Birmingham Wrestling Enterprises
Birmingham Wrestling Enterprises was a professional wrestling promotional group operating the North Alabama franchise for the National Wrestling Association's Southern Wrestling Alliance (SWA) subdivision from the 1950s to the 1970s.
The SWA had been formed by a group of regional wrestling promoters meeting in Atlanta, Georgia on May 2, 1953. The alliance organized three tournaments, to crown a heavyweight, junior heavyweight and tag team champions.
Birmingham's Roy Welch, who with Clyde Walker had bought out Joe Gunther's wrestling business, partnered with long-time promoter Nick Gulas to host SWA events at Municipal Auditorium under the Birmingham Wrestling Enterprises name. Lee and Bobby Fields, working with Rocky McGuire, took over Gunther's interests in the Gulf Coast territory.
Gulas brought the sport to local television with "Live Studio Wrestling" in the mid 1950s. Longtime Gunther associate Joe Denaburg, owner of Levy's Fine Jewelry, who sponsored wrestling events as head of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Disabled American Veterans, bought a third of the business in April 1960.
References
- "Welch, Jares to clash for junior crown" (August 14, 1956) The Birmingham News, p. 11
- "Joe Denaburg buys into mat business here." (April 5, 1960) The Birmingham News, p. 13