By Andrew
(Continued from Part 1)
“We are the ones holding the keys. We are the ones responsible for the direction of wrestling. This is ground floor, the lab, the test site and the flashpoint. This is where it ends and begins again. “
-Ray Rosas
In Part 1 of this series, I discussed SoCal’s modern history, the rise, and the downfall of the territory. This time, I’m going to talk about why now is the right time for SoCal to step up, breakout, and make an impact on the industry as a whole.
Part 2: Rebuild, Capitalize, and Step Up
Since 2003, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla has gotten the most notoriety from the wrestling world than anyone else in Southern California (outside of SoCal’s resident unsung heroes at Lucha VaVoom, but that’s another story for another time). Despite other promotion’s longevities, despite lucha events drawing bigger crowds with some drawing thousands of fans, despite not having a TV show, PWG remained the top promotion in SoCal. When I stopped going to PWG events in 2011, they were packing in enthusiastic crowds to the American Legion Hall in Reseda. Everything else seemed dull in comparison to PWG. Match quality declined in SoCal, wrestlers looked more like weekend warriors who were doing pro wrestling cosplay, and promoters began having chips on their shoulders. At that point, fans had pretty much had their interest killed by factors such as the peak of MMA’s popularity along with the decline of the wrestling business. Instead of trying to make the fans want to come to shows by putting on good matches or events, people in wrestling were more dependent on using guilt trips or shit talking to try and get people to their shows. Some even resorted to trashing different promotions to gain publicity. In the end, those promotions either went out of business, or they’re continuing to run in obscurity.
Now in 2015, things have changed a bit. Mixed Martial Arts isn’t as popular or hot as it was a decade ago, Lucha Underground is changing pro wrestling on TV while being based out of Los Angeles, and PWG continues to thrive as they sell out shows within minutes and gain mainstream publicity. But on top of all that, in Southern California, PWG’s limits are creating a huge opportunity for others to capitalize on their success. But how?
PWG’s Limits Are Creating Opportunities For Success
PWG has mostly ran at the American Legion Hall in Reseda since 2006. In recent years, their notoriety has grown. TMZ, LA Weekly, Rolling Stone, celebrity fans such as Ronda Rousey and Sofia Vergara, being featured on Conan O’Brien’s Youtube channel, and now getting coverage from the most well known name in wrestling journalism, Dave Meltzer. When tickets for PWG events go on sale, they sell out in minutes. The demand to go to PWG shows is high, but the supply of seats are low. As a result, higher ticket prices and less chances for fans to attend events. People are afraid of trying to drive out and stand in line to get tickets at the door for fear of being turned away. Unless you know some guys who know some guys, your chances of buying front row tickets are gonna be harder than getting decent tickets to Wrestlemania. This isn’t hyperbole. You have a better chance at getting decent Wrestlemania tickets than you do getting PWG tickets at this point. And it sucks, because people are missing out, that is unless they’re buying the events on DVD, but it’s just not the same experience.
So what does that mean for everyone else in the Southern California scene? How does PWG’s huge success and sellout shows help everyone else?
April 21, 2001. XPW Scene Of The Crime. Grand Olympic Auditorium. Los Angeles, CA. Super Dragon vs. Rising Son. This match, while most people don’t know it, was probably the most important match to take place in the modern-era of SoCal wrestling. Why? Because it was a lot of people’s first exposure to a style of independent wrestling they hadn’t seen before. Myself included. A lot of fans credit this match, either from seeing it live or on XPW TV, as the match that got people into promotions such as Revolution Pro, Millennium Pro Wrestling, EPIC, AWS or even GSCW. Without that match or those promotions, who knows if there’d be a PWG in 2015. Either way, this match changed things in Southern California. Here we are now in 2015. We live in an age where it’s easier to connect with people and to share content with. One really good match in 2015 being uploaded onto Youtube could do a lot for SoCal the way that match that aired on KJLA did a lot for SoCal. But having a good match or two on Youtube isn’t enough. Promoters and wrestlers all need to realize that the path to success is all on them, and that they shouldn’t expect people to show up just because they’re putting on wrestling shows. They need to step up in their own ways.
Wrestlers: Work on your craft and make yourself valuable.
The most important aspect of pro wrestling is the wrestlers. They bring the people in. They make the fans cheer or boo. They are the stars. It’s a wrestler’s job to entertain the fans, make them want to spend money for tickets, and to get those fans invested in what they’re doing. The only way for a pro wrestler to do that is to work on their craft like other artists, entertainers, and athletes. Nobody wants to pay money to see someone who looks like an un-athletic goof pretending to fight or weekend warriors who spend more time playing video games instead of training. After watching a couple videos of some local wrestlers in the past few weeks, I honestly have to say that there’s a little more talent now than there was when I stopped watching SoCal wrestling. There are people with potential to do real well and breakout, but still could use certain things to benefit their careers.
Wrestlers should take training as serious as possible, get as much practice in, and study the greats more. Even beyond just that, if you’re going to want to do a certain style of wrestling, learn skills that will psychically help you become a better performer. One pet peeve I had when watching recent videos of certain wrestlers (won’t call anyone out) was poor technique. Certain wrestlers looked completely goofy or lost when trying to do flips, strikes, and grappling techniques. Some looked as if they’ve never been in a ring before. If you’re gonna be a professional wrestler and want to get fans to take you seriously, you need to take yourself seriously. On top of that, expanding your wrestling training to include other things can only help grow people’s interest in you as a professional wrestler.
If you’re a wrestler who does spinning back kicks and wants to be a “striker” type wrestler, go to a Muay Thai or kickboxing gym and learn the art of striking so you don’t look dumb when throwing kicks.
If you want to be a technical wrestler, learn Jiu-Jitsu, or catch/freestyle/greco-Roman wrestling, Judo, Sambo or whatever to learn how to make your submissions, suplexes, and chain wrestling look more natural.
If you want to do flips, take gymnastics lessons so you can learn how to use your body in the air and build the proper muscles it takes to pull off those kinds of spots. Seriously, a lot of wrestlers who try to do flips look like they have no clue about what they’re doing and are just tossing their bodies around trying to be like Jack Evans.
Do things like Yoga or some forms of cardio workouts so that you have the flexibility and endurance to pull off certain moves. Get some kettlebells to help build your strength. Seriously, unless you look and can wrestle like Vader, Kevin Owens/Steen or Samoa Joe, nobody is going to want to see someone who isn’t in the best of shape wrestle.
Do things like MMA, boxing, kickboxing, or grappling competitions to get a better understanding of what you’re trying to sell to fans, which is a simulated fight. Get an understanding of the physiology and science of fighting to help better yourself as a performer. A lot of pro wrestling’s greatest stars all had backgrounds in amateur wrestling and were able to transfer their experiences into success in the pro wrestling business, and you can do the same thing for yourself. Also, when you try these things, you’ll probably also end up exposing yourself to more potential fans and people you can get to support you. You also give yourself a new dynamic to your character.
Speaking of character, some wrestlers try way too hard to portray certain characters but can’t pull off those gimmicks and characters. Some wrestlers are even using gimmicks and tactics that are way too commonplace in wrestling. The chickenshit heel, cocky douchebags with sunglasses, wrestlers who stall, the flamboyant/gay/effeminate males, random foreign stereotypes, throwback gimmicks, and “dark and mysterious” characters. Wrestlers need to change things up and become more original. Nobody is going to want to pay to see you if you’re doing something someone else is doing, only better. You’re just going to be seen as someone’s knockoff, and that’s not what you want.
Invest in yourself and your look. Not enough wrestlers make themselves look like anything but your average Joe who got some gear from Highspots, did some wrestling classes and got booked on their buddy’s shows. Not enough wrestlers look like they take time to do some type of workouts to stay in shape. Nobody is saying you need to have super expensive gear or look like a body builder, but you should at least look like you care about yourself and your career if you expect people to care about you and your matches.
Finally, promote yourselves. If you’re having good matches and cutting good promos, upload them onto Youtube. Get people to watch those videos on social media. Try and get new fans. Get promoters to see what you can offer. This goes along with investing in yourself and your look. A few moments spent uploading a good match you had could result in more bookings or merchandise sales. If fans and promoters can see that you can put on exciting and entertaining matches, you’ll eventually see the payoff as word will spread and more will take notice. If you’re not going to take yourself to the next level, you’re not going to go far.
Promoters: Check your egos, don’t be entitled, promote, and make people want to see your shows. Also, sometimes your friends aren’t draws.
Before I stopped writing for SCU and stopped watching wrestling altogether, there was a feeling of entitlement amongst wrestlers and promoters. A lot of them felt that people who weren’t going to their shows were somehow in the wrong and assholes for not wanting to attend their events that had their friends on it. Instead of trying to improve shows, promoters talked shit and complained that people weren’t interested in their shows or gave them attention. What these promoters failed to realize was that the problem wasn’t the fans, the problem was them. They were promoting garbage and expected fans to enjoy it. Nobody grew from this, nobody gained anything, and as a result, fans spoke with their wallets and people didm’t go to their events. The promoters who complained didn’t accomplish anything, their wrestlers gained nothing, and people just kept ignoring these events.
So, how does a promoter prevent themselves from feeling the apathy of fans? Booking good shows, making people aware, provide a unique experience and giving them reasons to keep coming back. Don’t condemn people for not going to shows, but instead make an effort to promote the shows to different audiences as best you can. If your cards aren’t drawing, look at what you’re doing or who you’re booking and go from there.
You’re not going to grow if you’re publicly pointing fingers. That will just drive away customers. The best ways to do things are obvious but also costly, TV and radio commercials, internet and media outlet ads, all that stuff. But there’s also simple grassroots methods such as passing out flyers at WWE events. With PWG becoming popular and more in demand, passing out flyers at their shows that advertise familiar faces to their fans would be another good way to get the word out. Make your events as accessible as possible. Even if you have to put all your shows up on Youtube, you might as well. Chances are you’d probably make more money monitoring your content on there rather than trying to sell shows on DVD now.
But the biggest thing that would make SoCal great again is for people to “step up.”
Step up, how?
Simply booking well known local wrestlers isn’t going to set you apart from anyone and bring in new fans. With PWG utilizing less local wrestlers and becoming harder to attend, a promotion could generate buzz and interest by getting outside talents to appear on a show with a roster full of guys capable of putting on a good show that would appeal to the ever-growing PWG fan base and those who feel left out when it comes to trying go get tickets.
Now, again, money becomes the issue. The biggest problem with SoCal wrestling is most promoters either don’t have the money, or don’t want to spend the money it would take to bring in wrestlers that would generate interest in their shows. This is where putting aside egos comes into play for the betterment of SoCal wrestling.
Let’s create a hypothetical situation involving two imaginary, knowledgeable, respectable, legitimate promoters who just had to stop running shows for both their promotions because of money issues. One might have the resources to bring in good talent at a good price but a hard time affording a decent venue, while another can get a great venue for a great price but can’t afford the talent to fill it. If they put their philosophical beliefs on wrestling aside, agreed on a good roster with talent that fans would recognize in a positive way, and a direction to go in that fans would enjoy, they would have a positive impact on Southern California.
But sadly we live in reality where, again, money and egos are an issue. A lot of promoters spend tons of money and get nothing in return. A lot of promoters seem to be hellbent on doing things “their way” and end up falling on their faces or continue to bleed money without fixing things. They fail to realize that instead of trying to utilize whatever skills they might be able to bring to help run a successful promotion (be it video production, marketing, creative, graphics, etc.) would take them farther than running on their own. Too many promoters being way too in over their heads will continue to hurt the wrestling scene instead of help it. While some might hate to hear this, a lot of promoters would be better off combining resources and money to put create a promotion capable of rivaling or perhaps even surpassing PWG as being the most prominent promotion in SoCal. The area would benefit more from less people trying to be promoters running bad shows and instead would benefit if a group got together to create one promotion that books high quality talent with a vision to raise the bar in SoCal.
Now, I’m not trying to say “be PWG” or “compete against PWG,” but instead to take advantage of their limitations and ever-growing fan base.
Now this isn’t an attempt to discourage promoters from running small shows with talent who need in ring experience. It’s important for wrestlers to get work and experience, but at the same time quality over quantity needs to be the goal. Some promoters are going to have to accept that they shouldn’t be running a promotion and should utilize their skills to help other promotions. This would mean a lot of wrestlers would be out of work too, but in some ways, it’d be a necessary evil as there are a lot of wrestlers who shouldn’t be booked on wrestling shows in the first place and a lot of them wouldn’t be missed by anyone. I know, that’s harsh to read and probably something that will piss some people off, but it’s the truth.
If you’re running a show full of students from your or someone else’s school, don’t expect people to show up and then complain later when they don’t. Instead, challenge your students to make themselves draws and to get people to go to the shows. Have them learn and promote events so they can have an appreciation and understanding of how the business works outside of the ring, as well so that there can be a future generation of promoters who know how to do things right and professionally.
In conclusion or something….
This article all started because Jay Cal asked what will make SoCal great, and because I had an answer. A long one actually, and one that doesn’t really go as deep as I could go when it comes to discussing this subject, but the only real clear, simple answer is that it’s going to take time, a lot of work and effort to make things happen. When Revolution Pro was running their school, they were the spiritual backbone of Southern California wrestling in many ways, even if there were other promotions and schools running at the time. Now, we have the Santino Brother’s Wrestling Academy filling the void Revolution Pro left behind. With PWG thriving, another promotion needs to come along to help grow the Southern California scene in ways that PWG hasn’t and isn’t. SoCal thrived with high profile promotions such as UPW and XPW running at the same time in SoCal (although not everyone was a fan of either promotion, they helped build an audience for other SoCal promotions who ran at the time) and with a few other smaller promotions running shows featuring matches people wanted to see. If you asked me five years ago if SoCal wrestling could become good again, I would’ve told you there was no chance. Now, I honestly believe that there’s enough potential to make this area better than it was between 2000-2004, but everyone just needs to work harder for it while avoiding the mistakes of the past. If everyone worked hard enough, this scene could become great again before 2017.
