The State of Indy Wrestling
I know I’ve been gone for a LONG time… But here I am, I’m back atop my soapbox. Actually I have been very busy reconstructing WSUwrestling.com. Please let me know what you think of the site. I am still hard at work reconstructing some areas, such as the roster section. But I’m very happy to be on board with the WSU team, as I believe they have a great product and work ethic. So be sure to check out the site and check out an event soon. I’ve also been busy working with WXW-C4, as they have really taken things to a new level up in Allentown, PA. So there is another group you should check out at WXWC4.com.
Before I go any further… I’d like to send my condelences to the family and friends of Annihilation, AKA “Big Joe.” For those who may not know, the “7 foot” Annihilation passed away this weekend. I can say I had the pleasure to get to know him. Actually, he along with Pete Hunter were the first two men in the wrestling world that I got to know. He took time out of a Sunday a few years ago to come up to my Alma Mater, Cabrini College, to help promote the first wrestling event I ever had the pleasure to take part in. He was also one of my first interviews too. I can’t say I have a bad memory of him. It is truly ashame that someone was taken away at really a young age. So again, I want to send my condolences and prayers to his family.
After the past few weeks, it seems as though things are beginning to look up for indy wrestling. Obviously there is still a very long way to go. But I think the “top dogs” are starting to take their spots. Which really is for the best.
Unfortunately it looks like the biggest casualty could be Ring Of Honor wrestling as they have lost two of its biggest stars. Both Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness have both reportedly agreed on WWE contracts. And I believe I saw rumored that the WWE also has their eyes on Claudio Castagnoli and the Briscoe Brothers. And in all honesty, I can also see Brent Albright and Colt Cabana getting a second chance. But in any case, ROH has seemingly been hurting since thier ill-fated Pay Per View deal. And it seems like they just can’t catch a break.
But what is good is the fact that we will have the potential to see some fantastic matches on weeking on WWE Programming. Personally I am excited to see the Briscoes, as they had some of my favorite matches that I’ve called.
Where one door closes, another opens. Dragon Gate USA as seemingly pulled off two great events, with a third on the way. Although its still very early, they could potentially fill the void that ROH will leave should it close. So who ever is leftover in the WWE “raid” of ROH could end up here with a fresh group of wrestlers.
On the TV side, CZW will now re-enter the world of Television on the ION network. For CZW and for wrestling this is huge. As one of the main problems with ROH’s TV deal is the fact that it is NOT on in their main areas, New York and Philly. Now I don’t know now much about the ION network, but the fact that it is on my cable is all that matters. They are able to at least broadcast across the Philadelphia area, the area that hosts their events! Although CZW only will air I believe once a month, the Sunday prior to their shows, but still its a start. Now I don’t know anything more than any other person, but I would believe that this deal works in benefit of CZW. They could create their TV program as a must see event, almost like WCW Clash of the Champions. Also, they have only room to grow. As if they do well on their monthly timeslot, I’m sure they’ll have the opportunity to have more shows. Their product won’t burn out on TV. And the strategy is great… The week prior to their event. Now I’m sure it will take a show or two to find out if TV will sell their building or not, but still… Their use of TV is fantastic.
WXW-C4 has seemingly taken things to a new level, as I said before. Obviously they had a huge void to fill when Afa took his product to Florida. But it seems like they are taking a slow approach, and I can definitely see the product changing for the better.
WSU has seemingly conquered the Women’s Wrestling field or are at least neck and neck with Shimmer. A year ago, Shimmer was all the talk. But now it seems like WSU is. Their promotion style is fantastic. I know from working on the “inside” at a few different promotions that most don’t really want a women’s division. Not because they don’t like women’s wrestling, but mainly because they can’t invest the same time into a women’s division as a men’s. Essentially, they want to give women a fair shake, but they have to book 4-6 women each show taking up 2-3 matches from a show that really can’t go more than 10 matches. That is all just to build credible challengers. WSU is basically offering to send their women to other companies and have their title on the line. This works for the “buying” company as they get established wrestlers fighting over an established title, all without having to put work into it. For WSU this works as advertisment for thier next event and their overall product.
So it seems that the product in the Northeast US is starting to turn around. Obviously there is still a lot of work… But it seems like the top dogs are starting to emerge. I’m actually finally starting to be excited again for wrestling in general.
Until next time… You stay classy.
Dan “The Phan”