Sunny Myers vs. NWA

Sunny Myers was one of the few superstars the Alliance had in the days of the "Alliance" banner of what would later become the National Wrestling Alliance . Myers competed in Kansas City several times in the Midwest Wrestling Association against Orville Brown and won several titles in other promotions .

Commitment in the NWA Iowa

Sunny Myers received a very special push when he was named the holder of the World Title by Paul "Pinkie" George in Des Moines on November 3, 1947 . A little later he also competed for the MWA title from Orville Brown in Kansas City . But on January 5, 1948, the construction of Myers, which had begun by George, ended. Myers had to cede his NWA title to Brown in Des Moines . Paul George now faced the problem that he had signed Myers in the NWA Iowa for a certain time as champion and that his contract as champion was still running when he was allowed to lose the title.

George began to negotiate with Sunny Myers to sell his title claims. Since both sides could not agree on a sum, Paul George Myers finally recognized the title in October 1948 and released it from his current contract. However, Sunny Myers was not ready to simply accept this and for the first time thought about legal action.

Association of NWA Iowa with the MAW title

On July 18, 1948, at a meeting between Paul George and five other promoters , it was decided to introduce a uniform world title recognized by all NWA representatives . According to those present, the first holder of this championship should be Orville Brown . In October 1948 this NWA World Championship was introduced when the title of the NWA Iowa was combined with that of the MWA.

Tri-State Wrestling

From 1950 Sunny Myers was traded as the successor to Leroy McGuirk , who had to end his career in February due to a car accident. He now competed for the NWA Junior Heavyweight Championship , which corresponded to his weight class more than the overall world title .
On June 23, 1951, Sunny Myers competed in Angleton against the wrestler Jackson, known for his brutality. On that day, Myers faced death for the first time in a wrestling event: Jackson worked Myers with a knife during the match. Jackson finally cut a 16 ½ inch long wound in Sunny Myers 'body, which had to be stitched with 258 stitches by a ring doctor who was present because Myers' threatened to bleed to death.

NWA Chicago

In November 1952, Myers signed up for three years with Jim Barnett in Chicago and then joined the NWA Chicago . In the summer of 1953, Myers contacted Alexander Karras . This drew Myers' attention to the fact that he could sue Paul "Pinkie" George for breach of contract according to the current NWA rules . So Sunny Myers filed his lawsuit on August 12, 1953.

The process

Paul George and Sunny Myers tried to find consensus after filing his lawsuit. But the NWA President Sam Muchnick perceived this as a "personal attack" on him and boycotted Myers from now on. He wrote to Paul George on October 7, 1954 that Sam Muchnick would no longer use him in the St. Louis Territory and that their problems with each other would be transferred from Muchnick to all bookers of the NWA.
Paul George had to close his doctorate under pressure from Muchnicks in March 1953 and was also at war with this. George had almost completely withdrawn from wrestling and wrote to Myers in response: I would be happy if we could become friends. But it shouldn't come to that.

On August 2, 1955, the South Iowa District Court ruled Harold C. "Sunny" Myers vs. PL George and the National Wrestling Alliance opened. During this process, which was followed closely by the public, it became apparent that wrestling was not a sport, but primarily a tough business that had only been given a "sporty paint".
For example, the Des Moines Register newspaper reported in a press release that the NWA still used mafia-like methods. Myers' attorney, James G. McDowell , asked wrestler Alphonse "Babe" Bisignano whether he had ever tried to get an engagement in Iowa. Bisignano
said yes. Bisignano was then asked if there were any restrictions on independent wrestlers on the part of the NWA. He replied evasively that one could see it that way.
Bisignano was now annoyed by Judge Edwin R. Hicklin , only to answer with "yes" or "no". He then turned to Hicklin and replied: “Either you follow the guidelines or you are out of business!” This answer was tantamount to a clearly circumscribed “yes”.

The judgment

But contrary to expectations, on November 23, 1959, the jury came to the unanimous verdict that Paul George and the NWA were right. The defendants were acquitted and Sunny Myers lost the trial. Even Judge Hicklin noted in his judgment that Myers' allegations against the National Wrestling Alliance would not conflict with the October 1956 judgment . The NWA was only sentenced to pay symbolic compensation of US $ 3,000 to Sunny Myers, but Sunny Myers was now heavily in debt at over US $ 600,000.

literature

Tim Hornbaker: National Wrestling Alliance. The Untold Story of the Monopoly That Strangled Pro Wrestling , ECW Press Toronto, Canada (2007), ISBN 978-1-55022-741-3