Whats your opinion on British Wrestling?

[knightmare]

I was not knocking the fact fighters sell tickets, some of our wrestlers do but to be fair not many, my point was Dixon works from a zero base draw where MMA and boxing know the fighters will sell, in some cases have to sell so many to be on the show.

[Carbomb]

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

 

...

 

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?

 

What's with the "holier than thou" tone? People want to discuss things, and if people want to discuss something they enjoy in long posts, there's nothing wrong with it - it's what this place is for. And you even went on to contradict your point that "the issue is far more simple than the countless long replies" by making one almost as long yourself - clearly not that simple, no?

 

Anyway, your analogy is off - plenty of UK film buffs have long discussions about how the British film industry could be improved to up the quality of its output in comparison to Hollywood. That the British pro-wrestling industry is at a more amateur level than the film industry is neither here nor there - in comparison to its American counterpart, it's the only one we have, so it's what people will focus on when discussing the question of trying to produce something that could compare to WWE or TNA.

 

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

[King Pitcos]

I was not knocking the fact fighters sell tickets, some of our wrestlers do but to be fair not many, my point was Dixon works from a zero base draw where MMA and boxing know the fighters will sell, in some cases have to sell so many to be on the show.

In your case specifically Ricky, why don't you have the wrestlers out selling tickets and say they need to sell so many to be on the show? Is it a case of wanting to book talent on their abilities to wrestle rather than on their abilities to sell tickets to mates?

[Your Fight Site]

I think I was misunderstood. I didn't say MMA does better because promotions have better websites, any one including myself would be extremely naive to think so. But a good company presence does help if you're wanting to attract a stranger and it's one of the first thing they see.

 

What do most people do if they hear about something and want to know more? They Google it.

 

Having worked with a local MMA promotion too, I can agree that promoters tend to have a lot more clout with their friends and family and fighter and fighter's friends and family when it comes to selling tickets. Despite attracting hundreds, there's probably not as many "casuals" as you would expect.

[Southside crew]

I was not knocking the fact fighters sell tickets, some of our wrestlers do but to be fair not many, my point was Dixon works from a zero base draw where MMA and boxing know the fighters will sell, in some cases have to sell so many to be on the show.

In your case specifically Ricky, why don't you have the wrestlers out selling tickets and say they need to sell so many to be on the show? Is it a case of wanting to book talent on their abilities to wrestle rather than on their abilities to sell tickets to mates?

 

 

I think your missing what Ricky was saying , not physically selling tickets but name value selling tickets.

[Kiffy]

I was not knocking the fact fighters sell tickets, some of our wrestlers do but to be fair not many, my point was Dixon works from a zero base draw where MMA and boxing know the fighters will sell, in some cases have to sell so many to be on the show.

In your case specifically Ricky, why don't you have the wrestlers out selling tickets and say they need to sell so many to be on the show? Is it a case of wanting to book talent on their abilities to wrestle rather than on their abilities to sell tickets to mates?

 

 

I think your missing what Ricky was saying , not physically selling tickets but name value selling tickets.

 

No he's saying the fighters sell tickets themselves, alot of em get paid in tickets, and he's right, they do. Ricky's show's have names that draw in that area, and others, zebra kid's drawn and will some more, to name one.

[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.

 

...

 

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?

 

What's with the "holier than thou" tone? People want to discuss things, and if people want to discuss something they enjoy in long posts, there's nothing wrong with it - it's what this place is for. And you even went on to contradict your point that "the issue is far more simple than the countless long replies" by making one almost as long yourself - clearly not that simple, no?

 

Was mine a long drawn out post on solving all the issues of a tiny industry? Or was it a couple of points on what i think it needs(money) and then a couple of observations on peoples need to write essays on how to fix it.

 

Anyway, your analogy is off - plenty of UK film buffs have long discussions about how the British film industry could be improved to up the quality of its output in comparison to Hollywood. That the British pro-wrestling industry is at a more amateur level than the film industry is neither here nor there - in comparison to its American counterpart, it's the only one we have, so it's what people will focus on when discussing the question of trying to produce something that could compare to WWE or TNA.

 

I have no idea about film boards but i still stand by my point which by the way wasn't just aimed at people like yourself who wanna make things better but also those who instantly dismiss the British scene.

 

It is doing brilliantly all things considered. Anyone with money who enters it is blinded by big names and short short term success and those with real talent are hindered by the lack of investment which means a lack of tv. And thats it mate, sorry but everyone isn't going to work together as for many of the promoters it's their living so why are they going to want to share their profits with anyone else?

 

All the things you want done are fine and dandy in theory but for most of them to work you need real investment and thats something that doesn't look like coming unless someone who loves wrestling wins the Euro millions.

 

British wrestling needs money, loads and loads of it, in the right hands, thats it. All the other stuff could follow after that.

[Kiffy]

Not quite that simple, if it was someone with a really good talent for convincing people of stuff, would convince someone with large quantities of money to spend it all on making british wrestling great.

Which even your alex shane's can't do, cos you have to show how it could recoup said funds, at a large profit, and they can't.

[knightmare]

I was not knocking the fact fighters sell tickets, some of our wrestlers do but to be fair not many, my point was Dixon works from a zero base draw where MMA and boxing know the fighters will sell, in some cases have to sell so many to be on the show.

In your case specifically Ricky, why don't you have the wrestlers out selling tickets and say they need to sell so many to be on the show? Is it a case of wanting to book talent on their abilities to wrestle rather than on their abilities to sell tickets to mates?

 

 

I think your missing what Ricky was saying , not physically selling tickets but name value selling tickets.

 

No he's saying the fighters sell tickets themselves, alot of em get paid in tickets, and he's right, they do. Ricky's show's have names that draw in that area, and others, zebra kid's drawn and will some more, to name one.

 

Yes i am saying the fighters physically sell the tickets and yes some do get paid in tickets. You are also right in Norwich Zebra will sell 100 tickets minimum if i could get someone in every town to do that, it would be a good start. to be honest fighters will go out their way to push tickets, where as wrestlers will want to know how many they can get in for nout or cheap. I always say if your family and friends wont pay to see you nobody will.

[Kiffy]

And how many times have you paid to see zebra wrestle?

[knightmare]

And how many times have you paid to see zebra wrestle?

 

Well most times i am paying his wages so hundreds of times

[Kiffy]

Good answer

[teleman]

Im new here and Im still kinda new to British Wrestling so maybe my opinion doesnt count. Ive only been going to shows sporadically for about a year now and not as often as Id like as I work long hours and there arent shows nearby.

 

I live too far away to see what the advertsing is like but Ive enjoyed every show so far. I used to think itd be amazing with more money pumped into it but reading on here Im guessing the only way to get that money would be to gain support.

 

I keep reading comparisons to WWE and any other big boys and some saying Its just not good enough in comparison so they dont bother. But surely the only way for these guys to grow is to accept their efforts and keep supporting them instead of focusing on what they arent?

[Loki]

Lots of interesting stuff in this thread.

 

My tuppence is that the success of wrestling has, since the 70s at least, revolved around tv time. People turned out in their thousands to watch Big Daddy because they saw him on tv every few weeks and wanted to see him live. The WWF's business model certainly used to be using tv to entice people to go to house shows. TV exposure generates live audiences in a way that no other promotional tool can.

 

And in this country, wrestling has been persona non grata since Dyke ditched it off ITV. You can see why - at the time, it looked really old-fashioned next to the pomp and razzmatazz of WWF. Since then, I don't think there's been a wrestling promoter in this country capable of putting together a production of the quality needed to get serious primetime television. Again, not surprising as TNA gets criticised for its look and they've invested millions! When the benchmark is WWE, it's bloody hard to compete.

 

So wrestling here has returned to its roots - either small, well-run local shows or basically carny scams feeding off the popularity of the WWE. The largest attempt to reintroduce wrestling to mainstream tv, Celebrity Wrestling, was a huge failure, so I can't see it changing any time soon.

[Ravenhill Promotions]

I honestly believe there is no chance of British wrestling getting on a serious TV programme again. Not while WWE is still active. Why would BBC, ITV etc want to show an inferior product to something being shown on Sky Sports? It's not going to happen.