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71-765: André the Giant and Ted DiBiase had teamed on several occasions when both were signed to the World Wrestling Federation in 1979, when both worked as faces (or good guys). Their first documented teaming together was at an untelevised house show in Totowa, New Jersey, against two of the WWF's top villains of the time, "High Chief" Peter Maivia and Greg "the Hammer" Valentine ; Andre and DiBiase won when Andre pinned Maivia. Andre and DiBiase wrestled WWF Tag Team Champions

142-690: A TV show broadcast on Global TV and taped at the Global studios in Don Mills. They tried to parlay that visibility into running a big-venue show at the CNE Coliseum , but once again Tunney moved quickly to book a Gardens show on the same day. The Toronto Star reported that only 600 people showed up for Cannon's show. In 1977, the Tunneys began looking for a partnership since their major draw (and booker),

213-567: A WWF machine, consistently setting new attendance records. For the WWF, moving into the struggling Canadian market, by promoting events at the Maple Leaf Gardens every month, was part of an unheard of and risky national business model, which stretched the company. However, the move made enormous business sense and was instrumental in consolidating WWF's power base in Canada, keeping their competitors out of key Canadian markets, well into

284-564: A classic Steamboat vs. Flair match for the NWA U.S. Title on the undercard. In 1978, along with presenting top wrestlers from the U.S., The Tunneys launched the Canadian title and used it to turn Dewey Robertson and Angelo Mosca into local babyface heroes and main event stars. In 1980, the Tunneys presented shows in Buffalo for the first time, working in alignment with the WWF who had the rights to

355-665: A classic match at Maple Leaf Gardens directly led to the WWWF being formed after Lou Thesz beat World Champion Buddy Rogers and was declared champion. After the event, however, Northeastern promoter Vincent J. McMahon refused to recognize the title change and withdrew his operation from the NWA, becoming the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF, now WWE), with Rogers as the star performer. The WWWF recognized Rogers as its first world champion in April 1963. Through

426-559: A decade (while the '80s "Hulkamania" boom was at its peak). This made Tunney known to fans not only in North America but also worldwide. The title was ceremonial only to provide an authority figure to announce major decisions on television, as Tunney held no backstage power beyond that of a regional promoter; as such, his main roles were that of a storyline authority figure, to make matches, arbitrate disputes between wrestlers and announce major decisions or events on television. Still, he

497-542: A gift. André and DiBiase had re-formed their alliance; unlike their previous association as faces, the two were heels seeking to destroy Hogan. André faced Hogan for the title on the February 5, 1988 broadcast of The Main Event I , with Dave Hebner as the scheduled referee . André pinned Hogan to win the championship and handed the belt to DiBiase. The pinfall was controversial, however, as Hogan's shoulders were not on

568-484: A key executive with Crockett who had been a preliminary wrestler for Tunney from 1950 to 1956, before becoming a partner in the Toronto promotion. Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat became the dominant local attractions. Due to their influence at the time, and despite joining forces with Jim Crockett, Maple Leaf Wrestling did not become a one company promotion. Frank continued to pull off his share of promotional coups and, for

639-562: A live in-arena interview during a television taping that November, his intention to buy the WWF World Heavyweight Championship from reigning champion Hulk Hogan . Hogan refused and faced DiBiase in a series of matches instead. After DiBiase lost these matches, he purchased André's contract from Heenan in January 1988. He planned to help André win the title, after which André would present the belt to DiBiase as

710-534: A major decision was needed, which made his announcements seem important. Jack Tunney's on screen character was neutral, rather than the later heel authority figures. However, Tunney's decisions often upset the leading face characters, such as Hulk Hogan. Unlike the WWF's later " Attitude Era ", which included storylines of Stone Cold Steve Austin , and others, regularly attacking authority figures, even heel wrestlers rarely got physical with Tunney. In late 1989, Vince McMahon and Titan Sports dropped their partnership with

781-538: A mix of WWF, NWA, and other wrestling talent and decided to switch allegiances from the NWA and aligned himself with Vince McMahon's WWF , promoting only WWF cards north of the border. This made Toronto one of the first former NWA strongholds to jump to the WWF, starting a trend that would continue through the 1980s. After a 34-year run, the NWA title—which had made its Gardens debut in October 1949—made its final appearance in

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852-536: A mutual enemy of Hogan and André, had in storyline previously done all he could to destroy André—challenging him to a match for the championship and tearing his T-shirt off him. Hogan and André faced each other in the main event of WrestleMania III on March 29, 1987. Hogan won the match, but the feud remained unsettled. In the summer of 1987, DiBiase returned to the WWF after a nearly eight-year absence and took on an "evil millionaire" gimmick. After several weeks of building heat for his character, DiBiase announced, during

923-413: A night while the WWF was on the cusp of a popularity explosion when Tunney latched on.″ In the summer of 1984 (in part to present Canadian fans with a familiar face as the WWF tried to expand northward) the WWF named Tunney its new figurehead "president" (a similar role to that of current WWE general managers) on the company's television programs, replacing Hisashi Shinma . Tunney filled this role for over

994-492: A partner in the Toronto promotion, had chosen to leave Jim Crockett Promotions due to a pay dispute and was now a booker for the WWF. The Toronto cards got progressively weaker through 1983-84, dwindling down to audiences of 3,000 for some shows. Johnny Weaver was the primary booker for the shows, with Leo Burke and his brothers as the lead heels, along with Don Kernodle , when the top Crockett stars were no longer available. Jack decided he no longer wanted to promote cards with

1065-623: A show at Varsity Arena in September 1971 with Tony Parisi booked in the main event. Tunney quickly scheduled a Gardens show directly against it. Parisi was a no-show and began working for Tunney the following week. According to the newspapers, the McKigney show drew 700 fans while Tunney got 15,500 at the Gardens. History repeated itself five years later. George Cannon and Milt Avruskin had built strong awareness of their promotion in Toronto through

1136-534: A sofa, wields a katana , and is put down when a statue is broken on his head. He was also the film's stunt fight co-ordinator . In 1981, Maivia was diagnosed with inoperable cancer , having reportedly ignored symptoms along with his friends and family's requests to see a doctor. He died on June 13, 1982. Maivia was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame , along with his daughter's ex-husband Rocky Johnson , in 2008 by his grandson Dwayne Johnson , with

1207-602: A television taping for WWF Superstars of Wrestling June 21, 1988, in Glens Falls, New York. There, during a podium interview with Craig DeGeorge , Savage—apparently victorious over DiBiase in their feud—threw out a request for future contenders when André (accompanied by Heenan) came out to challenge Savage for the World Heavyweight Championship, taunting him and making a choking motion. Before Savage could accept André's challenge, DiBiase ran into

1278-553: A year in the business, he won the New Zealand Heavyweight Championship . The title victory was impressive, however Maivia's reign was extremely short, and he held the championship for just three days, with the championship returning to Rickard on August 6, 1964. The point had been made though, and from then onward, Maivia enjoyed main-event status in the NWA 's New Zealand territory. Later in 1964, Maivia followed up his previous success by winning

1349-725: A year since they had taken over the Queensbury Athletic Club from his late uncle Frank, Jack, with Frank's son Eddie, transferred controlling interest of the promotion to the WWF in a maneuver which officially made Toronto a WWF city. The deal between the Tunneys and the WWF was a complex one. The WWF effectively owned Maple Leaf Wrestling and absorbed Jack Tunney into its administration as head of Canadian tours (due to this, Jack had more power than his cousin Eddie, despite initial plans for Eddie to join Titan sports too). However,

1420-401: Is still fondly remembered by WWF/E fans for his numerous appearances with the company and the memorable, iconic moments he was involved in during his spell as WWF President. After Jack Tunney's death in 2004, there was some discussion of whether North Carolina-based promoter Jim Crockett was ever a partner in the Toronto office. In Canada, during most of the 1970s and the early 1980s, there

1491-549: The AWA winning many championships in the process. He joined the World Wide Wrestling Federation in mid-1977. He was one of the company's biggest stars, working matches with many top wrestlers such as Superstar Billy Graham , Ivan Putski and Bob Backlund . He turned heel for the first time in his career in 1978 on Backlund in a match against Spiros Arion and Victor Rivera . During his tenure in

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1562-932: The NWA Australasian Heavyweight Championship . Maivia became the new Australasian champion by defeating Kangaroo Kennedy , and he carried the belt for four years before finally losing it to Steve Rickard in 1968. After developing his repertoire and ring skills in New Zealand, Maivia slowly began to branch out and take bookings in larger promotions. Maivia continued working mainly in Hawaii during most of his career. In 1968 he worked for International Wrestling Enterprise in Japan. From 1969 to 1975 he worked in NWA San Francisco , NWA Hollywood , WCCW , Houston Wrestling , and

1633-670: The 1990s. With the Gardens locked up by the WWF, the AWA held a show at the CNE Coliseum in December 1989 that drew what remains the smallest crowd ever in the city for a show from major promotion, just 200 people. World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the successor to Crockett, ran three shows at the Coliseum in 1990 with better results, but not good enough to keep Toronto on their schedule. On April 1, 1990, Jack Tunney and Vince McMahon set

1704-566: The Flyinʻ Hawaiian, was of the Ali'i lineage of Malietoa . Maivia's traditional Samoan tattoos , which covered his abdomen and legs, were a symbol of his High Chief status. According to Superstar Billy Graham , they were completed in three days. His wife Ofelia Fuataga, more commonly known as Lia Maivia , was one of the first female professional wrestling promoters. Maivia adopted Lia's daughter Mataniu Feagaimaleata "Ata" Fitisemanu. Maivia

1775-399: The Gardens with the WWF crew, but the city's (and, at the time, world's) attendance record was shattered by the show at CNE Stadium on August 28, 1986, which drew 65,000 people, with a gate of over $ 1 million. At this time, Maple Leaf Wrestling basically ceased to exist. Gone were the days of homegrown talent supplemented by a steady stream of World Champions and stars from all corners of

1846-504: The Hogan-Savage team expected to use their "Mega Powers" name, DiBiase and André would team using the "Mega Bucks" name. After weeks of exchanging taunts and each side predicting victory for their side, the two teams faced off at SummerSlam. Jesse Ventura had been appointed as a supposedly impartial guest referee by Jack Tunney. It was strongly hinted leading up the event that Ventura, who provided commentary for many WWF events and

1917-577: The Maple Leaf Gardens. Wrestling would return to Toronto on August 24, 1996, with a WWF show held outdoors at Exhibition Stadium drawing 21,211 fans. In 1997 the WWF, still unable to run shows at Maple Leaf Gardens, held a Monday Night Raw taping on January 31, 1997, at the SkyDome. Maple Leaf Gardens closed entirely in 1999, and the WWF returned to regular arena shows at the Air Canada Centre , which opened that fall. On January 24, 2004, at

1988-609: The NWA World Heavyweight Championship again at the Maple Leaf Gardens on November 14, 1957, when he lost the title to Dick Hutton. In 1960, Frank Tunney replaced Sam Muchnick at the NWA's helm, for a year, as president. He also went on to serve as a vice president to Vince McMahon, Sr. in the WW(W)F, as well as having close ties with Japanese promoters. This meant non-stop action in Maple Leaf Gardens approximately every two weeks. On January 24, 1963,

2059-542: The Sheik (Edward Farhat) was nearing the end of his popularity as a heel. In 1978, while still utilising some talent from other promotions, including balanced cards for both the AWA and WWF, Frank entered into a partnership with Charlotte, North Carolina -based promoter Jim Crockett, Jr. , who ran NWA-affiliated Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling in the Carolinas . The arrangement was largely facilitated by George Scott ,

2130-807: The Toronto office remained an independent entity, without which the WWF could not book shows at the Gardens and which received a percentage of every show the company ran in Canada. For Canadian Wrestling promotions, the effect was lasting. The Canadian wrestling scene was struggling at the time, with attendance low. As critics had feared it would, the union between Tunney and McMahon crushed many other wrestling promotions in Canada. Soon, wrestling promotions across Canada fell on hard times as Tunney helped McMahon take over their territories. All-Star Wrestling in Vancouver closed down. The AWA stopped performing in Manitoba. Stu Hart's Stampede promotion began eroding until he too

2201-473: The Tunney family, but hired Jack as the head of Titan Sports Canada. This cut Eddie Tunney, who had been Jack's partner, out of the partnership with the WWF. Eddie Tunney sued Titan and Jack Tunney. Titan had made the security deposit that reserved the Skydome for WrestleMania VI, and Eddie Tunney had signed the check. Eddie Tunney had also trademarked the "WrestleMania" name in Canada. Titan Sports had to settle

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2272-651: The United Kingdom. After spending his first twenty years in American Samoa, Maivia moved to New Zealand. He began competing, wrestling under the ring name Prince Peter Maivia. He was trained in New Zealand by local wrestler and promoter Steve Rickard . Both in and out of the ring, Rickard taught the young Samoan a great deal about professional wrestling, and under his guidance, Maivia developed at an amazing rate. On 3 August 1964, after less than

2343-707: The Valiant Brothers (Johnny and Jerry) several times for the belts at untelevised house shows, with the Andre-DiBiase team usually winning by countout or disqualification (thus, never winning the belts). At least one Andre-DiBiase teaming was televised, this being a special series of shows taped at the Resorts International Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey . Andre and DiBiase would frequently team elsewhere through

2414-485: The WWF World Heavyweight Championship title change and André's gifting it to DiBiase resulted in President Jack Tunney declaring the WWF World Heavyweight Championship vacant and booking a 14-man tournament at WrestleMania IV to determine the new champion. In the tournament, André and Hogan were booked to face each other. Their match ended in a double disqualification , and both men were eliminated from

2485-505: The WWF circuit. The highest title in the territory, the Canadian Heavyweight Championship (going all the way back to the 30s) was abandoned (although it was resurrected in 1998 and continues to be recognized to this day in the Canadian independent scene). The Maple Leaf Wrestling name continued to be used for the federation's Canadian TV program (a staple of Hamilton station CHCH-TV for many years), of which

2556-433: The WWF for turning their backs on Jack. In the 1990s, Tunney's appearances on television and live events grew less frequent. On July 12, 1995, due to financial struggles, McMahon chose to close its Toronto office and run the shows in Toronto without any involvement from Tunney's Toronto office (Billy "Red" Lyons was also gone since he helped Tunney run the office). Tunney was forced out of the WWF, retired and disappeared from

2627-669: The WWF took over production after the Tunneys split from the NWA. TV tapings for the show were held in Brantford and other cities in southern Ontario for the next two years, until the WWF ceased the tapings in 1986 and decided to simply use the Maple Leaf Wrestling name for the Canadian airings of WWF Superstars of Wrestling (with some Canadian footage, such as updates by on-air announcer and former wrestler Billy Red Lyons , and special matches taped at Maple Leaf Gardens, added in). There were several sellouts of 18,000 at

2698-566: The WWWF, he also competed in Hawaii, Japan, Toronto, Detroit, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New Zealand. He left the WWWF, which had now been renamed to the WWF, in 1981. After leaving the WWF, Maivia returned to California and won the NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship . He wrestled in his last match in Hawaii in February 1982, defeating Victor Rivera in a singles match. He retired on February 11, 1982, due to his battle with cancer. Maivia, also known as

2769-593: The age of 69, Tunney died of a heart attack in his sleep at his home in Waterdown, Ontario, after a sudden illness. Frank Zicarelli wrote in the Toronto Sun "He was a very kind and gracious man who did a lot for charities, too". Tunney's firing from the WWF was never resolved, and upon his death not a single representative from the WWF/E was present at his funeral, nor was his death announced on WWE.com. However, he

2840-401: The arena sneak-attack Savage. Virgil grabbed Savage's valet, Miss Elizabeth , and forced her to watch as Savage was triple-teamed by DiBiase, Andre and Heenan. Savage quickly recovered and demanded a tag team match with a mystery partner against André and DiBiase, the match to be the main event of the inaugural SummerSlam ; Savage's partner was later revealed to be the returning Hulk Hogan. With

2911-469: The arena. The first shows proved somewhat successful drawing over 8,000 fans. The Tunneys would continue with sporadic shows in Buffalo over the next couple of years. In the early '80s, rivalries between the various promotions made it difficult to bring talent from different factions together. On May 10, 1983, Frank Tunney died, after which Jack and his cousin Eddie Tunney (Frank's son) took control of

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2982-425: The award being accepted on his behalf by his daughter Ata Maivia-Johnson. In the 2016 Disney animated film, Moana , the character design of Maui was derived from photographs of Peter Maivia, according to interviews with his grandson, Dwayne Johnson, who voices Maui in the film. Jack Tunney John Tunney Jr. (January 21, 1935 – January 24, 2004) was a Canadian professional wrestling promoter. He

3053-582: The building in May 1984. Whatever nostalgic feelings long-time fans had for the old days, the McMahon-Tunney alliance and Hulkamania captured a whole new audience, attracting sell-out crowds to the Gardens and drawing over 65,000 people to Exhibition Stadium in 1986 and 68,000 to SkyDome for Wrestlemania VI in 1990 to see Hulk Hogan lose the WWF title to the Ultimate Warrior. In June 1984, barely

3124-502: The end, Tunney believed it was Bret Hart who got him fired (Hart denies this). Tunney didn't think Hart would ever draw money, didn't approve of his main event push and complained publicly about various Hart-related issues. By the time Hart became the top guy, Tunney was unpopular with the faction in the office who got along with Hart. There have long been rumors that Jack Tunney had used company money to pay off gambling debts. This has been rejected by those close to Tunney as an excuse made by

3195-464: The explanation that Heenan purchased his contract back at a profit, but his association with DiBiase continued. The Mega Powers-Mega Bucks feud simmered during the next few months, as Hogan took a leave of absence from the WWF (to film No Holds Barred ) and André was placed in a feud with "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan . DiBiase, meanwhile, became a top contender for Savage's WWF World Heavyweight Championship. The feud returned to full boil following events at

3266-480: The first few years, it wasn't unusual to see two world title matches on the same card during this time, as American Wrestling Association (AWA) and WWWF stars continued to perform in the city. A card with Crockett's talent featured a historic match between WWWF champ Bob Backlund against then AWA champ Nick Bockwinkel. This kind of match was fairly rare with only a few cases of two promotions matching their respective world champs against each other. The show also included

3337-661: The globe to be replaced by the oncoming Hulkamania. For the Tunney Family, the move led to a new level of reverence. In March 1987, The WWF held an event called the "Frank Tunney Memorial Tag Team Tournament". (The NWA had held a similar event honoring Jim Crockett Sr.) The WWF credited Tunney with bringing tag team matches to North America. The tournament was won by the Killer Bees (Jim Brunzell & B. Brian Blair). For Jack Tunney, this move made him extremely influential and forged his lasting legacy: Billy Red Lyons ,

3408-487: The lawsuit with Eddie Tunney in order to run WrestleMania VI. Tunney supposedly witnessed Terry Garvin sexually harass former WWF referee Mike Clark in the Toronto office and was prepared to back Clark in court. Allegedly, the WWF believed that both Tunney and Clark should toe the company line and let the incident pass for the greater good of the company. According to the Pro Wrestling Observer , towards

3479-522: The longtime wrestling star from Dundas, Ont., who worked as a WWF television commentator at the time of the deal said: ″The timing was perfect, Vince (McMahon) had started to make his move all over the United States. He had big ideas and everybody thought he was just crazy, but not Jack. He saw what kind of an opportunity it was. Thank God the WWF did come in here because the business was dead in Toronto. Local wrestling cards had been drawing just 3,000

3550-423: The mat when the referee made the three count . After the match, the real Dave Hebner, who looked identical to referee that had officiated the match, ran to the ring to attack the impostor referee. Hulk Hogan then threw the impostor out of the ring onto DiBiase and his bodyguard Virgil . According to the storyline, DiBiase had paid an unnamed referee to get plastic surgery to look exactly like Dave Hebner. In reality,

3621-608: The promotion, first as a referee and later in the booking office working alongside Frank, Norm Kimber, Frank Ayerst, Ed Noonan, and wrestlers Whipper Billy Watson and Pat Flanagan, as they promoted all over southern Ontario. The offices were in Maple Leaf Gardens for many years. In the mid 1970s, the office was moved across the street on Carlton St. On March 16, 1956, the first title change to take place in Maple Leaf Gardens happened when Whipper Billy Watson defeated Lou Thesz, ending Thesz's near 7-year reign. Thesz again lost

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3692-666: The promotion. With the years of experience under his belt, Jack moved into the spotlight his uncle loved, as the frontman for the promotion, while Eddie had a low public profile, as his silent partner. Jack made an immediate impact on his own. The name Maple Leaf Wrestling became the common place name for the Queensbury Athletic Club. He also promoted two large summer outdoor shows at the Exhibition Stadium , dubbed Night Of Champions and Return Of The Champions. The shows would feature 11 title defences and were main evented by NWA Title defenses by Harley Race against Ric Flair. When

3763-438: The promotional wars heated up between Crockett and Vince McMahon 's World Wrestling Federation , Crockett felt he could no longer spare his top wrestlers for shows in Toronto, sending his B-team as attendance at the Gardens plummeted. Crockett's relationship with the promotion had become strained. He held a distrust of Tunney who persistently utilised talent from other promotions, including the WWF. Furthermore, George Scott, still

3834-677: The remainder of the year before moving on to a new feud with the Twin Towers ( Big Boss Man and Akeem ). Although the tag team of The Mega Bucks was short-lived, DiBiase and André appeared in the 1989 arcade game WWF Superstars as the game's boss tag team. Hints the two still were associated with each other came as late as WrestleMania V , when DiBiase interfered in André's match against Roberts. Peter Maivia Fanene Leifi Pita Maivia (born Fanene Pita Anderson ; April 6, 1937 – June 13, 1982), better known as Peter Maivia ,

3905-486: The ring and DiBiase take both the Mega Powers' finishing moves—Savage's flying elbow and Hogan's legdrop—before taking the pinfall loss. While counting the pinfall, Ventura stopped counting at two and hesitated until Savage pushed Ventura's hand to the mat to complete the three count. This match marked the end of the feud between Hulk Hogan and André the Giant that had dominated WWF programming for over 18 months though

3976-552: The second referee was Dave's twin brother Earl Hebner , who was making his on-screen debut with the WWF. Both prior to and after The Main Event match, André and DiBiase teamed several times against Hogan and (usually) Bam Bam Bigelow ; on several occasions, Virgil, who was working as DiBiase's bodyguard, replaced André as DiBiase's tag team partner, although the Giant regularly appeared in DiBiase's corner. Hogan and Bigelow won every one of these matches. The controversy surrounding

4047-523: The stage for WrestleMania VI the very first wrestling event at the brand new Toronto SkyDome. The event set a one-day attendance record for the SkyDome of 67,982. WCW came back in 1993 and drew about 4,000 to SkyDome, and then made a big return to Toronto with two well-attended shows at the Air Canada Centre in 1999 before the promotion fizzled out. For Maple Leaf Wrestling, critics feared the new partnership would make Toronto just another stop on

4118-432: The top wrestler in the WWF and was jealous of Hogan's reign as WWF World Heavyweight Champion and in believing that his own accomplishment of 15 years of never being defeated by pinfall was a more noteworthy accomplishment than Hogan's three years as champion, said it was not acknowledged to his satisfaction. On an episode of Piper's Pit , André turned on Hogan by taking on Bobby "The Brain" Heenan as his manager—Heenan,

4189-483: The tournament. Meanwhile, André interfered in DiBiase's matches, which helped DiBiase make it to the final match, in which he faced "Macho Man" Randy Savage . After André got involved to help DiBiase, Hogan came to the ring to even the odds. Savage won the match and the championship, and the rivalry led to a match being booked between The Mega Powers (Hogan and Savage) and The Mega Bucks (DiBiase and André). After WrestleMania IV, Andre returned to The Heenan Family , with

4260-602: The two would face off several more times In single matches that October. The two would face off for the last time in March 1990, just weeks prior to Wrestlemania VI when the then-WWF World Tag Team Champions The Colossal Connection Andre and Haku faced then-WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan and the Big Boss man at a house show. In the weeks after the match, André feuded with other upper- card wrestlers such as Savage and Jake Roberts . Hogan and Savage continued to feud with DiBiase for

4331-419: The upper hand and throwing both Hogan and Savage from the ring. At this point, Elizabeth jumped on the ring apron and began arguing with Ventura. With DiBiase and André pleading with Ventura to take drastic measures to get Elizabeth off the ring, she eventually tore off her skirt and threw it into DiBiase's face. In the ensuing chaos, Hogan and Savage recovered and mounted a comeback, which saw André knocked out of

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4402-434: The wrestling scene. Following Tunney's departure, Gorilla Monsoon was given the role of on-screen WWF President. Tunney never returned to pro wrestling and this was the end of the Tunney line of Toronto wrestling promoters. On September 17, 1995, the final WWF show was held at the Gardens and the 64-year affiliation of pro wrestling and Maple Leaf Gardens ended, since Tunney took with him the exclusive rights to wrestling at

4473-471: The years, including Japan and other smaller territory promotions, well before the Mega Bucks storyline ; none of this was acknowledged by the WWF when DiBiase returned in 1987 under his "Million-Dollar Man"/"evil millionaire" gimmick and became involved in André's ongoing feud with Hulk Hogan. André and Hogan began feuding in early 1987 when, according to the storyline, André became tired of Hogan being

4544-422: The years, there were never any serious threats to Tunney's position as ruler of pro wrestling in Toronto. Several promoters ran shows at smaller venues in the area, often with Tunney's blessing or indifference. But in the 1970s, there were two notable attempts by other promoters to run big-venue shows in Toronto. Dave McKigney, a successful promoter outside Toronto and at smaller sites within the city, tried running

4615-583: Was a Samoan-American professional wrestler, actor and stunt coordinator. Maivia was the grandfather of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson via adoption, and was also part of the famous Anoaʻi family via blood brother pact. He was also the promoter of the National Wrestling Alliance member Polynesian Pro Wrestling in Hawaii . Maivia made his debut in 1960 at the age of 23. He worked for NWA Hawaii , and in other places including France, and

4686-618: Was a law called the Foreign Investment Review Act (FIRA) which regulated the foreign ownership of Canadian companies. In November 1980, the Canadian Press reported that the government had approved the creation of a new business called Frank Tunney Sports Promotion, which was co-owned by Frank Tunney Sports Ltd., Jim Crockett Promotions Inc., and 410430 Ontario Ltd., said to be based in Hamilton. The owner of

4757-444: Was a strong critic of Hulk Hogan but yet was a supporter of Randy Savage even (if only to a somewhat lesser extent) during his face days, had been paid an undisclosed amount by DiBiase. The Mega Powers took the early advantage over DiBiase, but after Hogan attacked André on the ring apron, the Mega Bucks were able to regain control. After several minutes and several advantage changes, all four began brawling, with DiBiase and André getting

4828-441: Was forced to sell to McMahon (and later starting up again for a few years). Grand Prix, out of Montreal, fought Tunney, but also eventually succumbed. Dave McKigney's Big Time Wrestling couldn't make a go of it due to Tunney's pressuring of Ontario's Boxing & Wrestling Commission to make insurance too expensive for the little guys. New territories, such as Newfoundland were opened up by Lyons and Zarlenga, but could not compete with

4899-509: Was known worldwide for his appearances on World Wrestling Federation television as Jack Tunney under the character of the promotion's president. Tunney's tenure was during the company's Golden Era , the peak days of " Hulkamania ". In 1930, Jack Corcoran set up Toronto's Queensbury Athletic Club (QAC, later known by the unofficial name of Maple Leaf Wrestling ), along with Jack's father, John Tunney Sr., his uncle, Frank Tunney , and Toots Mondt . In 1952, Jack entered into employment with

4970-561: Was the blood brother of Amituanai Anoaʻi, the father of the Wild Samoans ( Afa and Sika ), and thus the Anoaʻi family regard the Maivia family as part of their own family. Maivia was also an actor, appearing in the fifth James Bond film, You Only Live Twice , where he played a driver who transports a disguised Bond to Osato headquarters. His character also fights Bond, is hit with

5041-417: Was thrown onto TV whenever a major decision had to be announced and his hard nosed way of doing things earned him the nickname "The Hammerhead". His on-air decisions were portrayed as legitimate in storylines. As the on-screen President, Tunney "oversaw" many key moments and some of his major television appearances included: Unlike later authority figures in wrestling, Jack Tunney only appeared on screen when

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