[1944-12-08-Houston,TX] Mildred Burke vs Mae Weston

[ethantyler]

 

Mae Weston was arguably Mildred Burke's greatest title rival. These two drew well nationwide, as main eventors, throughout the decade. What makes this particular match special though, is the card that it's a part of:

https://www.wrestlingdata.com/index.php?befehl=shows&show=90574

Friday, 1944/12/08 at The Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston, Texas
Attendance: 11,000 (sold out)
Gate: $20,708,000 (adjusted for inflation: $316,732,389.77)
1) Bobby Managoff defeated Ellis Bashara (16:22 minutes)
2) NWA World Women's Title Match: Mildred Burke (c) defeated Mae Weston (17:25 minutes)
3 World Junior Heavyweight Title Match: LeRoy McGuirk (c) defeated Sockeye McDonald by referee stoppage (due to challengers eye injury)
4 NWA Texas Heavyweight Title Match: Olaf Olson defeated Lou Thesz (c) (8:14 minutes, Thesz suffers fractured shoulder)
5 NWA World Heavyweight Title Match: Bill Longson (c) defeated Lou Plummer in 2/3 falls
Promoter: Morris Sigel (on the HOF ballot, no brainer, vote for him)

This show was part of the sixth war bond drive to fund WWII. It was sponsored by the Texas Junior Chamber of Commerce with Morris Sigel, the promoter, a member of that group. Admission by war-bond purchase only with a minimum price of $25 - the more you buy, the better the seating. The wrestlers were paid for their expenses only.  Members of the marine battalion state guard were ushers at the show. A contingent of wounded veterans from McCloskey hospital were ringside. Film of the show was taken by Universal News.

According to the Houston Post, this show was predicted to do an $18m gate from war bond sales. Ends up doing $20,708,000. "The largest wrestling gate in history and the largest crowd ever to see a mat show in Texas." This is backed up by the footage with the commentator repeating the $20m+ number. Adjusted for inflation, we're talking about $316m+. That's why it's one of the most successful and historically significant shows in history. 

Explaining the success of this show is fairly simple. 1) This was the first war bond drive since the success of the Alliance in Europe - patriotism was running wild. 2) The ad campaign for the bond drive focused on the threat of the Japanese, which coincided with Dec 7th, the day before the show, being the anniversary of Pearl Harbor. 3) As you can see above, this was a Wrestlemania style supercard. Combine all these factors, and you end up with big numbers. The sixth war bond drive as a whole, by the way, generated $21.7 billion - the most successful of them all. 

Obviously, this show needs a footnote explanation when added to the biggest shows in pro wrestling history list. It is, essentially, a benefit show. But that doesn't mean it should be ignored.