| Founded | 1946[1][2] |
|---|---|
| Defunct | 1981[1] |
| Headquarters | Amarillo, Texas, United States[1] |
| Founder | Dory Detton[2] |
| Owner(s) | Dory Detton (1946–1955) Doc Sarpolis andDory Funk (1955–1967) Dory Funk (1967–1973) Dory Funk Jr. andTerry Funk (1973–1980) Blackjack Mulligan andDick Murdoch (1980–1981) |
| Parent | Southwest States Enterprises |
Western States Sports (also known as theAmarillo Territory) was aprofessional wrestlingpromotion headquartered inAmarillo, Texas in the United States.[1] Founded by Dory Detton in 1946, the promotion enjoyed its greatest success in the 1960s and 1970s under the management ofDory Funk and, later, his sonsDory Funk Jr. andTerry Funk, with its top performers including the Funks themselves andRicky Romero.[3][4] Western States Sports promoted professional wrestling events in multiple cities acrossWest Texas including Amarillo,Abilene,El Paso,Lubbock,Odessa, andSan Angelo, along withAlbuquerque inNew Mexico,Colorado Springs andPueblo inColorado, and theOklahoma Panhandle.[5][6] Sold by the Funks in 1980,[7][8] the promotion closed in 1981.[1]
Western States Sports was founded by Dory Detton in 1946. Detton staged his first show in the Tri-State Fairgrounds on March 14, 1946, marking the first professional wrestling show to be held in Amarillo in over five years.[2] In October 1951, Southwest States Enterprises joined theNational Wrestling Alliance.[9]
In 1955, retired wrestlerKarl "Doc" Sarpolis purchased Western States Sports from Detton for $75,000 (equivalent to $880,000 in 2024).[10] He offered local wrestlerDory Funk the opportunity to buy-in to the promotion, which he accepted.[11] In addition to booking the promotion, Funk was its biggest star. Sarpolis was elected president of the NWA in 1962.[10]
Funk's sons,Dory Funk Jr. andTerry Funk, began wrestling for the promotion in the mid-1960s. After Sarpolis died in 1967, Funk purchased his shares from his widow, giving him full ownership of Western States Sports.[12][4] Dory Funk died in 1973, leaving the Funk brothers as owners of the territory.[13]
In the early 1970s, the Funks developed a working relationship withGiant Baba, owner of theAll Japan Pro Wrestling promotion. A talent exchange between the two promotions saw Japanese wrestlers such asGenichiro Tenryu andJumbo Tsuruta debut in Western States Sports before debuting in AJPW.[14][15]
By 1980, ticket sales were beginning to decline. The Funk brothers sold the territory to wrestlersBlackjack Mulligan andDick Murdoch for $20,000 (equivalent to $76,000 in 2024).[7][8][16] With business continuing to slump, the promotion closed in 1981.[1]
Western States Sports aired an hour-long television program onKFDA-TV (Channel 10) each Saturday afternoon.[10][5][17][self-published source] The program aired inWest Texas along withNew Mexico andColorado. It was hosted by Steve Stack.[18] The program featured a combination of matches recorded in the KFDA studios in Amarillo, matches recorded athouse shows, interviews, and clips of matches from other territories.[19]
| Championship | Created | Abandoned | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| NWA Brass Knuckles Championship(Amarillo version) | 1962 | 1981 | The Amarillo version of the NWA Brass Knuckles Championship was created in 1962 when Dory Funk was recognized as the first champion. The championship was abandoned in 1981 when the promotion stopped trading.[20] |
| NWA International Heavyweight Championship (Amarillo version) | 1960 | 1981 | The Amarillo version of the NWA International Heavyweight Championship was created in 1960 whenSonny Myers was recognized as the first champion. The championship was abandoned in 1961. The championship was resurrected in 1974 whenCyclone Negro was billed as having won a tournament. The championship was abandoned once more in 1981 when the promotion stopped trading.[21] |
| NWA International Tag Team Championship | 1959 | 1975 | The Fabulous Kangaroos were recognized as the inaugural NWA International Tag Team Champions(Amarillo version) in 1959. The championship was abandoned in 1963. Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk were recognized as champions in 1973, with the championship abandoned once more in 1975.[22] |
| NWA North American Heavyweight Championship(Amarillo version) | 1956 | 1969 | The Amarillo version of the NWA North American Heavyweight Championship was created in 1956 when Jim Wright was recognized as the first champion. From 1956 to 1969 it was the premiere singles championship in NWA Western States Sports. The championship was abandoned in 1969 when theNWA Western States Heavyweight Championship was introduced.[23] |
| NWA North American Tag Team Championship(Amarillo version) | 1963 | 1967 | The Amarillo version of the NWA North American Tag Team Championship was created in 1963 whenSputnik Monroe and Tokyo Tom were recognized as the first champions. The championship was abandoned in 1967.[24] |
| NWA Southwest Junior Heavyweight Championship | 1947 | 1959 | The NWA Southwest Junior Heavyweight Championship was created in 1947 when Al Getz won a tournament. The championship was unified with theNWA North American Heavyweight Championship(Amarillo version) in 1959.[25] |
| NWA Southwest States Heavyweight Championship | 1957 | 1968 | The NWA Southwest States Heavyweight Championship was created in 1957 when Art Nelson won a tournament. The championship was abandoned in 1968.[26] |
| NWA Southwest States Tag Team Championship | 1952 | 1965 | The NWA Southwest States Tag Team Championship was created in 1952 when Dory Funk and Frankie Hill Murdoch won a tournament. The championship was retired in 1956. The championship was revived in 1962 and retired once more in 1965.[27] |
| NWA Television Championship (Amarillo version) | 1973 | 1979 | The Amarillo version of the NWA Television Championship was created in 1973 when Nick Kozak was recognized as the first champion. The championship was abandoned in 1979.[28] |
| NWA Texas Tag Team Championship | 1951 | 1963 | The Amarillo version of the NWA Texas Tag Team Championship was created in 1951 whenIvan Kalmikoff and Jack O'Reilly were recognized as the first champions. The championship was abandoned in 1963 when the promotion began recognizing the NWA North American Tag Team Championship(Amarillo version).[29] |
| NWA Western States Heavyweight Championship | 1969 | 1981 | The NWA Western States Heavyweight Championship was created in 1969 when theNWA North American Heavyweight Champion Dory Funk began to be billed as the NWA Western States Heavyweight Champion. From 1969 to 1981 it was the premiere singles championship in NWA Western States Sports. The championship was abandoned in 1981 when the promotion stopped trading.[30][31] |
| NWA Western States Tag Team Championship | 1969 | 1981 | The NWA Western States Tag Team Championship was created in 1969 when theNWA World Tag Team Champions Chati Yokouchi andMr. Ito began to be billed as the NWA Western States Tag Team Champions. The championship was abandoned in 1981 when the promotion stopped trading.[32] |
| NWA World Tag Team Championship(Amarillo version) | 1955 | 1968 | The Amarillo version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship was established in 1955 when Art Nelson andReggie Lisowski were recognized as the inaugural champions. The championship was abandoned in 1968 when it was replaced by theNWA Western States Tag Team Championship.[33] |
| World Heavyweight Championship(Amarillo version) | 1962 | 1963 | During a period of poor relations with the National Wrestling Alliance, Western States Sports began recognizingGene Kiniski as its own World Heavyweight Champion in 1962 after he defeatedNWA World Heavyweight ChampionBuddy Rogers on four occasions. The championship was retired in 1963 when relations with the NWA improved and Western States Sports resumed recognition of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.[10][34] |
