Power League Wrestling
Power League Wrestling (PLW) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. It was founded in Swansea, Massachusetts by Bob Evans and Mark Amaral in 1991, and later taken over by Amaral, Carlos Arenas, Paul Lauzon, and Tommy Degnan. It is the first and longest running "indy" promotion in the state of Rhode Island and one of the few successful groups outside the Greater Boston Area.
National Wrestling Association
In 1921 the National Boxing Association (NBA) was formed in New York City to help regulate and create order in the world of professional boxing in the United States. In January 1930 the NBA attempted to introduce the same sort of regulations and structure on professional wrestling, motivated by the fact that there were a multitude of "World Champions" all over the country, all claiming to be the top wrestler. The NBA required wrestlers who wanted to participate in the inaugural championship tournaments to post a bond, ranging from USD $1,000 to USD $ 5,000 in the heavyweight division, used to ensure their participation and their willingness to defend the championship against NBA designated challengers. In the heavyweight division Jim Londos and John Pesek posted the bonds and were set to fight each other but due to various political moves by the people behind Londos and Pesek the match itself did not take place. On September 13, 1930 the NBA founded the National Wrestling Association (NWA) to deal exclusively with professional wrestling while the NBA focused on Boxing. The NWA named Colonel Harry J. Landry the president and opened up their main office in New Orleans, Louisiana. After the formation of the NWA they finally decided to recognize Jim Londos, a move that was not popular with everyone, leading to NWA vice president Harry Davis resigning. The Association would held annual conventions where the various member states of the NWA would meet and vote on who should be the world champions in the various divisions, with Londos being recognized for several years.