|
Historic Philadelphia wrestling venue in process of being demolished Posted by Bob Magee
on 03/15/05 at 10:47 PM (Credit: PWBTS.com)
 Another historic wrestling venue is being demolished as the Philadelphia Civic Center/Convention Hall is being demolished today. Wrestling history was made here as the first shows to compete with the WWF juggernaut in the Philadelphia market were held her beginning in 1985.
The venue, as Convention Hall, featured shows from the National Wrestling Alliance/World Championship Wrestling spanning both the Jim Crockett and Ted Turner eras from 1985 to 1996.
The first show in the modern era was held on February 28, 1985 with a main event of then NWA World Champion Ric Flair defeated Sgt. Slaughter by disqualification.
The Civic Center also featured three WCW PPVs.
These included the October 28, 1989 'First' Halloween Havoc featuring the Thunderdome Cage Match: Sting and Ric Flair beat Terry Funk and Great Muta (with Special Referee Bruno Sammartino); the October 25, 1993 "Halloween Havoc: Spin The Wheel/Make The Deal" PPV.
The final WCW PPV was the May 22, 1994 Slamboree: Legends Reunion PPV which honored Ole Anderson, Penny Banner, Red Bastein, Tully Blanchard, The Crusher, Don Curtis, Terry Funk, Verne Gagne, Hard Boiled Haggerty, Larry Hennig, Killer Kowalski, Ernie Ladd, Wahoo McDaniel, Angelo Mosca, Sr., Harley Race, Ray Stevens, Lou Thesz, Mr. Wrestling II, and Tommy Young. The PPV also featured the first national attention given to ECW and its fans, as Terry Funk climbed into the stands with John "Hat Guy" Bailey and many of the Philadelphia independent wrestling regulars.
The final wrestling show was presented in the venue on June 22, 1996. After that time, WCW moved its shows to the Corestates Center, later named First Union Center and Wachovia Center (name changes after various bank mergers changed the company who hed naming rights to the venue).
 The adjacent Pennsylvania Hall (seen in the picture on the right) featured shows from Joel Goodhart's Tri-State Wrestling Alliance in 1990 and 1991, including the historic independent series between Eddie Gilbert and Cactus Jack.
The Tri-State Wrestling Alliance was the indirect predecessor of ECW with many of the TWA local wrestlers and TWA money man Tod Gordon starting the earliest days ECW in 1992 and 1993, when Terry Funk, Paul Heyman and Eddie Gilbert joined with Gordon to begin the ECW most fans know today.
 Well beyond professional wrestling, Convention Hall has hosted several national political conventions since its 1930 opening, with the Democratic National Convention held there in 1936, the Republican National Convention in 1940, and the Democratic National Convention, Republican National Convention, and the Progresssive Party Convention all held in Philadelphai in 1948.
World figures spoke at the venue, including Martin Luther King, Jr., Pope John Paul II, and Nelson Mandela.
The venue also housed Univeristy of Pennsylvania commencements, shows of the Beatles, Philadelphia Warriors NBA and Atlantic Ten college basketball, the Mummers, the Philadelphia Flower Show, concerts of every genre and countless other entertainment and civic events. Click
Here to Chat about "Historic Philadelphia wrestling venue in process of being demolished" in the Discussion Forum |
