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By January 1986, the wrestling industry, at least in the United States, was beginning to realise that the World Wrestling Federation was on the verge of a hostile takeover. Having quickly dismantled large swathes of the territory system and held the hugely successful inaugural Wrestlemania the previous year, Vince McMahon’s WWF heads into 1986 looking to turn the company from giant to titan. In an effort to compete with the sports entertainment juggernaut, Jim Crockett Promotions has been taking over territories himself, most notably the St Louis Wrestling Club. With an eye on territories in Florida and Missouri, Jim Crockett Jr is looking to build a roster and fan base to rival Vince McMahon. Verne Gagne’s American Wrestling Association continues to offer a sports-heavy alternative, but is increasingly seen as being out of touch with the modern fan. Despite last September’s SuperClash joint event, the AWA and JCP are less friendly than ever, with Gagne seeming to be turning his attention towards Fritz Von Erich and Jerry Jarrett. Other promoters have been rebranding in an effort to turn their regional promotion into a national-sounding alternative to the WWF; Bill Watts’s Mid-South Wrestling is now the Universal Wrestling Federation, while Ron Fuller’s Southeastern Championship Wrestling has become Continental Championship Wrestling. Not all is rosy, however, with Bob Geigel’s Central States Wrestling looking increasingly shaky, while Duke Keomuka and Hiro Matsuda’s attempts to continue Championship Wrestling from Florida after 1985’s passing of Eddie Graham could go either way. Rumours of law troubles plague Lia Maivia and Lars Anderson in Hawaii, while Don Owen’s Pacific Northwest Wrestling remains a steady feature in Portland despite losing many of its top stars.

Canada

The United States isn’t the only country to have had its wrestling industry taken over by Vince McMahon. McMahon and the WWF have bought out the Tunneys of Toronto and had a short spell as owner of Stampede Wrestling before selling back to Bruce Hart late last year. Stampede and Lutte Internationale of Quebec remain under the thumb of McMahon even if they are, on paper at least, independent promotions. Out west, Al Tomko continues his goal of making Vancouver All Star Wrestling all about him (and soon his son, Rick Davis). Across the country, the Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling promotion is now under the stewardship of Paul Peller. Continuing its traditional summer tours, AGPW has carved itself out a decent niche that should keep it safe for the time being.

Mexico

Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre, now headed up by Paco Alonso, continues to dominate the lucha libre scene, with its biggest challenger, the Universal Wrestling Association now acting more like an ally than an enemy, presumably having realised the futility of fighting against the country’s oldest and biggest promotion. Both companies have strong rosters, and with a large cohort of young talent out there just waiting to be hired, lucha libre looks set to be in a great position heading into 1986.

Japan

Japan’s “big two” promotions, All Japan Pro Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling, continue to argue over who is the number one company. For most fans, they are pretty much head-to-head, with Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki still acting as great figureheads for their respective companies. Both companies are in the midst of “invasion” storylines, with the guardians of NJPW doing battle with Akira Maeda and his former UWF colleagues, while AJPW and Giant Baba are at war with Riki Choshu’s Ishin Gundan is invading from the Japan Pro-Wrestling “promotion”. Joshi wrestling continues to go from strength-to-strength as All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling looks to the likes of Jaguar Yokota, Devil Masami and Bull Nakano to take it forward into the back half of the 1980s.

British Isles and Europe

Professional wrestling in the UK took a big blow in late 1985 when World of Sport was taken off the air. Wrestling remains on ITV, but with a constantly shifting slot, Joint Promotions is beginning to maintain its momentum. Worse still is that the promotion’s contract with ITV expires later this year, with Brian Dixon’s All Star Wrestling and the USA’s World Wrestling Federation reportedly eyeing up the slot. While Joint Promotions continues to build around the 55-year old Big Daddy, All Star Wrestling is looking to the likes of Johnny Saint, Wayne Bridges and Dave Taylor to bring in the crowds, using its slot on Satellite Sports to good effect. Ffederasiwn Reslo Cymru, owned by Orig Williams, continues to air a weekly show on Welsh-language channel S4C. While the promotion’s appeal outside of Wales is limited, the company has built itself a solid fanbase in the valleys.

In mainland Europe, Otto Wanz and his Catch Wrestling Association remain the only real game in town. Touring the likes of Austria and Germany, the CWA is one of the few promotions that doesn’t hold shows all year round. Despite some solid homegrown talent, and, of course, big pushes for himself, Otto Wanz’ biggest draws are from the UK and America.