Editing Professional wrestling (section)

===Rise and fall of promoter cartels===
[[File:NWA Professional Wrestling Territories.png|right|thumb|The National Wrestling Alliance territories.]]
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 Packs|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 the U.S. 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.

By 1925, this cartel had divided the country up into territories which were the exclusive domains of specific promoters. This system of territories endured until Vince McMahon drove the fragmented cartels out of the market in the 1980s. This cartel fractured in 1929 after one of its members, [[Paul Bowser]], bribed Ed "Strangler" Lewis to lose his championship in a match against Gus Sonnenberg in January 1929.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sonnenberg, New Mat Champion, To Tour Country |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |date=1929-01-06 |page=1S |url=https://archive.org/details/per_st-louis-post-dispatch_1929-01-06_81_122/page/n13/mode/2up?q=Zbyszko+Sonnenberg+champion}}</ref> Bowser then broke away to form his own cartel, the Boston-based American Wrestling Association, in September 1930, declaring Sonnenberg as AWA champion. Curley reacted to this move by convincing the National Boxing Association to form the [[National Wrestling Association]], which in turn crowned a champion that Curley put forth: [[Dick Shikat]].

In 1948, several promoters from across the country came together to form the [[National Wrestling Alliance]] (NWA); Bowser's AWA would join the following.The NWA recognized one "world champion", voted on by its members, but allowed member promoters to crown their own local champions in their territories.<ref>Beekman (2006). ''Ringside''. p. 85</ref><ref>Shoemaker (2013). ''The Squared Circle''</ref> If a member poached wrestlers from another member, or held matches in another member's territory, they risked being ejected from the NWA, at which point his territory became fair game for everyone.<ref>Beekman (2006). ''Ringside''. p. 84</ref> The NWA would blacklist wrestlers who worked for independent promoters or who publicly criticized an NWA promoter or who did not throw a match on command. If an independent promoter tried to establish himself in a certain area, the NWA would send their star performers to perform for the local NWA promoter to draw the customers away from the independent.<ref>Beekman (2006). ''Ringside''. p. 98</ref>

By 1956, the NWA controlled 38 promotions in the United States and several more in Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand.<ref>Beekman (2006). ''Ringside''. p. 97</ref> The NWA's monopolistic practices became so stifling that independent promotions appealed to the government for help. In October 1956 the U.S. Attorney General's office filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NWA in an Iowa federal district court.<ref>Beekman (2006). ''Ringside''. p. 98: "In October 1956 the U.S. Attorney General's office filed a civil suit against the NWA in an Iowa federal district court."</ref> The NWA settled with the government: It pledged to stop allocating exclusive territories to its promoters, to stop blacklisting wrestlers who worked for outsider promoters, and to admit any promoter into the Alliance.

The NWA would flout many of these promises, but its power was nonetheless weakened by the lawsuit.<ref>Beekman (2006). ''Ringside''. p. 99</ref> In 1957, just one year after settlement, the AWA withdrew from the Alliance and renamed itself the Atlantic Athletic Corporation (AAC);<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/newengland/awa/|title=American Wrestling Association (New England)|website=wrestling-titles.com|access-date=2023-07-03|archive-date=2023-07-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230701061357/https://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/newengland/awa/|url-status=live}}</ref> the AAC shut down in 1960.

In 1958, Omaha promoter and NWA member [[Joe Dusek]] recognized [[Verne Gagne]] as the world champion without the approval of the NWA. Gagne asked for a match against the recognized NWA champion Pat O'Connor. The NWA refused to honor the request, so Gagne and Minneapolis promoter [[Wally Karbo]] established the American Wrestling Association in 1960.<ref>[[Professional wrestling#refBeekman2006|Beekman (2006). ''Ringside''. p. 62]]</ref> This AWA should not be confused with Paul Bowser's AWA, which ceased operations just two months prior.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wrestling-titles.com/awa/|title=American Wrestling Association (AWA)|website=wrestling-titles.com|access-date=2023-07-03|archive-date=2022-10-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221021033804/https://www.wrestling-titles.com/awa/|url-status=live}}</ref> Gagne's AWA operated out of [[Minnesota]]. Unlike the NWA, which only allowed faces to be champions,{{citation needed|date=September 2023|reason=Dick Hutton and Buddy Rogers were heel champions around this time - Thesz also often played the heel against the local babyface challenger while visiting promotions}} Gagne occasionally allowed heels to win the AWA championship so that they could serve as foils for him.<ref>Beekman (2006). ''Ringside''. pp. 102–103</ref>