Here are some of the interesting points Lou described of his relationship with not only Sam Muchnick, but all the NWA promoters he worked for during his title reigns: 

      The grind of the work schedule. Lou was promised a schedule of dates with three weeks on the road and the fourth week off. This schedule almost never came to pass, due to promoters having “emergencies” during the off week and Sam Muchnick going ahead and booking the dates (as well as receiving the booking fee for the extra dates).

      A clause in the NWA bylaws that stated that there would be no women’s matches or midget matches on the same card as a NWA title match. This clause was violated occasionally by some promoters. Lou, holding up his end of the deal, would refuse to wrestle per the NWA clause. Usually, a call from Sam Muchnick, begging Lou to wrestle would follow.

      Unscrupulous promoters. This might be an oxymoron like “legal ethics” or “military intelligence”. Many wrestling promoters over the years, and still today, are less than ethical. Lou had to constantly fight for his proper payoffs, be on the lookout for a double cross (the opponent and the referee generally worked for the paying promoter), and fight silly booking strategies. Being the hooker that he was, Lou never had a problem dispatching any opponent who did want to “do business”.

      Credible opponents. Lou describes, in detail, a number of his favorite <and not so favorite> opponents. Lou was regularly paired against what he called “performers” as opposed to “wrestlers”. Lou enjoyed working with Dick Hutton, Whipper Billy Watson, Pat O’Connor, Verne Gagne, Johnny Valentine, and others. Lou did not care to work with Antonio Rocca and others who were not well-versed in mat wrestling. Often, when matched with a performer, Lou would make the opponent look silly by their lack of basic wrestling skills or even physically punish them to show his disdain.

As time wore on, Lou agreed to drop the belt and go out on his own; he could receive the same 10% gate fee (less the booking fee to Sam Muchnick) and make his own deals and call his own shots without dealing with the NWA. He could work when and where he wanted to instead of appearing at spot shows in backwater towns on the same card with midget matches. In fact, one of his first post-title tours was Europe, where he worked a few weeks and then went skiing.  

The book “Hooker” is a fascinating read that I highly recommend for any serious wrestling fan. Especially fans of the St. Louis wrestling scene; there are numerous mentions of Sam Muchnick and the St. Louis area. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed the article. Stop by again next month! 

NEXT MONTH: 

A look at Pat O'Connor