Stampede Wrestling Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary , Alberta and was for nearly 50 years one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies . Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948 , the promotion competed with other promotions such as NWA All - Star Wrestling and Pacific Northwest Wrestling and regularly ran events in Calgary ' s Victoria Pavilion , Ogden Auditorium and the Stampede Corral between 1948 and 1984 . Bought out by promoter Vince McMahon , the company was briefly run by the World Wrestling Federation ( WWF ) before being sold back to the Hart family the following year . Run by Bruce Hart until January 1990 , he and Ross Hart reopened the promotion in 1999 and began running events in the Alberta area . Along with its wrestling school known as " The Dungeon " , many of the promotion ' s former alumni becoming some of the most popular stars in the World Wrestling Federation and other American promotions during the 1980s and 1990s , the promotion produced one of the earliest televised professional wrestling programs ( today considered the forerunner of today ' s WWE ) that remained one of Calgary ' s most popular sports programs eventually airing in over 50 countries worldwide . History . Stampede Wrestling was operated by Stu Hart between 1948 , and 1984 . In 1983 , a riot broke out during a match at the Ogden Auditorium in Calgary during a match between Bret Hart , Davey Boy Smith and Sonny Two Rivers against Bad News Allen , The Stomper and Stomper ' s kayfabe son Jeff Gouldie . Longtime Stampede announcer Ed Whalen reportedly became distraught during the riot , in which a woman was trampled , causing him to quit from the Stampede on air . Speaking of the events he remarked , " We ' re starting to scare the patrons with this violence outside the ring , and I will not be associated with it anymore . " McCoy , H . ( 2005 ) " Pain and Passion : The History of Stampede Wrestling . " CanWest Books . p 187 . The event led to Stampede Wrestling being banned from Calgary for six months by the city ' s wrestling and boxing commission , and within a year the operation was sold to the World Wrestling Federation . Meltzer , D . ( 2004 ) " Tributes II : Remembering more of the World ' s Greatest Professional Wrestlers . " Sports Publishing LLC . pp 105 – 106 . Take over from the World Wrestling Federation . A member of the National Wrestling Alliance until about 1982 , Stampede ' s talent was taken by the World Wrestling Federation in 1984 , developing into the major professional wrestling promotion it is today . In 1985 , the WWF sold Stampede back to the Hart family , who continued to run it until it was shut down in December 1989 . The promotion was re - opened on April 2 , 1999 by Bruce and Ross Hart . Stampede ' s weekly shows were held mostly at the Victoria Pavilion in Calgary , with special events held at the Stampede Corral . Notable alumni to enter the WWF . In the 1970s and early 1980s , Stampede Wrestling was one of the top wrestling promotions in Canada . One of its main legacies was its impact on the WWF . In the 1980s , the stars of Stampede Wrestling included Bret Hart , Owen Hart , British Bulldog , Dynamite Kid , Brian Pillman , Bad News Brown , The Honky Tonk Man ( under the name Honky Tonk Wayne ) and Jim " The Anvil " Neidhart . All six wrestlers later joined the WWF when it expanded across Canada and USA . The British Bulldogs and the Hart Foundation were among the top tag teams in the WWF in the 1980s . Television program . Stampede Wrestling was the basis for a long - running weekly sports broadcast produced in Calgary showcasing many of the promotion ' s most popular wrestlers . Hosted by Ed Whalen most of its run , which went from 1957 to 1989 , the series was syndicated around the world and reruns continue to be shown in some countries to this day . At the time Stampede was revived in 1999 , a second " Stampede Wrestling " TV series was attempted , but it was short - lived and Whalen was not involved . Revival . In early 1999 , Bruce and Ross Hart reopened Stampede Wrestling after an nine - year hiatus showcasing graduates from the Hart Dungeon training school . However , only weeks after their first event , the promotion once again became inactive following the death of Owen Hart in May . Although considering closing the promotion , the Hart family continued to promote events five months later and began touring western Canada . Although successful , the Harts were forced to cancel several tours in late 2001 and early 2002 due to the arrival of a rival promotion backed by a Calgary businessman . The promotion also lost much of its roster due to its rival hiring away top stars . In 2005 , promoters Bill Bell and Devon Nicholson took over day - to - day operations for Stampede Wrestling . During an event at the Spray Lakes Sawmill Sportsplex in Cochrane , Alberta , Nicholson would face Abdullah the Butcher after the scheduled main event between Lance Storm and Rhyno was canceled when Rhyno failed to appear . At that same event , longtime tag team partners TJ Wilson and Harry Smith faced each other in Smith ' s final match for the promotion before leaving for World Wrestling Entertainment . Earlier in 2007 , Stampede Wrestling lost the use of the Ogden Legion which was their home base for the past number of years . Stampede Wrestling announced on their official website that the promotion will begin to run at the Bowness Sportsplex with the first show being September 7 , 2007 . Bruce and Ross Hart sold Stampede Wrestling to Bill Bell in 2007 . The promotion ceased operations again in April 2008 . In 2011 , Smith Hart announced that he would be reviving the promotion and bringing it back to the glory days . Tape library . WWE currently controls Stampede ' s extensive tape library . The Dungeon . Stampede Wrestling was famous for " The Dungeon " , a professional wrestling school located in the basement of the Calgary mansion Hart House , home of the Hart family . Stu Hart and Mr . Hito were the main trainers in the Dungeon . The school trained a number of WCW , ECW , WWE , and Japanese stars , including the Hart Brothers , Mark Henry , Chris Benoit , Chris Jericho , Ricky Fuji , Hiroshi Hase , Christian and Edge . Hall of Fame . The Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame list professional wrestlers and others who have competed in Stampede Wrestling , from Stu Hart ' s Klondike Wrestling to the original Stampede Wrestling promotion which closed in 1990 .