi (May 4, 1934 – May 2, 2006) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Sammy Steamboat. Early life Mokuahi grew up in Honolulu, attending President Theodore Roosevelt High School, where he pla ...

. The promotion helped introduce several concepts that later became ubiquitous in professional wrestling, including the

steel cage match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...

and the backstage interview. Johnny Barend became infamous for his outlandish interviews, which began with him emerging from a coffin while smoking a cigar. In 1967, Barend married Annie Lum in the

ring (The) Ring(s) may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV * ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...

at the Honolulu International Center shortly before a title match. Francis secured a Saturday afternoon live television slot on KHVH-TV. As the promotion increased in popularity, it moved to

KGMB KGMB (channel 5) is a television station in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, serving the Hawaiian Islands as an affiliate of CBS. It is owned by Gray Media alongside dual NBC/Telemundo affiliate KHNL (channel 13) and Kailua-Kona–licensed KFVE ...

and increased its output to two programs a week: a taped show featuring interviews, vignettes and replays on Friday nights and a live show on Saturday afternoons. Hosted by Francis and Blears, ''50th State Wrestling'' was at one point the most watched television program in Hawaii. Television tapings rotated between

Kauai Kauai (), anglicized as Kauai ( or ), is one of the main Hawaiian Islands. It has an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), making it the fourth-largest of the islands and the 21st-largest island in the United States. Kauai lies 73 m ...

, and

Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

. In 1973, the television program changed to ''International All-star Wrestling'', a 90 minute show airing on KGMB each Saturday. After the Civic Coliseum closed in 1974, Francis ceased promoting for three years. In June 1977, he revived the promotion in the

Honolulu International Center The Neal S. Blaisdell Center is a community center near downtown Honolulu, Hawaii. The complex has a multi-purpose arena, concert hall, exhibition hall, galleria, meeting rooms, Waikiki Shell and others. Constructed in 1964 on the historic Wa ...

and the Bloch Arena. With costs rising and revenues falling, Francis sold the promotion to

in April 1979 and retired from promoting. With Francis no longer promoting,

Verne Gagne the Minnesota Golden Gophers wrestling, Minnesota Golden Gophers Laverne Clarence "Verne" Gagne ( ; February 26, 1926 – April 27, 2015) was an American amateur wrestling, amateur and professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Amer ...

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The promotion was born out of the Minneapolis ...

expanded into Hawaii. Rickard ran weekly events at the Bloch Arena and monthly events at the

Neal S. Blaisdell Arena The Neal S. Blaisdell Center is a community center near downtown Honolulu, Hawaii. The complex has a multi-purpose arena, concert hall, exhibition hall, galleria, meeting rooms, Waikiki Shell and others. Constructed in 1964 on the historic Wa ...

, retaining Lord James Blears as his booker and commentator. He operated the promotion for around one year before selling his territorial rights to

Polynesian Pro Wrestling (1982–1988)

Peter Maivia renamed the promotion "Polynesian Pro Wrestling". Following Maivia's death in June 1982, his wife

Lia Maivia Ofelia "Lia" Maivia ( Fuataga; 6 August 1931 – 19 October 2008) was a Samoan professional wrestling promoter. Maivia was the wife of Samoan professional wrestler Peter Maivia and the grandmother of actor and wrestler, Dwayne Johnson, also kno ...

took over the promotion. In August 1985, Polynesian Pro Wrestling's " A Hot Summer Night" event drew thousands of fans to the

Aloha Stadium Aloha Stadium is a closed multi-purpose stadium in Halawa, Hawaii, a census-designated place that is a western suburb of Honolulu. It is the largest stadium in the state of Hawaii. , the stadium ceased fan-attended operations indefinitely, and ...

, however " A Hot Summer Night II" the following August was markedly less successful. In the late-1980s, the promotion suffered from a lack of large cities to promote in Hawaii, high costs of bringing in wrestlers with star power, and a lawsuit from a competitor. The promotion ultimately folded in 1988.

Championships

Alumni

Dick Beyer Richard John "Dick" Beyer (July 11, 1930 – March 7, 2019) was an American professional wrestler is best known by his ring names, The Destroyer and Doctor X. Among other places, he worked extensively in Japan and in 2017 he was awarded one ...

Joe Blanchard Joseph Edgar Blanchard (December 7, 1928 – March 22, 2012) was an American football player, professional wrestler and promoter. His son is original Four Horseman member Tully Blanchard and his granddaughter is former Impact Champion Tessa Blanc ...

Nick Bockwinkel Nicholas Warren Francis Bockwinkel (December 6, 1934 – November 14, 2015) was an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in the 1970s and 1980s. Bockwinkel had ...

Russ Francis Russell Ross Francis (April 3, 1953 – October 1, 2023) was an American professional football player who was a tight end for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers. He w ...

Mr. Fuji was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, actor and Manager (professional wrestling), manager, known professionally by his ring name Mr. Fuji (or Master Fuji to his protégés). He was famous for often throwing salt in the ...

wara *

Giant Baba , best known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter, and professional baseball player. He is best known as a co-founder of All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), a promotion he founded in 1972 along with Mitsuo Momota ...

* Ripper Collins *

Jim Hady John Hady (May 30, 1930 – January 13, 1969) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name "Gentleman" Jim Hady. During his wrestling career he mainly worked in Hawaii for 50th State Big Time Wrestling. Professional wre ...

Hard Boiled Haggerty Don Stansauk (April 2, 1925 – January 27, 2004) was an American professional wrestler and actor, known by his ring name, Hard Boiled Haggerty. He was previously a professional American football player, and he became a successful character acto ...

Killer Kowalski Wladek Kowalski (born Edward Władysław Spulnik; October 13, 1926 – August 30, 2008) was a Canadian professional wrestler, known by his ring name Killer Kowalski. Kowalski wrestled for numerous promotions during his career, including the ...

Pampero Firpo Juan Kachmanian (April 6, 1930 – January 9, 2020) was an Argentine-born Armenian-American professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Pampero Firpo. Early life Kachmanian was born on April 6, 1930, in Buenos ...

* The Missing Link *

Sweet Daddy Siki Elkin James (June 16, 1933 – December 31, 2024) was an American-Canadian professional wrestler and singer, best known as Sweet Daddy Siki. Life and career Siki started wrestling in 1955 in Artesia, New Mexico. He also did some training in ...

Ray Stevens Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country music, country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian. He is best known for his Grammy-winning recordings "Everything Is Beautiful" and "M ...

Tosh Togo , better known as Harold Sakata, was an American Olympic weightlifter, professional wrestler, and film actor of Japanese descent. He won a silver medal for the United States at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London in weightlifting, and later ...

Maurice Vachon Joseph Maurice Régis Vachon (September 14, 1929 − November 21, 2013) was a Canadian professional wrestler, best known by his ring name Mad Dog Vachon. He was the older brother of wrestlers Paul and Vivian Vachon, and the uncle of wrestl ...

Bill Watts William F. Watts Jr. (born May 5, 1939), better known under the ring name Bill Watts, is a retired American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, promoter and former American football player. Watts garnered fame under his "Cowboy" Glos ...

Billy White Wolf Adnan bin Abdul Kareem Ahmed Alkaissy El Farthie (; March 1, 1939 – September 6, 2023), better known professionally as Adnan Al-Kaissie, was an Iraqi-American professional wrestler and manager best known as Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissey, Billy White ...

Works

* Ed Francis (2012) ''Gentleman Ed Francis Presents: 50th State Big Time Wrestling!''

Footnotes

External links

50th State Big Time Wrestling

Mid-Pacific Promotions (Mid-Pacific)

National Wrestling Alliance Polynesian Wrestling (NWA Polynesian) at Cagematch.net

Mid-Pacific Promotions at WrestlingTitles.com
{{50th State Big Time Wrestling 1936 establishments in Hawaii 1979 disestablishments in Hawaii Companies based in Honolulu Defunct professional wrestling promotions Entertainment companies disestablished in 1979 Entertainment companies established in 1936 National Wrestling Alliance members Professional wrestling in Hawaii