Widely known as the longest running professional wrestling company in the United States, the National Wrestling Alliance seems to be in a bit of bother after R. Bruce Tharpe, a member of the NWA operating out of Texas, filed a lawsuit against the company and its parent organization Pro Wrestling Organization LLC as well as several members of the NWA including Bob Trobich, Fred Rubenstein, Bill Behrens, David Marquez, Michael Porter, Ken Taylor and Michael Sircy.
According to a report from Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com, Tharpe alleges that the NWA is commiting insurance fraud by having a policy in place within the company that designates that the NWA covers gatherings for 100 members, when it is obvious that there have been events drawing well over the amount set by the company will Tharpe claimingin the suit filed that the NWA willingly misrepresented themselves to their insurers putting Tharpe and others at risk in a legal manner while using the policy.
Tharpe also claims that the company fraudulently induced members including himself to join the organization by claiming that they would be covered by the NWA’s insurance and that NWA’s Executive Director Bob Trobich, an attorney outside the wrestling business, led a conspiracy among members of the National Wrestling Alliance members by discussing this and pushing other officers to go along with the alleged fraud and that the Board of Directors in conjunction with Trobich threatened members with fines and ejection from the National Wrestling Alliance if questions regarding the insurance saga was pushed.
Johnson noted that the lawsuit seems to specifically target Mr. Trobich citing that Trobich has a responsibility both as an attorney and as the leader of the organization to do the honest right thing by its member and that as a member, he has a right to file a lawsuit against third parties for the good of the promotion, which explains why he is suing other National Wrestling Alliance members and that he is also seeking an independent audit of the National Wrestling Alliance bank accounts to search for financial misgivings of the NWA’s funds and is requesting damanges, however he does not seek a sum above $49,000.
As of writing, the National Wrestling Alliance or any of it’s members have declined to comment on the lawsuit.