Figure Four Weekly 11/7/2016: California wrestling regulation in 1978

In  1977, Roy Shire’s northern California territory was doing its best business of the entire decade, but it wasn’t offering the usual Roy Shire style of booking with Roy Shire style workers (smaller big bumping blond heel on top) on top. Needing a break and new ideas, he brought in Bob Roop as the booker, who brought in Kevin Sullivan with him. They popped the territory with an incredibly creative program based on Roop as a two-faced heel who put up a facade of still being the Olympic hero babyface and a friend of Sullivan’s family. In fact, it got so over that Roop and Sullivan apparently got backers to try to steal the territory, only to be fired when Karl Von Steiger told Shire.

That takes us to the January 24, 1978 meeting of the California State Athletic Commission. Roop had been provisionally suspended for no-showing a number of dates and asked to have his hearing moved up as soon as possible so he wouldn’t lose more work and income. From the meeting minutes:

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