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How the Free Market Promoted Desegregation in the Era of Jim Crow

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Not all heroes wear capes, in fact, sometimes heroes wear shiny spandex underwear and don a signature white streak in their hair. Such was the case with professional wrestler “Sputnik” Monroe, who used civil disobedience and market incentives to desegregate wrestling in the Jim Crow South.

The Grand Tradition

Professional wrestling is deeply rooted in southern culture. Before televisions became a commodity that most Americans could afford, people had to find unplugged ways of keeping each other entertained.

For those whose economic situations did not permit weekends spent out at the theater or dining in upscale restaurants, local wrestling was the place to be. Every weekend, local auditoriums would transform into wrestling venues with big rings in the center and folding chairs placed around for spectators.

In the days of segregation, these seats were reserved for “white” audience members, while everyone else had to sit in the tiny upper balcony in a section nicknamed, “the crow’s nest.”

The Heel becomes the Hero

Before wrestling became the television sensation it is today, every region of the country had its own territory with its own cast of loud characters and dramatic storylines.

A wrestler’s compensation was directly tied to the popularity of the character they portrayed. If a wrestler wanted to make more money, they had to prove that their character could sell tickets and fill seats.

Traditionally, there are two types of wrestling characters: the hero and the heel. For every hero, there is a heel meant to stir up the crowd and boost the hero’s image.

Legendary heel, Sputnik Monroe, decided to make his character a hero to the black community, which in the heart of the segregated south was sure to rile up the audience.

Wrestlers take their character roles seriously. Since many lived in communities among their fans, wrestlers were required by their promoters to maintain their character personas at all times. So that is exactly what Monroe did.

After garnering a reputation for hanging around with the black community, an older lady, angered by his disregard for segregation, gave him the name “Sputnik.”

Meant to offend his honor and accuse him of having communist sympathies during the red scare, this nickname was intended to be an insult. But rather than getting upset, Monroe adopted the name as his wrestling moniker.

Civil Disobedience

Creating a stir in every town he passed through, “Sputnik Monroe” became a legend, drawing huge crowds wherever he went.

In these days, it was customary for wrestlers to drink with their fans after a match had ended. Since the majority of Monroe’s fans were black, segregation laws forbid him from fraternizing with his admirers, but he did it anyway.

For a six-month period, Monroe spent every night drinking with his fans in bars he wasn’t legally allowed to patronize. Every few weeks, Monroe was summoned to court and required to pay a fine for breaking Jim Crow Laws.

Holding true to his public image, Monroe made history by hiring black attorney Russell Sugarmon Jr. to defend him in court.

The more Monroe defied segregation laws, the bigger his crowds grew. Soon, it became routine to see thousands of people lined up outside Ellis Auditorium, each waiting for their chance to see Sputnik Monroe in person.

The promoters were not as thrilled about this situation as Monroe was. While they liked the idea of selling more tickets, there was one problem: Monroe’s fans were all black, there couldn’t possibly be enough room in the “crow’s nest” to accommodate the whole crowd. Initially, the promoters refused to accommodate Monroe’s fans, but Sputnik Monroe was not going to go down without a fight.

Money > Tradition

Monroe could not understand why these men would turn down an opportunity to earn extra money just to satisfy an outdated status quo. He took matters into his own hands and began bribing venue employees to let more of his black fans in the venue.

This eventually put the ushers in an awkward situation. As the “crow’s nest” ran out of space, the ushers had to choose between enforcing segregation laws or disappointing the great Sputnik Monroe by refusing to seat his fans.

Unable to turn down the opportunity to both impress Monroe and earn extra money, the ushers began seating black fans among the white audience members.

When the promoters realized what was happening, they demanded he stop his illegal behavior.

Understanding the value and worth he brought to his promoters, Monroe knew the show could not go on without him. He belligerently reminded his promoters of the crowds he was attracting and the money he was bringing in and refused to go on unless they agreed to let the black fans sit wherever they wanted.

Monroe recounted this situation by saying:

“There used to be a couple of thousand blacks outside wanting in, so I would tell management I’d be cutting out if they don’t let my black friends in. I had the power because I’m selling out the place, the first guy that ever did, and they sure wanted the revenue.”

While Sputnik Monroe always maintained that money was his main motivator behind his actions, he is single-handedly responsible for the desegregation of Ellis Auditorium, making it the first integrated public gathering place in the Jim Crow south.

What Professional Wrestling Can Teach Us about Individual Value

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Examples of economic principles exist all around us. But perhaps the most unlikely teacher of economics comes in the form of entertainment wrestling, where creating individual value is of the utmost importance. Prior to my research into the economic wonders of the WWE, I thought the entire business was able to thrive off of a handful of young rowdy boys and “backwoods” folk who were easily impressed by the “fake” fighting occurring in the ring.

But after I had more exposure to the truly unique industry of entertainment wrestling, my assumptions were not only proven wrong, but I also learned that the WWE pay structure is brilliantly modeled in a way that allows value to be traded for value on an individual basis.

The Hustle Never Ends

When I entered the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C for my first live wrestling event years ago, what first caught my eye was all the “side hustling” going on by the older wrestlers.

The bigger stars were nowhere to be found—most likely backstage getting preparing for the show—but many of these wrestlers had retired years ago and live events gave these “has beens” the opportunity to make a few extra bucks selling autographs and pictures to nostalgic older fans and wrestling fanatics.

However, while all the wrestlers were allowed to be there thanks to WWE, each was acting as his own promoter, responsible for marketing his, or her, own products. The WWE might be the platform where they rose to fame, but each was responsible for marketing his or her own individual brand.

The next thing that caught my eye, but which could hardly be missed even if I had tried, was the size of these crowds. Where had all these people been hiding? I had no clue there were so many wrestling fans, and this was just one venue!

Thus, the more money you bring in, the more money you make.

Trying to find my seat among a sea of excited fans comprised of excited young children, men of all ages, veterans groups, and yes, even a few women, was daunting, to say the least.

I was then terrified to learn I had been given floor seats just three rows from the actual ring. If there was one thing I did understand about wrestling, it was that that folding chairs were always the first objects to go flying into the audience once things started heating up. I had no intention of getting whacked in the head with a folding chair—at least not during my first event.

Within the first hour, I knew my prejudices had been wrong.

Not only were these wrestlers real athletes taking real hits and falls that were anything but fake, they were doing it night after night.

Aside from the clear talent and stamina possessed by each one of the athletes, there was something else about their showmanship that I found equally thrilling. They were, in many ways, fighting for their financial livelihood.

Popularity Hunger Games

To clarify, WWE does not engage in any Hunger Games activities, at least not to my knowledge, but each athletic entertainer is, quite literally, fighting for more ring time and thus, higher pay.

This is because in the WWE universe, a personality’s contracted rate of pay is directly correlated to the success of his or her character. In other words, if your character brings more value to the company, you will most likely earn more than other characters who are not as successful.

Just as a capital good’s price point in a free market would be based on its marginal productivity, in wrestling, pay is based on the character’s popularity with the audiences and their ability to sell merchandise, which, at the end of the day is making more money for the company.

Thus, the more money you bring in, the more money you make.

So, as far as market value is concerned, Ryback simply has it wrong.

While loyalty to the company is certainly appreciated in other ways, it has almost nothing to do with a salary of a WWE athlete, which has angered some long-time employees.

You Get What You Bring 

WWE star “Ryback” created waves last year after canceling his appearance on a wrestling program after a salary negotiation dispute.

Expressing his anger on Tumblr, Ryback said:

“It blows my mind how in a sport which is predetermined from a company standpoint winners are paid so much more than the losers. Every single person who works for WWE from top to bottom is absolutely just as valuable as the next. The winners cannot win unless the losers go out there and agree to lose to them.”

True, WWE’s outcomes are predetermined but that doesn’t make the conventional “loser” any less valuable than the winner, especially to Vince McMahon, the company’s CEO.

In fact, the heel characters—the bad guys who set up the plot and make the heroes look even better— often become some of the most popular—and best-paid—WWE personalities because they put on such a good show for their audiences.

Legendary characters like Macho Man Randy Savage, Ric Flair, Triple H, and even Hulk Hogan were all heels at some point and each lost his own fair share of matches. But they sold tickets and merchandise in droves, because they each branded their characters in a unique manner that resonated with their audiences. As a result, they were compensated accordingly.

It is hard for someone to hear that they may not be as valuable as someone else, but with that knowledge, and especially in the WWE, this information can be used to incentivize a person to work harder or maybe rebrand their character.

There is no set caste system in the WWE. You are constantly fighting for your place in McMahon’s kingdom, but that also means there is a constant opportunity to grow and be noticed.

Yes, we all know wrestling matches are scripted, but the business of wrestling certainly is not. The performers selected to be used in those big headline matches are based on who is able to cultivate their characters and fill arenas—and sometimes the losers are better than the winners.

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