Nick Gulas (September 3, 1914 – January 21, 1991) was an American

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

promoter in the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

, partnered with Tennessee promoter Roy Welch for decades. Gulas was also known as "The King of Managers", "King B", and the "Dean of Promoters". Gulas helped start the careers of such wrestling stars as Tojo Yamamoto, Jackie Fargo, and Jerry "The King" Lawler in the 1960s and 1970s, the Bounty Hunters with Jimmy Kent, and the Interns with Dr. Ken Ramey in the 1970s and 1980s.

Personal life

Nick Gulas and his wife Katharine were married until her death in 1986. The couple had one child, a son, George, who would join his father in the wrestling business. Nick Gulas died in 1991, aged 76, in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. He is buried there in Mount Olivet Cemetery. The Nashville Sports Arena at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds was renamed the "Nick Gulas Sports Arena" in his honor.

Professional wrestling promoter

Gulas became involved in

in the 1940s, working both as a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

and later behind the scenes as well as a promoter in Florida. In the late 1940s he joined with Roy Welch to form the "Gulas-Welch Wrestling Enterprises Inc." promotion, based in Dyersburg and Nashville, Tennessee. In 1949 the group joined the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...

, a national sanctioning body that divided the US into territories. The promotion became known as

NWA Mid-America NWA Mid-America was a professional wrestling promotion territory under the umbrella of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) that promoted shows in Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama from 1940 until 1981. The company was founded in 1940 by Nick Gulas ...

at this point. In 1953 they added

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

to their territory as promoter John Cazana joined the group, expanding the territory across several states. Over the years NWA Mid-America worked closely together with the surrounding southern NWA territories, especially those run by Roy Welch's siblings. With time Roy Welch's health began to fail, which led to him bringing in

Jerry Jarrett Jerry Winston Jarrett (September 4, 1942 – February 14, 2023) was an American businessman, professional wrestling promoter, and professional wrestler. Along with his long-term business partner Jerry Lawler, he was a key figure in the history ...

as a booker to help handle the day-to-day work behind the scenes. In the early 1970s, his son George became a wrestler for NWA Mid-America and was promoted as one of the top names in the territory despite not being a very talented wrestler according to the wrestlers in the territory. In 1977 Gulas' insistence on making George Gulas one of the featured names in the promotion led to a split between Gulas and Jerry Jarrett, who broke away from Gulas and began the

Continental Wrestling Association Continental Wrestling Association (later the Championship Wrestling Association) was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually ...

(CWA) in Memphis, essentially splitting Tennessee between himself and Gulas. By late 1980 NWA Mid-America closed down and Gulas went into semi-retirement as did his son George Gulas since no one wanted to hire him as a wrestler.

Championships and accomplishments

Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame The Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame was a professional wrestling hall of fame maintained by the United States Wrestling Association. The induction ceremony for the Class of 1994, the inaugural inductees into the Hall of Fame, took place at the USWA' ...

**Class of 2022 *

NWA Hall of Fame The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Hall of Fame is an American professional wrestling hall of fame maintained by the NWA. It was established in 2005 to honor select wrestling personalities, mostly alumni of the NWA. Inductees receive commemor ...

(2010)

References

External links

*
Nick Gulas at OWW.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gulas, Nick 1914 births 1991 deaths American people of Greek descent Professional wrestling managers and valets Professional wrestling promoters Sportspeople from Memphis, Tennessee Sportspeople from Nashville, Tennessee

Personal life

Professional wrestling promoter

Championships and accomplishments

See also

References

External links