Catch TV in Switzerland, Luxembourg and Monaco (1950s-1960s)

[David Mantell]

@Robert S - German/Austrian fans can get quite agitated at improper use of the term "CWA"- like labelling the whole of traditional/Old School British Wrestling as "World Of Sport". 

At the time of the Inoki tour the promotion was still called the IBV (established 1973) and owned by one Nico Selenkowitsch.  The Inoki tour was, I believe the work of the older rival VDB.  The initials CWA first became part of German/Austrian wrestling lore in summer 1978 when Don Leo Johnathan arrived in the territory with the Canadian Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Championship and lost it to Otto Wanz (Otto having previously been interim champion during a tour of South Africa the previous summer in between local top babyface Jan Wilkins and the said DLJ). Roland Bock's title win over Inoki in November was supposed to set him up as a rival World champion to Otto. FFWD to 1987, Otto and Peter Wilhelm held a coup against Selenkowitsch and take over the IBV,renaming both it and Otto's title the CATCH Wrestling Association.  

An old time German fan writes:

Quote

"I want to get something off my chest here, I hope this is the right place in the Euro forum. I have been involved with wrestling/catch-hugging in Europe for almost 40 years now, especially the scene and tournaments in Germany and Austria, which I have researched extensively and time-consuming. It has bothered me for a long time that everything that happens in Austria/Germany is automatically attributed to the CWA. A well-known data site even goes back to 1972, which is utter bullshit. The CWA as an organized association that held events under its banner did not exist before 1988, event 87. But then only in Austria in Graz and from 89 onwards in Vienna. Before that, if you look at the CWA there was a title. In 1977 (not 73 as often says on the internet), Otto won the rights to a CWA title that Jan Wilkens had previously held in South Africa. There was also no tournament, as is always mentioned here. Otto passed the title on to Don Leo. Here, too, the date of September 1, 1977, is incorrect; I doubt there was even a fight. The reason was that it was obviously better for Wanz to win the title from a champion in his hometown than to come home with a belt that no one knows how, where, and especially against whom he "won" it. DLJ got a good payday, and from 1978 onward Otto called himself the CWA World Champion. Back then, however, it was still called the "Canadian Wrestling Association" (it didn't exist, but whatever). Otto defended the title at home at his shows, which he had organized since 1972, primarily in Bremen, where Nico Selenkowitsch saw potential in Otto and built him up as a top European heavyweight champion. This was also evident in Otto's 1978 World Championship title, which was contested in a tournament in Bremen against Nico of the IBV (International Professional Wrestlers Federation). The success proved everyone right, Otto thrilled the crowds and Nico was able to fill the halls. The events were always run under the IBV, however, and CWA only came into play on the final evening, when Otto received a share of each spectator in addition to his fee. When Nico stepped down in 1987, more or less due to intrigues involving new management at the Bremen town hall and other sideways movements, Otto took over together with Peter William. The same thing happened in Vienna. After the 1988 tournament, Heinrich Kaiser (who did not organize CWA for the VDB) was ousted, and Wanz and William took over the waltz city as well. Hanover also belonged to Kaiser and the VDB until 1990. Then, in 1991, a discotheque owner named Jürgen Windolph took over, also for the VDB. However, it was only for one year, then Paul Violka came along and now the CWA with Peter William. Wanz was never an organizer in Hanover. Sure, he got his percentage for the name, but he had no say, only William did. Cities like Karlsruhe, Hamburg and others were never CWA territory. It annoys me that I have been educating people for years and then again,As in this case, various sites like Twitter, sorry, X, or YouTube simply refer to everything as CWA. But it isn't. Anyone who's interested can read it. Most people don't care; they'll just stick with CWA."