Whats your opinion on British Wrestling?

[King Pitcos]

Im sorry. Since I was on the UKFF I thought that you would know of their names. I didn't say they were big names. I said they are not "no name wrestlers" in this country.

But they are "no name wrestlers" in this country. Even if everyone on this forum was a big enough BritWres fan to be extremely familiar with them, it wouldn't make them well-known wrestlers in the UK. Because the UKFF is a tiny niche sampling of the UK wrestling audience, let alone the country.

[Da Wrestler`s Wrestler DKJ]

Well whatever your strange tangent meant, clearly your point that the three British wrestlers you mentioned are names in the UK is bollocks. I can possibly, at my most gullible, accept that Robbie Brookside might mean an extra 25 tickets sold at an event. The other two, as talented workers as they may be, mean fuck all to casual fans.

 

Again. I am saying that they ARE names in the wrestling business in this country. Me being on the UKFF I thought that people on here NOT casual fans would know who they are. Was not aware that there is a couple of people on here that dont follow their own country's wrestling, Just what they see on tna or wwe.

 

Interesting you revert to attempted snobbery again.

 

I was not being snobby. I was pointing out that all he knew was wwe so therefore I was not going to be able to have a discussion with him about Brit wrestling because he knew of none. How could I be blamed for thinking that the ukff wouldn't know about uk wrestling?

[Da Wrestler`s Wrestler DKJ]

Im sorry. Since I was on the UKFF I thought that you would know of their names. I didn't say they were big names. I said they are not "no name wrestlers" in this country.

But they are "no name wrestlers" in this country. Even if everyone on this forum was a big enough BritWres fan to be extremely familiar with them, it wouldn't make them well-known wrestlers in the UK. Because the UKFF is a tiny niche sampling of the UK wrestling audience, let alone the country.

 

Ok so who would you consider a "name wrestler" in this country?

[Ghostface1982]

There are none, that's his point. Your average joe on the street isn't gonna have a clue who any of these people are. They're more likely to know who Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks are than some of these names mentioned in here.

 

THe point I am trying to make, without people overcomplicatating matters, is that people who have worked 10 matches in their entire careers should not be running training schools.

Some people are better at teaching than they are doing.

[Ravenhill Promotions]

I think the biggest issue is actual fan base. I just don't think there's many fans in the UK willing to buy tickets to small wrestling shows. There's plenty of WWE fans, but they don't translate into indy fans. Just like i'm a rock fan who'll happily pay

[IANdrewDiceClay]

A lot of people go on about investment and production etc. Without sounding arrogant, with a click of a button I could easily invest

[Southside crew]

I think ic oudl honestly say that if I were a trainee again, with what i know now, I could probably only list 10 people in this country who I would trust to turn me into a competant worker. They would be...

 

Charlie Rage

Stuart Allen

Kerry Cabrero

Mark Sloan

Robbie Brookside

Ricky and Saraya Knight

Doug Williams

Justin Richards

Most of them are technically "nobody wrestlers", and I'm sure they'd admit it. Who's Stuart Allen? Who's Kerry Cabrero? They arent name wrestlers, so to use the "name wrestlers" thing against them is a bit harsh. There's hundreds of no name wrestlers who are quite capable of training wrestlers, I'd say. You just listed a load of them. Also, is Doug Williams even "in this country". I heard he's relocated to Florida and doesnt accept bookings over here anymore.

 

Also, what about Alex Shane? He's seems like he has a good track record. Or the Zebra Kid? He's very good and his Dad might agree that he's capable of showing a student the merits of psychology.

 

Doug does still come to the UK and is here next month

[knightmare]

I believe Brit Wrestling is like Marmite you like it or hate it. I personally think American wrestling is the biggest scam going the razz and the commentators cover the fact that most of them cant cant wrestle a lick. Its all about the big entrance thats where it finishes but thats just my opinion.

 

As for training schools and who runs them, if you get a muppet running them they will be found out for sure, many of our students have been to other schools but realised they were not going anywhere. Its not about names yes i was top of my trade at one time but i dont expect students to remember me but what i can offer is 26 years of experience and my contacts build up over those 26 years, so when i recommend a student to those people they will trust my judgement and more inclined to give that student ago rather than if Fred Bloggs from Kings Lynn was on the phone. I can also teach Brit style which will stand them in good stead around the world, how many young trainers of today can teach British style, not many i would say. It is a style still admired around the globe and at my school we have had students from, Norway, France, Italy, Portugal, USA and Canada coming over to learn that style. So even though lots on this forum seem to dis it, it is still respected worldwide.

 

I know just because some people have wrestled at the top dont mean that are going to be great coaches, same as football players but some of the names mentioned on here can offer you a safe and correct way into the business and help you once you have graduated through their contacts etc and if you are serious about being a wrestler thats what you want from your training.

[Carbomb]

I've said it on here many times, and I'll say it again: possibly THE major problem with BritWres is ego and/or a chronic lack of ability or willingness to co-operate. Even the better promotions are pretty much run by two or three guys at most, just doing what they do, rather than seeking out other promoters with good track records and trying to run it like a properly structured company. No offence to any of these gentlemen, but I would like to see a promotion co-operatively run by:

 

Daniel Edler for his talent management and internet marketing

Sanjay Bagga for his sheer drive in promotion and publicity

Mark Sloan for his events-organisational ability, customer relations and wrestling training (technique)

Barry Charalambous (Don Charles) for his booking/road agenting and wrestling training (psychology/character)

Alex Shane for his "open sky" thinking and ability to take promotions down non-wrestling avenues of publicity

Greg Lambert for his ability to manage "corporate" and get everybody on point, not to mention his connections with the wrestling press (not just PS, but the links he has with others)

Len Davis for his production capabilities

 

There are a few other guys in the UK who have good experience and track records, like Andy Quildan, Justin Richards, Ricky Knight, Dann Read, etc. (apologies to those I haven't mentioned), but I feel the seven I have named would be my choice if I had a shitload of cash to be an MD and the ability to make them play nice and work together.

 

A promotion like this would be the best chance any UK wrestling has of getting anywhere, and it won't ever happen.

[Michael_3165]

In short, not enough people give a shit. Its often half arsed, the production values are appauling (FWA have it fairly well done but a lot of the smaller promotions can't be bothered to even get a blue screen and do a few promos for their guys). I don't believe wrestlers need to look massive like Cena but don't send a guy that's 120lb wet to the ring. Everything seems to be poorly thought out.

 

A few things I believe need doing for any promotion in the UK (or anywhere) to be successful:

 

- Youtube use - get yourself some fairly decent cameras and get your shows stuck on youtube. Why would anyone regularly go to shows if they miss 5 parts of the storyline you are putting across

- wrestlers that can actually wrestle. They don't have to be Cena or Hogan style muscle heads but I wanna see competitive wrestling not people who botch every other move

- Promos on big screens, a decent ring, some lighting, this isn't hard but production is the deal maker imo. If you rely on generic rock pieces for every wrestler through a crackly sound system you are off to a poor start

- Promote! Jesus why is it hard to promote shows? I go to shows that I've only stumbled across through the newspaper but flyering etc is key. Publicise it and people will show interest!

- a sound business model. What do you want to achieve, how much money do you have, how will you get there. Its a BUSINESS not a hobby

- Promotors and wrestlers need to put time, effort and money into a successful company. From what I have seen a lot of promotors want to promote but cba with the basics which takes a lot of effort and energy. Nothing comes for free.

- gauge the venue size! I've seen some companies run Dunstable Leisure Centre and hit a max of 100 people in a massive sports hall. This does NOT look good and creates a bad atmosphere. The same company puts shows on in Hitchin Town Hall and draw a good crowd and a great atmosphere. Why? Because it FEELS like a bigger deal.

 

This is really not rocket science stuff but turns a promotion into something that works. FWA have done an excellent job with their promoting. I had the idea years ago to run small shows or a series of matches in a public forum (like thorpe park) to get people who wouldn't go to a show noticing how great the product is. Its little things like that that make the difference.

[Carbomb]

Venues are decidedly a problem for UK promotions, I think. There are so few decent-looking, accessible "mid-level" venues with high enough ceilings that haven't been tied up by one promoter or another.

 

The Morecambe Dome is/was an excellent venue for UK promotions, as it was just right size for a BritWres crowd, but, by the same token, had decent acoustics and lighting, and looked like it was purpose-built for wrestling - it didn't look crappy at all. I felt Brent Town Hall was the same, but it's far too expensive - most Town Halls are. Broxbourne Civic Hall is another excellent venue for wrestling. But as I say, there are too few of these venues.

 

I live in Haringey, and from my own, disastrous attempt at promoting, I can tell you there are NO decent venues for BritWres in that area alone. The only venue around which doesn't look crappy is Alexandra Palace, and that's just way too big and far too expensive.

[mim731]

I live in Haringey, and from my own, disastrous attempt at promoting, I can tell you there are NO decent venues for BritWres in that area alone. The only venue around which doesn't look crappy is Alexandra Palace, and that's just way too big and far too expensive.

 

North London is pretty much a vacuum for accessible mid level venues. I thought Walthamstow town hall was ok when the FWA ran it a few years back. But even then that's eastwards! There's also the sobell centre, but again, not ideal.

[AshC]

Youtube use - get yourself some fairly decent cameras and get your shows stuck on youtube. Why would anyone regularly go to shows if they miss 5 parts of the storyline you are putting across

Why would anyone seek out British wrestling on YouTube when there's at least seven hours of new WWE output per week, as well as your TNA, Puro, Lucha... not to mention the hundreds of thousands of hours of American archive footage that even the staunchest wrestling fan will only have scratched the surface of.

 

British wrestling all about the live experience, the night out. You might go and see a David Bowie tribute, but if you're online, surely you're going to seek out the real thing. And to the masses, that's WWE, and I can't see that changing. Which is why for me the way forward for British shows is to build up a reputation of being a reliably quality night out, more than anything more complicated. How you do that when the quality of shows is so variable, I do not know.

[Rosler28]

There are too many kids involved in wrestling in this country. Where are the adults ?? Surely if more older wrestlers were out there on the scene then itd be more acceptable to the casual fan and less of a joke than seeing a bunch of teenagers pretending to fight.

 

Again its down to presentation and peopes perception.

[spurs 4 life]

To me the issue is simple, certainly far more simple than the countless long replies in this thread would have you make out.

 

WWE has the Market sown up with TNA coming in second. To the general public that's wrestling now, has been for 20 years. If a British company wants a real Market share then it needs a clever rich person to splash out on a tv studio and produce a pilot that then gets picked up by a proper station. It wil probably not happen because I doubt there are many millionaires that love wrestling enough to risk the money but if it did they could then follow the TNA model and produce a nice little tv show.

Without tv and Im not talking about some unknown sky channel, the whole thing will forever remain where it is now.

 

Speaking of where it is now why do people over analyse it so much ? Like the lower end of all forms of entertainment it has a load of good talent and a load of shit. Whilst it has fans wrestling will always have useless idiots attempting to do it, whilst there is wrestling there will always be people looking to make a quick buck.

 

These log drawn out posts on how to fix it are pointless as without money and then tv it's always going to be at this level. And by the way there is nothing wrong with it. Do you get film forums having long threads on how to make amateur dramatics groups as big as Hollywood?