Stampede Wrestling
 |
|
| Acronym | Stampede |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1948 |
| Headquarters | Calgary, Alberta |
| Founder(s) | Stu Hart |
| Owner(s) |
Stu Hart (1948–1984) Vince McMahon (1984–1985) Bruce Hart (1985–1989) Bruce and Ross Hart (1999–2007) Bill Bell (2007–2008) Smith Hart Martin Soult and Cory Crispens (2012–Present) |
| Parent |
National Wrestling Alliance (until 1982) World Wrestling Federation (1984–1985) |
| Formerly | Klondike Wrestling |
Stampede Wrestling is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta and was for nearly 50 years one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the promotion competed with other promotions such as NWA All-Star Wrestling and Pacific Northwest Wrestling and regularly ran events in Calgary's Victoria Pavilion, Ogden Auditorium and the Stampede Corral between 1948 and 1984. Bought out by promoter Vince McMahon, the company was briefly run by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) before being sold back to the Hart family the following year. Run by Bruce Hart until January 1990, he and Ross Hart reopened the promotion in 1999 and began running events in the Alberta area.
Along with its wrestling school known as The Dungeon, many of the promotion's former alumni becoming some of the most popular stars in the World Wrestling Federation and other American promotions during the 1980s and 1990s, the promotion produced one of the earliest televised professional wrestling programs (today considered the forerunner of today's WWE) that remained one of Calgary's most popular sports programs eventually airing in over 50 countries worldwide.
Stampede Wrestling was operated by Stu Hart from 1948 to 1984. In 1983, a riot broke out during a match at the Ogden Auditorium in Calgary during a match between Bret Hart, Davey Boy Smith and Sonny Two Rivers against Bad News Allen, The Stomper and Stomper's kayfabe son Jeff Gouldie. Longtime Stampede announcer Ed Whalen reportedly became distraught during the riot, in which a woman was trampled, causing him to quit from the Stampede on air. Speaking of the events he remarked, "We're starting to scare the patrons with this violence outside the ring, and I will not be associated with it anymore." The event led to Stampede Wrestling being banned from Calgary for six months by the city's wrestling and boxing commission, and within a year the operation was sold to the World Wrestling Federation.
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