Big Time Wrestling (Boston)

Big Time Wrestling (BTW) is a Boston-area promotion originally ran by Tony Santos Sr. He had promoted wrestling in Massachusetts before the Big Time Wrestling name became linked to Boston Garden and Boston Arena in 1960. Santos had already held shows in Medford and Revere during the 1950s, but the main Boston Big Time Wrestling era started when he entered the major Boston wrestling scene after Paul Bowser’s time ended.

Santos worked with Jack Pfefer as booker and built Big Time Wrestling around a mix of local New England names, traveling attraction wrestlers, women’s wrestling, specialty attractions, and outside stars. The promotion’s regular towns included Boston, Revere, Worcester, Springfield, Holyoke, North Attleboro, Manchester, Portland, and other New England stops. It also reached into Eastern Canada through summer tours.

Frankie Scarpa was one of the main local stars of the original promotion. Other well-known names from the Santos era were Pat Patterson, Killer Kowalski, Bearcat Wright, Jackie Fargo, Bull Curry, Buddy Fuller, The Boston Bruiser, Bull Montana, Gypsy Joe Jesse James, and Alma Mills. Santos also ran a wrestling school, which helped the promotion develop local talent when most wrestling training was not open to the public.

The promotion’s strongest period was the early to mid-1960s, when Santos controlled Boston wrestling and ran major venues such as Boston Garden and Boston Arena. However, during the second half of the decade, the WWWF pushed harder into New England, using television and Bruno Sammartino’s drawing power to take over the region. Big Time Wrestling remained active, but its hold on Boston weakened.

After Tony Santos Sr. stepped away in 1974, his son, Tony Santos Jr., and Gene Santos operated the promotion into 1975, then the original Big Time Wrestling closed.

In April 2006, Terry Allen relaunched Big Time Wrestling with the permission of the Santos family. Tom Burke and Mark Estrich are also involved in the current operation. This revived version of Big Time Wrestling remains active today and maintains its public lineage while functioning as a modern independent promotion. It focuses on live events, appearances by wrestling legends, autograph sessions, and matches that feature a blend of veteran wrestlers and current independent talent.