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The Promoter Cartels

The first major promoter cartel emerged on the East Coast, although up to that point, wrestling’s heartland had been in the Midwest. Notable members of this cartel included Jack Curley, Lou Daro, Paul Bowser and Tom and Tony Packs. The promoters colluded to solve a number of problems that hurt their profits. Firstly, they could force their wrestlers to perform for less money. As the cartel grew, there were fewer independent promoters where independent wrestlers could find work, and many were forced to sign a contract with the cartel to receive steady work. The contracts forbade them from performing at independent venues. A wrestler who refused to play by the cartel’s rules was barred from performing at its venues. A second goal of the wrestling cartels was to establish an authority to decide who was the “world champion”. Before the cartels, there were multiple wrestlers in America simultaneously calling themselves the “world champion”, and this sapped public enthusiasm for professional wrestling. Likewise, the cartel could agree on a common set of match rules that the fans could keep track of. The issue over who got to be the champion and who controlled said champion was a major point of contention among the members of wrestling cartels as the champion drew big crowds wherever he performed, and this would occasionally lead to schisms.