Spandex, Screw Jobs and Cheap Pops by Carrie Dunn

Author:Carrie Dunn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: wrestling, uk wrestling, british wrestling, wwe, wwf, pro wrestling, professional wrestling
Publisher: Pitch Publishing (Brighton) Ltd
Published: 2013-06-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8:

Creating a promotion

IT is not surprising that lots of fans decide to set up their own companies as a way of putting on shows they want to see, and lots of wrestlers set up their own companies as a way of putting on shows they want to be part of; but what is surprising is the amount of work that goes in to running a successful show. It is not just a case of booking wrestlers, setting up a ring and then taking the money at the door – there is all sorts of bureaucracy prior to the big day, and you need a unique selling point, and convincing, compelling stories behind your matches. What makes your show different to any of the others out there? Can you find your own niche in the market? And how can you overcome all the problems that are bound to arise?

One fan-promoter who now knows through experience is Graham Beadle, the owner of a comic book store in Maidstone, Kent, who has been a wrestling fan on and off for years. He and his friend Jack Lawrence, a comic book artist, had been recording a podcast, Demon’s Pit, as a thank-you to all the wrestling federations in the south-east whose shows they enjoyed, and that meant they interviewed wrestlers from the various rosters, all in character. That is where they got the idea for their own promotion with a unique selling point.

“Whilst talking to guests like Jimmy Havoc and Terry Striker about their experiences, we just thought that we could book the kind of show that I’d like to take my kids to see and from there it was a natural progression for us to combine it with the comics angle, what with Jack being a comic artist and me owning a comic shop,” said Beadle in the summer of 2012.

“There will be comic artists present on the day, to draw wrestlers, superheroes and celebrities for those in attendance. The programme will contain comic art match graphics as well as a six-page comic featuring the story of roster member Marmot – and also we’re going to be big on factions, with heels stables initially, then face factions forming to counteract. To be honest, we’re looking to become the UK equivalent of Chikara, but definitely with our own stamp.”

The pair combined their two passions to create the Comic Wrestling Alliance – and subsequently found that setting up a wrestling promotion as a long-term venture is not a simple matter at all.

First of all, they had scheduled their first show for the end of September 2012 to coincide with Demoncon – a comic convention that Beadle runs in Maidstone. However, another wrestling promotion had a show in the area in the same week, and weren’t happy with the possibility of losing business. “Personally I wasn’t fussed but the venue, under pressure, asked if we’d consider moving date, so we obliged,” he says now.

Switching to a date four weeks earlier, though, meant that some of the talent originally booked for the show had to pull out due to clashing commitments.

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