[2] He was a headliner in many territories, and was best known in Memphis, Tennessee, where he and Billy Wicks set an attendance record that lasted until the Monday Night War boom period.

[6] In 1957, while driving to a wrestling show in Alabama, Monroe became tired and invited a black hitchhiker he met at a gas station to take the wheel.

[6] Monroe would later use this underlying racism as a promotional tactic and become a noteworthy figure in Memphis cultural history.

During a period where legal segregation was the norm at public events, and during a general decline in the popularity of professional wrestling, Monroe recognized that the segregated wrestling shows (whites sat in floor seats while blacks were required to sit in the balcony)[7][8] were not properly marketing to black fans.

[6] In each case, he would then hire a black attorney and appear in court, pay a small fine, and immediately resume the behavior that resulted in his prior arrests.

[9] Monroe, having become the biggest wrestling draw in the territory, soon refused to perform unless patrons, regardless of their race, were allowed to sit in any seat at the Ellis Auditorium.

[6] As a result, the promoter was obliged to desegregate his wrestling shows, which then completely sold out with Monroe's black fans, in some cases over 15,000 at a time,[6] filling the auditorium.