Legendary Station Owner/Portland Wrestling Promoter Passes Away
Former Pacific Northwest radio station owner Ivan Kafoury died on April 13, 2026. During his time in the radio business he would welcome Portland Wrestling legends to have their own talk shows on his air.
In the late 1990s, Kafoury and his son Jeff joined pro wrestling announcer Don Cross to try to rebuild the Portland Wrestling scene as promoters. Ivan was able to get the new group a local television deal with the area WB Network station at the time. The show was called “Portland Wrestling: Total Chaos.”
The story of this version of Portland Wrestling was just like several other indie promotions around the United States during that era. Kafoury was businessman that knew a lot of people and everyone in the area seemed to know him. His pro wrestling organization was a “grassroots” company that started with big ambitions but then the financial realities of the pro wrestling business eventually took its toll. The group needed all the help they could get but the indie crowds back then in most places wasn’t big enough.
Two teenagers were doing a cable access show called “The Squared Circle's Greatest Matches” at the same time (the show ran from 1993 to 2001). Ivan Kafoury hired them to help produce the PW Total Chaos shows. Their cable access show would air WWF, WCW, and ECW matches along with various other pro wrestling without any concern about copyright infringements. None of the big pro wrestling companies were running in the region back then due to the athletic commission’s regulations. The hosts and producers weren’t worried about getting any “cease and desist” letters because they assumed nobody out of the city would ever even see the show. Between the classic matches the hosts would do interviews and special segments, and in those late 1990s to early 2000 years, they would promote the new Portland Wrestling. They also had their own pro wrestling radio show on Ivan Kafoury’s station each week.
Portland Wrestling “Total Chaos” featuring a Battle Royal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SF8KA7iiO5U
“The Squared Circle's Greatest Matches” from January 1999 https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6dw8g9
