Pacific Northwest Wrestling - Don Owen Sports - The Golden Years - 1970s

1970s

The 1970s continued to be good to Portland Wrestling, with the addition of such superstars as Buddy Rose, Ed Wiskowski, Roddy Piper, Jesse Ventura, Lonnie Mayne, Jimmy Snuka and Stan Stasiak. In 1976, Dutch Savage bought into Don Owen Sports and began promoting PNW cards in the state of Washington. The Owens' promotion faced opposition from several "outlaw promotions" throughout the 1970s, but remained strong. For several years during the 1970s and 1980s, PNW's Portland Wrestling program was syndicated in an edited 60-minute version known as Big Time Wrestling, and was shown on stations throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Between 1976 and 1985, "Playboy" Buddy Rose became famous for drawing more money than any other wrestler in the history of Portland Wrestling. In 1982 and 1983, Rose wrestled for the WWF, but on his days off he returned to the Northwest and worked one-night stands for Don Owen. Rose was credited with sold-out venues on both the East and West coasts. In 1978, Rose was the United States Champion for Roy Shire Promotions in the San Francisco Bay area. As a team, he and Ed Wiskoski became NWA World Tag Team Champions, defending title matches up and down the West Coast for Don Owen, Roy Shire and Los Angeles promoter Mike LeBell.