Throughout most of the territorial era of professional wrestling, one man was chosen as the very best wrestler in the world to carry the sport’s most coveted trophy, the National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship.
At the 1965 NWA Convention, the Championship Committee put forth the name of Gene Kiniski to succeed it’s perennial champion, Lou Thesz. That man was Gene Kiniski, who won the title from Thesz in a two out of three falls match at the Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis on January 7th, 1966.
Today, two amazing historian friends join me as we discuss the life and career of Gene Kiniski. Steve Verrier, who chronicled the life of the champion in his book, “Gene Kinski: Canadian Wrestling Legend” and the co-host for our Vancouver Territory Shows. George Schire, AWA Historian and co-host of our AWA History Shows. These two wonderful lovers of wrestling history have so much to share about Kiniski’s storied career in this special bonus episode honoring the g0th anniversary of Kiniski being crowned “the best in the world.
This Special Bonus episode of Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel Episode 42 should be in your inbox this morning if you are a subscriber here at the Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel! You can also see the video version at our YouTube Channel and download the audio version of our show on your favorite podcast provider platform.
Here’s the archive of our podcast episodes for 2026:
Episode 40: Steve Gennerelli and the 1985 Territory Review of The World Wrestling Federation (WWF)
Thank You for Watching and Listening
I’m Tony Richards, Pro Wrestling Historian, Author and Storyteller. I share pro wrestling historical items in each issue of the Time Tunnel Pro Wrestling History Newsletter and each episode of our podcast show. Thanks for your support! If you enjoy my information on select events, matches and insights, please share with folks you think might like to be a subscriber!
Remember, Premium subscribers get access to exclusive and special content such as some special issues including a multi-part deep dives on wrestling territories, wrestler bios and championship title histories, special audio and video interviews on territory pro wrestling and more available in the Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel for Premium Subscribers. Being a Premium Subscriber also means you support me in my efforts to document Pro Wrestling History through my research, writing, books, vidoes and podcasts. And…I have something very special planned for our Premium Subscribers on the Podcast side of things in 2026! Details soon here in the Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel.
