Bob Geigel

Bob Geigel was a pillar of the classic territorial wrestling era, a promoter who built his kingdom in the American heartland. After a solid career as a capable in-ring performer, he found his true calling behind the scenes. In 1963, he took over the Kansas City wrestling circuit, running a successful promotion that became a staple of local television and arena shows. His steady hand and reputation for fairness led his peers to elect him president of the National Wrestling Alliance, the powerful governing body that controlled the world championship. Geigel served three separate terms in that role during the late 1970s and 1980s, a period of immense change as the national expansion of Vince McMahon's WWF upended the old order. He was a traditionalist trying to hold a coalition together, a last bastion of the territory system facing a corporate juggernaut.