The fact that there was a $700 Battle Royal in which someone lost their toupee when the went over the top rope might just be the perfect scenario to describe Kansas City Wrestling to someone who has never seen it before...
I grew up in the St Louis area, and between cable and local Saturday television, we pretty much got to see any promotion worth a lick other than Memphis and Florida. While we didn't get them, we unfortunately did get Kansas City.
This really was the dying days of the promotion. Bob Geigel was a promoter no one wanted to work for except Harley Race and once he bolted for the WWF the promotion closed for good a couple of years later.
@Sargebri Rick Stuart was an announcer, including serving as the announcer on most of the clips in this video (the color commentators often refer to him by name). I believe his real name was Robert Rhodes. He started out as Charlie Platt's co-host in Southeastern before Bob Geigel hired him. He was originally Mark Matthew's co-host in the waning days of Wrestling at the Chase, following Larry Matysik's departure to start his own promotion. When Geigel stopped doing tapings, leading to KPLR dropping him in favor of the WWF, he was moved to Kansas City as Kevin Wahl's co-host on All-Star Wrestling. He was there for a while, including during the period of most of the currently extant KC footage. When he went back home, Ann Gunkel hired him and Freddie Miller as her announcers. After that, I think he went back to KC when Jim Crockett took over, then worked for Crockett as Tony Schiavone's partner at Starrcade '86. He last worked for several Southeastern indies before dying of AIDS in 1989.
Larry Matysik once wrote that "Kansas City never was a model promotion. Pay was mediocre, television was poorly produced, and established stars seldom wanted to work there."
@@asurlybarber3620Bob Geigel was able to use his position within the NWA to call in favors, but even that dissipated after a while. Since you mentioned Larry Matysik, even the territory's position with Sam Muchnick was never solid, despite the frequent use of talent. Muchnick created the Missouri title because they changed the Central States title on one of Muchnick's cards, then carried on in the territory as if the title change never happened.
The fact that there was a $700 Battle Royal in which someone lost their toupee when the went over the top rope might just be the perfect scenario to describe Kansas City Wrestling to someone who has never seen it before...
I grew up in the St Louis area, and between cable and local Saturday television, we pretty much got to see any promotion worth a lick other than Memphis and Florida. While we didn't get them, we unfortunately did get Kansas City.
This really was the dying days of the promotion. Bob Geigel was a promoter no one wanted to work for except Harley Race and once he bolted for the WWF the promotion closed for good a couple of years later.
Didn't Rick Stuart leave to go work for Ann Gunkel's latest short-lived outlaw promotion?
@@MisterBeauJanGels who is Rick Stuart? His name isn't familiar to me.
@Sargebri Rick Stuart was an announcer, including serving as the announcer on most of the clips in this video (the color commentators often refer to him by name). I believe his real name was Robert Rhodes. He started out as Charlie Platt's co-host in Southeastern before Bob Geigel hired him. He was originally Mark Matthew's co-host in the waning days of Wrestling at the Chase, following Larry Matysik's departure to start his own promotion. When Geigel stopped doing tapings, leading to KPLR dropping him in favor of the WWF, he was moved to Kansas City as Kevin Wahl's co-host on All-Star Wrestling. He was there for a while, including during the period of most of the currently extant KC footage. When he went back home, Ann Gunkel hired him and Freddie Miller as her announcers. After that, I think he went back to KC when Jim Crockett took over, then worked for Crockett as Tony Schiavone's partner at Starrcade '86. He last worked for several Southeastern indies before dying of AIDS in 1989.
Larry Matysik once wrote that "Kansas City never was a model promotion. Pay was mediocre, television was poorly produced, and established stars seldom wanted to work there."
@@asurlybarber3620Bob Geigel was able to use his position within the NWA to call in favors, but even that dissipated after a while. Since you mentioned Larry Matysik, even the territory's position with Sam Muchnick was never solid, despite the frequent use of talent. Muchnick created the Missouri title because they changed the Central States title on one of Muchnick's cards, then carried on in the territory as if the title change never happened.