By Rick Bassman
In some ways, UPW has been in a “holding pattern.” In others,
as UPW approaches its fifth anniversary, we’ve seen more growth than ever in
our Company’s history.
By appearances, due to a very limited live show schedule, it looks as
if we’ve slowed down. After our last extravaganza at The Grove, a
realization hit clear as day In the world of pro wrestling, live
shows are –for the most part– big losers from a financial perspective.
At UPW, we’ve always had a philosophy that each and every show
must be a special experience. This results in many talented individuals
putting many hours into creating a “show.” Pre-tapes, storylines,
props, etc. It’s time consuming, costly, and generally results in a financial
loss. End of the day, does it make sense to work dozens and dozens of
hours to produce a live event, only to lose $1000?I keep coming back to financial references because there certainly are
reasons to do these shows. Each show is so well done that even major entertainment
industry “players” are impressed when they see them. This can
–and has– resulted in UPW talent being cast in major theatrical and commercial
roles, in new sponsorship and merchandise deals, in creating content for DVD
and Video releases, etc.
So, on one hand, there is a real value in doing our “home”/”
Entertainment Overload” shows. But for now, with the exception of
our upcoming “Possession” event at The Galaxy (with
Roddy Piper!) on October 22, and with our upcoming 5th Anniversary spectacular
at The Grove, we’re taking a bit of a breather so to speak. Live
shows will consist mainly of casino engagements and through our diligent agents
at Mountain High Entertainment, the calendar is filling up. Oregon,
Washington and Nevada dates are inevitable, as are others. This is doubly
a blessing, as the onus of promoting these events is on the Casino, plus we
go in knowing that everyone is getting a good payoff.
So, while we’re taking our “breather,” we’ve in fact turned our attention
to strengthening and developing areas that will hopefully contribute to the
longevity of UPW.
I’m happy to say that Chris Bell has returned to the UPW fold.
Along with myself and the ever multi-talented Todd Keneley, we’re busting
our collective asses putting together a UPW TV Pilot. Yeah, this is a
“spec” endeavor and like most UPW projects, done on a virtual shoestring.
But I’m excited. We’ve returned to our early days in doing this.
No drama. No politics. Just fun, enthusiasm and like our early days,
very, very rough. The concept behind it is extremely unique….actually,
really unique. And that, coupled with its roughness
and the talent behind it, will I believe, result in a well-received effort.
After nearly five years in this business, so much of which I’ve spent being
both a hobbyist and being caught up in the bullshit and politics often inherent
in pro wrestling, I’ve come to realize that to make UPW meaningful, some things
must change. The biggest realizations are to focus on what simultaneously
can and will bring UPW to the masses and advance/create careers for the many
exceptional talents who comprise the UPW Superstars roster, as well as
its talent folks working “behind the scene.” . TV is obviously
one way, if not the way to accomplish this, and I’m confident we have
both the concept and the ability to execute. The story will be told over
the next couple of months.
Another important tool to utilize in our development is upw.com. I get
e-mails every day –from around the world– complimenting us on our site.
Yet, with an average of roughly 4000 unique visitors (and over 80,000 “hits”)
a day, upw.com is a vastly underutilized tool for us. Murphy McDermott
is and has been for nearly a year, our Webmaster. During that time, under
Murph’s watchful guidance, I believe that upw.com has become in terms of content
and overall look, one of the finest sites in all of pro wrestling. Les
Honig, with UPW from its early days, continues to make a big contribution.
As with TV, we’re also now turning our attention to the “cleaning up”
and marketing of upw.com. By executing our current plan, I expect and
hope that upwards of 30,000 wrestling fans worldwide will soon be logging onto
and enjoying upw.com each day. Part and parcel of this new “launch”
will be a whole new line of UPW logo merchandise, courtesy of Speedwear,
the folks behind Tito Ortiz, Social Outcast and Team Punishment.
Of equal, if not greater importance, is maintaining and continually strengthening
the backbones of the UPW operation.
As I seem to have written in each Ultimate Update, I’m happy to write again
that UPW sister-school, Ultimate University, is stronger than ever.
We have an amazing “student body,” who you can meet at Rollcall
at upw.com. Consistency has also been key at UU, as our excellent
“Faculty” has not changed in nearly two years. Tom Howard,
Shane & Shannon Ballard and Aaron Aguilera are still our regular
instructors on Saturdays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. As scheduling
dictates, Frankie Kazarian and Ryan Sakoda continue as our regular
Substitute Instructors. Enrolment, including the addition of several legitimate
big-time prospects, is at an all time high. Brett Wagner and I
have re-started “promo class,” which is adding a whole new dimension
to the development experience of our more advances prospects. Not to mention,
it’s a lot of fun! The time I spend at Ultimate University is the best I spend
in this business. I am absolutely, 100% confident that there is no better
school, in terms of enthusiasm, friendliness, personal growth and professional
development…anywhere in the world.
I haven’t written in a long, long time, and there are far too numerous “highlights”
to list here. Nonetheless, here are a few:
- WWE. Over the past several months, more UPW Superstars
and Students than ever before have had the opportunity to appear for WWE in
paid positions. Individuals such as Mako’a, Sabbath, Funky Billy
Kim, Tony Stradlin, Antonio Mestre and many, many more have found
themselves involved in WWE commercials, dark matches and on RAW and Smackdown!
Here’s a bold prediction — By December, I firmly believe that UPW will announce
the signing of at least 3 more of its Superstars to the WWE roster!
This will bring our total to 20! - Zero-One. Tom Howard. Sylvester “Predator”
Terkay. Televise “Skulu”/”King Adamo” Masalosalo.
Bar none, 3 of the biggest foreign stars in Japanese wrestling today.
Each of the 3 have progressed in my opinion to the upper rung of the ladder
in workrate and charisma and they lead the charge for UPW’s ever-increasing
prominence in the land of the rising sun. I write this version of the
Ultimate Update on Tuesday, September 2. Tomorrow, September 3, Zero-One
boss Yoshiyuki Namakura, along with All Japan Pro Women’s Matsunaga-san
will visit Ultimate University to take a look at our top Superstars.
I positively expect this to result in jobs for many of our best. Samurai
TV will also be in tow. - The Shark Tank/K-1. UPW has formed an allegiance
with famed NHB/MMA and Kickboxing group, The Shark Tank, run by my
good friend Eddy Millis. Our first big announcement…long-time UPW
Superstar, Stefan Gamlin, will fight none other than Bob Sapp at K1
in Japan on September 21.
Just a few other items of interest:
- Raw Dawg. I’m pleased to announce that UPW has
entered into an annual multi-level sponsorship with energy drink upstart
Raw Dawg Energy Drink. This is a cutting-edge, progressive minded company
and the association is already proving great for all involved. - DVDs. UPW’s DVDs are now complete and starting
to hit the shelves of stores nationwide. Quality-wise and content-wise,
they’re as good as anything on the market. They’ll soon be available
at upw.com - TLC. UPW has signed a deal to star in an upcoming
episode of The Learning Channel’s popular series “Faking It.” We’ll
shoot in October, in and around The 10/22 Possession show at The Galaxy, for
a January airdate. - Casting. We continue to stay active, casting
UPW talent in all kinds of movies, TV shows and commercials. Here’s
a good one…Nathan Jones will take on Brad Pitt, mano-a-mano
in Wolfgang Peterson’s $200 million+ “Troy,” shooting now in Mexico. - Joe Millionaire. With a little time off before
starting new movie and TV projects, Evan Marriott has been spending some time
around Ultimate University. Neither success nor fame have changed this
quality individual.
December 17 at The Grove. 5 years. Wow! UPW is down
to a smaller, but more quality “core team” than ever before. Marty,
Tom, Todd, Chris, Josh, Murph, Shannon and all that contribute. Thanks
for the continued and dedicated effort as move toward “The Big One”
on December 17. And to our equally dedicated fans, and to the new ones
that join us each day…thanks for hanging in there with us. It’s our
goal to continue to give you a continued and unique pro wrestling experience.
The time truly is here to take the next step.
