Eugene Nicholas Kiniski (November 23, 1928 – April 14, 2010) was a Canadian athlete who played football for the Edmonton Eskimos and then became a three-time professional wrestling world heavyweight champion.

National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Heavyweight Champion for three years at a time in pre-WWF/WWE/WCW days when the NWA title represented the best professional wrestler in the world. The face of the Vancouver-based nationally broadcast All-Star Wrestling weekly television show filmed out of BCTV’s studios for over two decades.

World Wrestling Entertainment has learned of the passing of Gene Kiniski and sends its condolences to the Kiniski Family. Mr. Kiniski worked with WWE (WWWF) for a brief time in 1964.

Eugene Nicholas Kiniski (November 23, 1928 – April 14, 2010), better known as Gene Kiniski, was a Canadian professional wrestler and the father of wrestlers Nick Kiniski and Kelly Kiniski. He was born outside of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

2010年4月14日 · Gene Kiniski, a former professional wrestler and member of the Edmonton Eskimos, died Wednesday morning. Kiniski, 81, succumbed to cancer in a long-term care …

Eugene Nicholas "Gene" Kiniski (November 23, 1928 – April 14, 2010) was a Canadian professional wrestler and actor. He became one of the first World Champions in professional wrestling to have a former background in football, after Bronko Nagurski.

The highlight undoubtedly was defeating the great Lou Thesz in 1966 to open a three-year reign as NWA World Heavyweight Champion at a time in pre-WWF/WWE/WCW days when the NWA title represented the best professional wrestler in the world.

2019年12月4日 · On July 7, 1961 Kiniski defeated Verne Gagne in St. Paul, Minnesota for the American Wrestling Association World Heavyweight title. His reign as the AWA kingpin lasted just over a month before he lost the championship back to Gagne, but the ambitious Kiniski was determined not to let that be his first and only World Heavyweight title. It wasn’t.

2020年3月5日 · Holding the NWA World Heavyweight Championship for 1,131 days, former Canadian football star Gene Kiniski was one of the most successful champions in the record books. In a time when champions were known as squeaky clean good guy wrestlers, with his aggressive nature and natural charisma, “Big Thunder” broke that precedent. Kiniski was born ...

“Big Thunder” Gene Kiniski was a former AWA, WWA and NWA World Heavyweight Champion, the only man to ever have accomplished the feat. After playing football for the University of Arizona, Kiniski joined the Edmonton Eskimos in the CFL and made his wrestling debut in 1952. He topped Verne Gagne in Minneapolis on July 11, 1961 and captured a ...