Stampede Wrestling
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Stampede Wrestling is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta that for decades produced a weekly television series that is considered the forerunner of today's WWE.
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[edit] History
Stampede Wrestling was operated by Stu Hart between 1948 and 1984. Stampede, a member of the National Wrestling Alliance until about 1982, was acquired by the World Wrestling Federation in 1984, who took most of the top talents away from the promotion and developed into the major professional wrestling promotion it is today. The promotion was re-opened on April 2, 1999 by Bruce and Ross Hart.
Stampede Wrestling was the basis for a long-running weekly sports broadcast produced in Calgary showcasing many of the promotion's most popular wrestlers. Hosted by Ed Whalen for most of its run, which went from 1957 to 1989, the series was syndicated around the world and reruns continue to be shown in some countries to this day. At the time Stampede was revived in 1999, a second Stampede Wrestling TV series was attempted, but it was short-lived and Whalen was not involved.
WWE currently controls Stampede's extensive tape library, except for Stampede footage of Bret "Hitman" Hart, which Hart retains the rights to.
[edit] The Dungeon
Stampede Wrestling was famous for "The Dungeon," a professional wrestling school located in the basement of the Calgary mansion Hart House, home of the Hart family. The school trained a number of WCW, ECW, and WWE stars, including the Hart Brothers, Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho.
[edit] Championships
[edit] Current championships
| Title Notes: | Current Champion(s) |
| Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship | Apocalypse |
| Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship | Chucky "The Boy Wonder" Blaze |
| Stampede International Tag Team Championship | The "A" Team |
| Stampede Women's Pacific Championship | Belle Lovitz |
[edit] Retired, inactive, and defunct championships
| Title Notes: | Last Champion(s) |
| NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship (Calgary version) | Dave Ruhl in 1972 |
| NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (Calgary version) | Mad Dog Vachon & Butcher Vachon in 1959 |
| Stampede World Mid-Heavyweight Championship | Dynamite Kid in 1984 |
| Stampede Pacific Heavyweight Championship | Michael Modest on June 27, 2001 |
| IWA World Women's Championship | Kyoko Inoue in 1997 |
