This is a list of American Wrestling Association attendance records. Established as the Minneapolis Boxing & Wrestling Club by Tony Stecher in 1933, it was among the first professional wrestling promotions in the United States. A founding member of the National Wrestling Alliance in 1948, Stecher controlled the NWA's "Minneapolis wrestling territory" which included much of the Great Lakes and Upper Midwestern United States. In 1959, Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo took control of the company and left the NWA the following year. The company was subsequently renamed the American Wrestling Association. With Gagne promoted as a legitimate rival to the NWA World Heavyweight Champion, the AWA closely matched the NWA in terms of attendances. In its heyday, the AWA was able to hold "stadium show" supe