----New column by Eric Wayne.
At a young age, we all learn about money. From lunch at school to going places, everything takes money. Employment of some sort is required to have money and that's exactly what I'm going to discuss this time around: money in professional wrestling.
Or maybe I should discuss the lack of money in wrestling. Either way, its something that not very many people are able to generate anymore. When it comes to wrestling, a lot of people consider their work a "labor of love" and work for pennies. But the old saying you get what you pay for has become very prominent in today's sport. While talent will sometimes help out their brothers and work for less or free..its become the standard for a lot of companies.
When you have legitimate wrestling organizations trying to present a quality product, the field gets watered down by companies like IWA, who ran at the Delta Fair for free. Meaning IF the wrestlers were paid, it wasn't much because the promoter wasn't paid. It makes it nearly impossible for credible promotions with real talent to make money. Why would a fair or festival pay for wrestling when another organization offers it to them for free??? They wouldn't, and that's where the confusion comes in. We can all tell the differences in NEW, EWE, SAW, NBW, IWA, EPW etc because we follow the sport. But for outsiders they just look at it as "wrestling". When they don't pay for a show and it involves horrible wrestlers, it ruins it for legit companies with guys that have real talent because no one will pay for something they can get for free...regardless of the quality.
Sure, you can get your name out there because you're in front of a captive audience. But what name are you getting out there?? Guys that don't resemble wrestlers in the least bit! So what happens when the public sees this? What happens when a better product comes along and doesn't draw like they should? They go out of business or go into debt. Meanwhile the weekend warriors and pretenders are out there giving wrestling a bad name. Thanks guys! Way to get over with no one and make it hard for the real wrestlers. I guess all I'm saying is, treat wrestling like a business and not a hobby. Now how many times have I said that this year?!
Or maybe I should discuss the lack of money in wrestling. Either way, its something that not very many people are able to generate anymore. When it comes to wrestling, a lot of people consider their work a "labor of love" and work for pennies. But the old saying you get what you pay for has become very prominent in today's sport. While talent will sometimes help out their brothers and work for less or free..its become the standard for a lot of companies.
When you have legitimate wrestling organizations trying to present a quality product, the field gets watered down by companies like IWA, who ran at the Delta Fair for free. Meaning IF the wrestlers were paid, it wasn't much because the promoter wasn't paid. It makes it nearly impossible for credible promotions with real talent to make money. Why would a fair or festival pay for wrestling when another organization offers it to them for free??? They wouldn't, and that's where the confusion comes in. We can all tell the differences in NEW, EWE, SAW, NBW, IWA, EPW etc because we follow the sport. But for outsiders they just look at it as "wrestling". When they don't pay for a show and it involves horrible wrestlers, it ruins it for legit companies with guys that have real talent because no one will pay for something they can get for free...regardless of the quality.
Sure, you can get your name out there because you're in front of a captive audience. But what name are you getting out there?? Guys that don't resemble wrestlers in the least bit! So what happens when the public sees this? What happens when a better product comes along and doesn't draw like they should? They go out of business or go into debt. Meanwhile the weekend warriors and pretenders are out there giving wrestling a bad name. Thanks guys! Way to get over with no one and make it hard for the real wrestlers. I guess all I'm saying is, treat wrestling like a business and not a hobby. Now how many times have I said that this year?!
