5 big territory names that drew money

Jerry was a big draw during the territory daysThe territory days are perhaps the least talked about era in professional wrestling. We see the fans give a whole lot of importance to the Golden Era and the Attitude Era while the territory days often gets pushed down the priority list.However, this lack of popularity among the current fan base does not take away the glory of Territory days. It had some classic matches and storylines, and set the tone perfectly for the years to come.It also saw the rise of some big stars and we are going to list down some of them. So here are some of the biggest names from the territory days and the territories that they wrestled in.

#6 Honourable Mention: Verne Gagne Minnesota, Northern Central States

Gagne gave rise to AWA

A post about the Territory days will never be complete without the inclusion of Verne Gagne. He was responsible for American Wrestling Association (AWA) and for a long time, he was their biggest star as well.

#5 Von Erichs Mid South

The Von Erich family

The Von Erich family has a tragic tale to tell. Unfortunately, we remember them for this tale and not for their success during the territory days.

Fritz Von Erich founded Big Time Wrestling and promoted shows in Texas. It boasted some solid stars and kick-started the careers of Steve Austin, Scott Hall, and Shawn Michaels.

However, the Von Erichs were hands down the biggest draw. The brothers had a legendary feud with the Fabulous Freebirds. The company slowly began to break down after the death of Gino Hernandez.

The tragedies piled up one after the other and Von Erichs became tragic heroes in the wrestling business.

#4 Jerry Lawler Tennessee

Jerry Lawler had a successful program with Kaufmann

The major promotion in the states of Tennessee and Kentucky was Continental Wrestling Association. TNA founder Jerry Jarrett found it and the company had Jerry Lawler as its top draw.

Lawler started his career as a heel but successfully transitioned into a baby face later. He held the CWA Heavyweight Championship once when he defeated Superstar Billy Graham. A leg injury took him out of action for quite some time, but Lawler returned into the limelight by feuding with Andy Kaufmann.

The feud received heavy mainstream attention and it proved to be a career changer for Lawler. He wrestled in other territories as well and finally settled down in WWE.

#3 Dusty Rhodes Florida

Dusty broke the stereotypes

Dusty Rhodes did not have the prototype body that most promoters were looking for. This, however, did not stop Dusty from going on to become a legendary wrestler. He primarily wrestled for Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) that also boasted names like Eddie Graham, Barry Windham, Boris Malenko, and Kevin Sullivan.

Dusty won the NWA Florida Heavyweight championship for a whopping 12 times before moving on to try out his hand in the Jim Crockett Promotions. Dusty later had success with other territories as well, but Florida will always have a special place in his rich resume.

He drew big money and broke the stereotypes that existed about the body of a professional wrestler.

#2 Bruno Sammartino New York

First big superstar of WW

It is safe to say that Bruno Sammartino was the first big star of WWE. The company existed as World Wide Wrestling Federation back then and it mainly focussed in the North Eastern States.

Vince McMahon Sr. was at the helm of the company during the territory days. In 1963, he made a huge decision. Bruno Sammartino won the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship and his first title reign lasted a record 2803 days.

Sammartino was the face of the promotion and the territory throughout this period and he drew big money. The storyline Bruno had with Superstar Billy Graham is still good enough to give goosebumps.

#1 Ric Flair Mid Atlantic

Flair had huge success during the territory days

The main attraction of the Mid-Atlantic territory was the Jim Crockett Promotions. Jim Crockett Jr. ran the company called Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling and was one of the first promotions that expanded their territory.

And a lot of credit for this expansion went to Ric Flair. Before Flair became a national level talent, Crockett Jr. groomed him. Flair enjoyed huge success thanks to a feud with Buddy Rogers and soon, Flair landed the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

Flair went from one success to another afterwards and it all began in Mid-Atlantic, where he had the chance to show case his abilities.