New film ‘Head Over Heels’ explores wrestling at the Chase Hotel

By Emily Woodbury

Published May 23, 2022 at 5:16 PM CDT

“Wrestling at the Chase” was filmed at KPLR studios in a building adjacent to Chase Park Plaza. It aired from May 23, 1959 to September 10, 1983. — “Wrestling at the Chase” was filmed at KPLR studios in a building adjacent to Chase Park Plaza. It aired from May 23, 1959, to Sept. 10, 1983.

St. Louis historian Ed Wheatley holds the Wrestling at the Chase ringside bell, used from 1959 to 1983.

For more than two decades spanning the 1960s and '70s, “Wrestling at the Chase” regularly drew hundreds of pro wrestling fans to the Chase Park Plaza Hotel.

That history is detailed in the new documentary “Head Over Heels: Remembering Wrestling from the Chase,” which will premiere on Nine Network on June 4. The film is based on Reedy Press’ “Wrestling at the Chase,” written by St. Louis historian Ed Wheatley.

Wheatley, who worked as a producer on the film, joined St. Louis on the Air to discuss the matches, the TV series and the documentary.

Related Event
What: “Head Over Heels: Remembering Wrestling from the Chase”
When: 8 p.m. June 4
Where: KETC (Channel 9), with an outdoor screening in the Public Media Commons outside the Nine PBS studios (3653 Olive St., St. Louis, MO 63108)

Ed Wheatley joins St. Louis on the Air

“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is hosted by Sarah Fenske and produced by Emily Woodbury, Kayla Drake, Danny Wicentowski and Alex Heuer. Avery Rogers is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.