Paid Members Sergio Mendacious Posted October 5, 2014 Paid Members Share Posted October 5, 2014 It was WAW's Fightmare (2001) that I was thinking of... I was considering the combination of the very surprisingly high crowd to see something wasn't bolstered by massive imports, and that yeah, WAW has continued to this day. Unless I'm reading it wrongly, the OP didn't say that he was strictly defining success as the largest paying audience, just that it was a consideration — I've gone with large crowd, along with other criteria such as expectations, and likely payoffs (all just conjecture, as I'm staggeringly unknowledgeable) — I'm not counting the ringwork, which I have no idea about for that show.  But I hope you don't think it was meant as a dig at all, Herbie. I went to Showdown, and thought it was fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members herbie747 Posted October 5, 2014 Paid Members Share Posted October 5, 2014 But I hope you don't think it was meant as a dig at all, Herbie. I went to Showdown, and thought it was fantastic. Â No, no - not at all. That's not what I was saying. I was just wondering why WAW and All-Star still being in business had anything to do with the overall success of a single show. The OP was asking about a single show; not longevity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew "the ref" coyne Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014  The Revival show I'd say was a historically up there. It drew about 2000 (If memory serves), it was on telly and broadcast live on radio. My first thought when I saw the thread. Was it on Bravo? Seemed to be one of those things that everyone saw. It was a god show that had decent talent on and looked cutting edge for the time. I really think of that show as a turning point for British wrestling after years in the doldrums. Some good work was going on in the late 90's but it wasn't really being seen.   Yep it was Bravo. Cracking show and a joy to be a part of, even if the final version shown on TV was cut to buggery.  You're right about there being some good stuff in the late 90s. I remember going online and reading about NWA Hammerlock, the early formations of the FWA and the Live TV fed that was on. Thankfully 2000 onwards was when the scene started to pick up steam, and I have to say, the quality of the wrestlers now is bloody astounding. Revival for me was a significant part of that turnaround. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkship Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Didn't some of 1PW's Doncaster Dome events draw about 1,500? I know they were a complete disaster of a company in a lot of ways but on pure draw, surely they're up there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 What was the show that was on ?ITV? in the late 90s? Â I definitely remember seeing a wrestling one-off on telly with a bunch of American imports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members IANdrewDiceClay Posted October 5, 2014 Paid Members Share Posted October 5, 2014 I think you're referring to the Transatlantic Wrestling Challenge. It was a US vs UK tournament. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daaaaaad! Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Didn't some of 1PW's Doncaster Dome events draw about 1,500? I know they were a complete disaster of a company in a lot of ways but on pure draw, surely they're up there? Their First Anniversary Show was a legit sellout of the Dome which was in the 1,800 region. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 That must have done ok with tv rights then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Doble postus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Arch Stanton Posted October 6, 2014 Paid Members Share Posted October 6, 2014  Didn't some of 1PW's Doncaster Dome events draw about 1,500? I know they were a complete disaster of a company in a lot of ways but on pure draw, surely they're up there? Their First Anniversary Show was a legit sellout of the Dome which was in the 1,800 region.  1PW drew big numbers to their Doncaster Dome supershows on multiple occasions in their first run- including some shows around the thousand mark two nights running, but looking back it's sort of difficult to bring them up in any conversation about successful wrestling shows. Also, with respect to the OP, those shows were so light on UK talent that it would almost be insulting to call them 'British wrestling cards'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonworden Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 Can't believe people who were there think International Showdown did only 1-2000 people. The building was packed out from my memory. If the capacity is approx 3500 then there was 3000 minimum. I dont remember 500-1000 empty seats just a few rows here and there at the back of the stands. What might skew the numbers was the migration of people and the long running time. I guess people could have left during AJ Daniels and that would have made it look lighter but I also remember if you were on the floor past the first few rows the view wasn't great so I ended up walking around talking to various people from Shane Vs Raven onwards which allowed for a better view. If a few hundred people were doing that then it could have made the seats look less empty.  I've been to 3 shows at the skydome (uprising 3, Showdown and Noah) and Showdown was by a long way the most packed out followed by Noah and then uprising where 3/4 of the stands were empty.  In terms of the FWA show view of Greg Lambert, I can remember feeling it a bit because of the people involved, the FWA stage and ring, Alex Shane doing his heel stuff from FWA at the time (not a criticism as he had my favorite match that night) and the fact FWA had recently run the same venue. But when it comes down to re-watching it really it's nothing like an FWA show. I personally think they shouldn't have used the awful FWA ring which by 2005 was looking like a death trap  But in terms of the top British card  Showdown has to win Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Sloan Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 Didn't some of 1PW's Doncaster Dome events draw about 1,500? I know they were a complete disaster of a company in a lot of ways but on pure draw, surely they're up there? Their 1st Anniversary had just over 2000 people, but if profitability has anything to do it with it then unfortunately it wouldn't count. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Sloan Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 It was WAW's Fightmare (2001) that I was thinking of... Â Legit huge crowd, with an all British card I think. Got everybody in British Wrestling talking at the time, showing just exactly what could be done with top notch promotion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Sloan Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 From what I remember from the Coventry SkyDome 'supershows' of 2004-2005, FWA British Uprising III did about 1,800, TWC International Showdown did around 3,400 and Universal Uproar was about 2,400. That is very accurate. When we were promoting Pro Wrestling Noah's 2008 event, we saw the sold seating plans for every previous event, including both supershows, TNA and of course we know FWA's gate. Â Those numbers are extremely accurate. Herbie's account of the numbers is spot on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Sloan Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 According to Greg Lamberts book Uprising III lost £24,000.  The Revival show I'd say was a historically up there. It drew about 2000 (If memory serves), it was on telly and broadcast live on radio. Not just that, it seemed everyone who was in attendance ended up getting into the business. In terms of hype and just the sheer ideas of what British Wrestling good do after it, its hard to beat that show. There was a proper sense this country wasn't a shithole whose only stars were fake X-Pac's in dinner halls. I definitely remember by perception of British Wrestling went from "oh its shit" to "oh its quite good" overnight. Well done to Linus. He was great on that show. LOL £24,000 - I still smile every time Ian quotes this fiction.  Something that alot of people probably didn't know about Revival is they were paid £50,000 for the broadcast by Bravo after the event. Which considering they sold over 2000 tickets at £20 with only GMS and Guerrero possibly raisies it past Showdown in terms of profitability and if you count TV then it is the most successful hands down. It was also broadcast as Ian says on Talk Sport. Although to be fair Showdown sold an incredible amount of DVDs too, which is profitable and increases viewership maybe.  Tough call, one of those two is easily the one the most overall successful shows in that period in all factors Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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