180:, the chief reason being Don Owen's reputation as the best payoff promoter in the wrestling business. Owen was known for dealing fairly with all his wrestlers, paying them exactly what he promised and never trying to stiff them, a mentality not shared with the vast majority of his fellow promoters. Because of this, every major star in the 1960s and 1970s wished to wrestle in the Northwest. Among those who wrestled and/or got their start under Don Owen's management are
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Finally, in July 1992, facing increasing health problems from age, overwhelming competition from WWF and WCW, and unrelenting problems from an overzealous Oregon State
Athletic Commission, as well as the bankruptcy of his main television sponsor, Don Owen was forced to shut down PNW's operations. He
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and drinks to the audience. Early on, Don and Elton even stepped into the ring on occasion to box or wrestle. In time, Don moved more and more into the promoting side, eventually taking over completely after his father died in 1951. His career as a promoter spanned over 60 years throughout the
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which eventually became the
Portland Sports Arena and the new home of PNW. The company held strong throughout the 1970s despite competition from 'outlaw promotions', and in 1976, Dutch Savage bought into Don Owen Sports and began promoting PNW cards in the state of
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297:. The Portland Sports Arena was sold to a local church. Owen then lived out a quiet retirement until his death in 2002. Owen was the youngest of the original founding members of the NWA and the last surviving original member after the death of
258:) continued as a weekly program until the show ended production in December 1991, possibly setting a record as the longest-lasting wrestling show in the history of American television.
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285:(WWF). However, McMahon had accomplished this by successfully driving the old wrestling "territories" like PNW out of existence. That same decade, the formation of
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544:"Se revelan los nuevos miembros del Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame 2021"
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Don Owen making ring introductions at the
Portland Sports Arena in February 1983.
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In 1952, Don Owen negotiated a deal with pioneering
Portland TV station
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In 1968 Owen left the
Portland Armory venue and bought and renovated a
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128:. For several decades, he owned and operated the highly successful
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to become the very first wrestling show seen on TV in the city.
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490:"Tom Zenk in Pacific North West: An interview with Barry Owen"
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sold the entire company, minus the Sports Arena, to promoter
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Owen was married with three sons, Mike, Marc and Barry.
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273:By the 1980s, professional wrestling had seen a
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727:Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
645:NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship
320:Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
655:NWA Pacific Northwest Television Championship
625:Pacific Coast Junior Heavyweight Championship
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630:Pacific Coast Light Heavyweight Championship
650:NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship
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422:"Remembering the great Portland territory"
340:Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame
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397:"Owen legacy strong in Pacific Northwest"
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118:(March 16, 1912 – August 1, 2002) was an
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355:List of professional wrestling promoters
27:American professional wrestling promoter
635:Pacific Coast Middleweight Championship
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172:Under management of Don Owen Sports,
165:. Owen was a founding member of the
717:American male professional wrestlers
640:NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship
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732:Sportspeople from Portland, Oregon
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176:became one of the leaders of the
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132:(PNW) under his parent company,
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620:World Heavyweight Championship
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420:Molinaro, John (1999-09-24).
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80:Professional wrestling career
18:Don Owen (wrestling promoter)
722:Boxers from Portland, Oregon
287:World Championship Wrestling
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606:Pacific Northwest Wrestling
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178:National Wrestling Alliance
174:Pacific Northwest Wrestling
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130:Pacific Northwest Wrestling
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562:"Dutch Remembers Don Owen"
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226:Lonnie "Moondog" Mayne
123:professional wrestling
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568:2007-12-15 at the
546:. 14 January 2022.
470:"Kayfabe Memories"
449:"Kayfabe Memories"
375:"Kayfabe Memories"
256:Big Time Wrestling
251:Portland Wrestling
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88:Ring name(s)
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737:1912 births
686:Roddy Piper
230:Jimmy Snuka
218:Shag Thomas
206:Roddy Piper
190:Curt Hennig
186:Dizzy Hogan
701:Categories
681:Sandy Barr
529:2008-01-14
500:2007-11-15
475:2007-05-07
455:2007-05-07
431:2022-04-06
406:2022-04-06
381:2007-11-15
361:References
295:Sandy Barr
268:Washington
214:Omar Atlas
161:heyday of
301:in 1998.
676:Don Owen
566:Archived
349:See also
148:Born in
126:promoter
120:American
116:Don Owen
93:Don Owen
33:Don Owen
275:revival
158:popcorn
106:Retired
154:boxing
144:Career
101:1930s
98:Debut
246:KPTV
109:1992
66:Died
50:Born
281:'s
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152:to
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