The more things change, the more they stay the same.
I know, I know. That’s an old saying that you have probably heard a million times before. Yet, no matter how many times you say it, the saying remains true.
Hopefully, most of you took the time to view the video that Gene Jackson placed on the page a couple of days ago featuring Verne Gagne’s AWA promotion from the mid 1980’s. Verne, like most of the promoters of the time, literally hated Vincent Kennedy McMahon and his World Wrestling Federation. Despite the hate, these same promoters would often attempt to do the EXACT SAME THING that McMahon did, only they didn’t have the same SUCCESS.
Fast forward and it’s the year 2008. Go to any number of independent promotions around this country and what will you see? Guys trying to do exactly what Vince does today. However, due to not having the same budget as Vince or the same connections or the same wit for what he does, we see these promotions drawing the small old crowds.
You may be reading this and thinking, wait Brian . . . I have never seen a show locally that is done like a McMahon show. I bet you have.
Have you noticed any promotions where someone tries to do an in-ring talk show segment like a Piper’s Pit, Brother Love Show, Cutting Edge or Highlight Reel? I bet you have.
Watch Monday Night Raw, ECW or SmackDown! this week and write down the angles. I’d put a few bucks on the line that will say somewhere you are going to see a promotion with an angle almost EXACTLY like what you saw on one of those programs. Only locally the execution won’t be the same and it won’t mean a darn thing at the box office.
Wrestling in 2008, in my opinion, is a niche business. Vince gets the overall crowd. He has the diehards, like myself, who will watch no matter how good or how bad the product is. I’m the guy who will pay an extra $5 for WrestleMania because I’ve done it since 1987’s WrestleMania III. He also has those who think “wrestling is WWE.” Anything else is just local “rasslin.” So he’s got the mix of diehards, newer fans and those who view from time to time to see what’s going on.
Then you have TNA. They’ve picked up a few diehards mixed with some newcomers. However, I think even they come across at times as WWE-lite with the roster full of former WWE stars who are no longer working for Vince for one reason or another. It’s sad, I think, to see guys like Samoa Joe, A. J. Styles and others “lost in the shuffle.”
Then, there is ROH. This is the closest thing to “old school” wrestling that we have in a national format today. There are some “high spot fests” here and there to wet that appetite too.
Basically, you have to figure out what your niche is and focus in on it. Being like WWE won’t work. I remember going to a show in Southwest Tennessee where they used the then-RAW theme to start the show. Come on guys. Be serious.
We all pick apart the AWA, NWA, WCW, ECW, USWA and Smoky Mountain, all who in a sense failed in the end. Yet, we keep doing some of the same things that CAUSED them to fail. Whether it’s emulating Vince’s show and looking like version “B” to spending too much money on the wrong things, we all should stop doing that and recognize our market and zone in on it.
With my moaning and groaning finished, I want to congratulate the Southern Saints on their trip to Philly for Chikara and Stan Lee on his nice push from the UWL promotion. Well deserved all the way around boys.
Until next time, take care all.
(Brian Thompson may be reached by e-mail at bptbookings@yahoo.com)
