FWA Sign TV Deal with TWC

[fleischmark]

meh.FWA are now the yardstick?So....we're going to be watching the same thing over and over again?So....In order to get TV we have to lose our british style? Fuck that, why bother, wwe is on.

[ecwfan]

This whole production levels comment is such a grey area, it could be taken a number of ways.As a Promoter myself, I don't want pyro, a ramp, big letters up on the stage or six Americans getting the bums on seats. I promote a Scottish promotion, for Scottish fans and as an outlet for Scottish workers and "the best of the rest" around the UK to work and entertain the crowds we get. I'm not looking to run some sort of fantasy fed, where booking ability is overtaken by the fact 4 or 6 names are being brought in for absolutely no reason other than to get bums on seats.Looking at the bigger picture though, it's pretty obvious that the FWA are bigger and will remain so. In London, they have more possible fans than in the whole of Scotland. Even other major English Cities don't have the same pulling power on a prolonged basis. All I'm really looking at, or for, is a nice little 30 - 60 minute UK Scene magazine programme. TWC would take in tapes, even give their views on what production should be like and decide what to use...let's say they take 2 whole matches a week. Now, alongside that is a 5 minute segment giving who is running a show and where for that week. Something like this really shouldn't frighten the FWA and really shouldn't be a problem for TWC to show, indeed I'd think that they'd see it as a major part of their policy. Let's say that for the 2 shows TWC chose a match from, the shows both had crowds around the 200 mark. Well, that's 400 people maybe wanting to watch the show, watching TWC for more wrestling and everyone becomes a winner. The fact maybe 2,000 more Scots know SCW exists doesn't mean 2,000 more Scots will come and watch. In the same way that everyone in Torquay knowing there's a home match on Saturday doesn't mean that everyone in Torquay will go to the match. This is a perfect opportunity to get British wrestling on the whole to progress, it would just be nice to see it being done properly.

this would be a brilliant idea. A magazine style show would allow other promotions in the uk the chance to be seen by fans in the uk if only for a couple of matches. This would also give these promotions the chance to advertise themselves and there shows to the uk wrestling fans which would hopefully help them pull in bigger crowds.

[bobbins]

If TWC had an open door policy, anyone with a spare thousand pounds could stick their footage on TWC. Fair enough, it gets British wrestling more exposure - but Keith Myatt V Sam Green is going to turn more people off Britwres than it turns on. And you knows it. There needs to be some kind of filter, and if the FWA are the only people that could act as that filter (which on previous records, they are), then that's what we've got. I'd also like to point out that a lot of the most vocal people in this thread have vested interests and/or bitterness.

I don't see how you can spin 'FWA denying every other British company an opportunity to put out a TV show' (which, face it, is what they're doing) into 'FWA are saving us from crap wrestling. My heroes.'And I've got no vested interest. And while I am more bitter than Tom Zenk and Bret Hart shoving lemons up Ole Anderson's arse most of the time, I'm not in this case.

I can understand that, with all the British wrestling shows you go to.Oh, wait.

Hey, I never said I wasn't lazy. And I'm trying to get out to more shows. All-Star in Chester next week, and maybe FCW this weekend if I've got nothing better on.Maybe if I went to all FWA shows, I could see things from your un-biased perspective.

[fleischmark]

Most internet fans think that British wrestling is in the shitter, because...FWA says that.FWA: We are trying to help britain guys! everything else is shit! we rule! We are flying the flag for british wrestling...what? how is that contradicting considering we are main eventing our come back show with two americans? no, YOU fuck off. FANS FAULT, BE BACK IN 6 MONTHS.

[The Dart]

I can understand the FWA wanting to be Number One, but them signing a deal to be the only British fed on the channel for at least five years is complete bollocks. I had heard a rumour about this a few weeks ago and hoped it wasn't true. It's pretty much screwing any other promotion in the UK, and they are many who are as good as or better than the FWA, and the Wrestling Channel would have been the one thing they needed to go up to the next level, but this has screwed them all. I suppose "FWA Unsigned" (stupidest name for a show ever, on so many levels) might give non FWA wrestlers the chance to be on TV, but still.

[CracktonMoj]

I find it funny that the FWA footage is to be a yardstick, considering how awful some of the stuff they've shown on the previews has been.

Thing is though - the stuff on those previews were much darker than the same footage on the videos. This might be something to do with how it was broadcast, or something. Not the FWA's fault, per se.I've got the video of Vendetta (which was the one everyone brought up), and it's lit fine. I'll send it you if you want.

What about the more recently established promotions?

Nearly all the more recently established promotions have been going for ages, under different names. UCW used to be the PWA, for example.And nobody's answered my original thing - if all these other groups are so good, to the extent that they deserve TV deals too, how come British Wrestling's still in the shitter?

[CracktonMoj]

I don't see how you can spin 'FWA denying every other British company an opportunity to put out a TV show' (which, face it, is what they're doing) into 'FWA are saving us from crap wrestling. My heroes.'

Ok, Bobbins. What promotions in this country promote a product that could get shown on TV, and not be an embarrassment? The closest I've seen is FCW, and their main event was a total abortion which would make casual fans go 'Fuck this' and switch off. UCW have had good shows, but when they're bad, they really go all out to beat Heroes of Wrestling in the crappiness stakes. Hammerlock had their chance a few years ago. All Star we all know about, plus Dixon said he didn't want to do it. RBW draw about sixty people. One of the Scottish feds has Drew McDonald and is therefore out. The only promotion I can really think of is WAW, to be honest, but that's based on one show in Cheltenham which had no production values to speak of, but it's probably different in Norwich.This whole thing reminds me of the thing in the Life of Brian where the bloke from the Judean People's Front wants the right to give birth, or something.

[fleischmark]

And nobody's answered my original thing - if all these other groups are so good, to the extent that they deserve TV deals too, how come British Wrestling's still in the shitter?

1. Because FWA says so2. It doesnt have the financial backing3. Becausesome promotions are holding others back, by stopping them getting TV deals. DYSWIDT?

[CracktonMoj]

And nobody's answered my original thing - if all these other groups are so good, to the extent that they deserve TV deals too, how come British Wrestling's still in the shitter?

1. Because FWA says so2. It doesnt have the financial backing3. Becausesome promotions are holding others back, by stopping them getting TV deals. DYSWIDT?

What the fuck?British Wrestling's been all crap attendance-wise for the last ten years. For half of that, the FWA wasn't even in existence. Nevertheless, the reason it's been rubbish isn't because of tributes and false advertising, it's because the FWA's been brainwashing people and denying them TV deals. Gotcha.

[Kenny McBride]

if all these other groups are so good, to the extent that they deserve TV deals too, how come British Wrestling's still in the shitter?

Because the FWA shouts louder? Because certain groups that had hope have had problems thrust on them? And maybe the point is not that other offices are producing TV standard shows (as I think even the FWA would admit that they're not completely happy with how their own product looks yet), but that even if they are, they're going to find it difficult to compete with the FWA if the FWA holds all the cards regarding availability on TWC. I don't blame the FWA for this at all - from their point of view it's a great move. It does seem rather silly (not to mention anti-competitive, which means it hurts everyone) from the point of view of TWC though. If WZW, SCW, BCW, ICW, GPW or anyone else starts producing the best booked shows in the world, with ECW-standard production values, they'll be prevented from getting on the channel because TWC is looking out for the FWA. Who wins there? The FWA and the FWA alone. AND IT'S TWC's DECISION! Don't get hot at the FWA. They did what anyone would have done. Try getting mad at TWC for their complete lack of interest in the rest of British wrestling. While I love the UKFF as much as the next guy, I don't think for one second that I could run any kind of company off the back of it. That's why I'd have English commentary on the Japanese and Mexican wrestling, why I'd demand high-end production values from every promotion, and why I'd be getting as hard behind as many British offices as possible, as they're going to provide you with your grass-roots support. How many people watch wrestling in Britain every week Herbie? Presumably you've done your market research, so come on...how many? How many live and how many on TV? And how many of those are FWA fans? Doesn't every company in Britain out-draw the FWA so far this year? What's wrong with the production values of WZW or GPW? It seems to me they do as much right in many ways as FWA, and so far this year have outdrawn FWA's biggest shows of last year. So which is the bigger company? The one that draws the most fans (and on lower costs, thus making them a more financially sound company too)or the one who shouts the loudest? I'm not saying that WZW is any more ready for TV than anyone else. I'm just raising a few points that certain people might want to think about. I also want to make it clear that I'm not having a go at the FWA with any of this - as I said, they've done what any smart company would have done. I just have my doubts about this channel that (a) can't work out what is actually successful in wrestling and thus is highly unlikely to know what to present or how to present it, and (b) seems to be run by and for smart marks (specifically the UKFF), and is thus booked to fail.

[CracktonMoj]

Five.Four.Three.Two.One.>Kenny posts a retraction in which he says that half of what he said was made up to strengthen his argument<There, saved you the time.

[fleischmark]

I was being ironic moj my man.OK lets look at it from this point of viewIf FWA is so good, why is british wrestling still in the shitter?

[Guest OutcastVideo]

Would this be a good time to bring up GWF, and how a referee associated with a certain company failed to bring the ring?

[fleischmark]

Fucking hell moj i enjoy your posts as much as the next guy, but i could see you posting that a mile off, ok he did something bad once, let it go man, it just makes you seem as if you're clutching at straws.

[CracktonMoj]

Fucking hell moj i enjoy your posts as much as the next guy, but i could see you posting that a mile off, ok he did something bad once

Well, yeah. I'm trying to make sure that people are aware that Kenny has, in the past made things up in order to make his arguments more plausible. And that everyone should bear that in mind while reading his latest plausible argument. Do you see?

If FWA is so good, why is british wrestling still in the shitter?

Well, it's better than it used to be. How many other promotions can you show to your non-fan friends without them laughing at you?