So...You want to be a Pro Wrestling Promoter???
Bruce Collins
July 28, 2008
So, the night of my first big event, at the ailing San Jose Civic Auditorium (surpassed long ago as a suitable venue for the more ´important´ events), I was very green at discerning between the legitimate and the faux catastrophes. Just like you, I figured it was all phony.
I had seen a few Oscar worthy, pain filled shuffles as the war weary grapplers returned from the squared circle. Miraculously, each limp turned into a strut once the, ahem, athletes had passed through the curtain that separated the audience from the inner workings.
As I was talking to a few wrestlers about their order (who would enter the arena from which side of the auditorium which is part of the illusion distinguishing ´good´ from ´bad´ wrestlers), I glanced out around the curtain to see a power bomb performed on one of the wrestlers. Now, a power bomb must be executed properly in order to avoid injury. Dropping someone on their head or neck instead of the shoulder blades can be devastating.
I know, it´s a bit topsy turvy to imagine inflicting pain on your enemy- while doing your best not to inflict pain!
The victim of this wrestling move rolled to the ring apron or edge of the ring with one arm dangling outside. Naturally, this was part of the performance and I continued on with what I needed to do.
From behind me, I heard a wrestling manager (which is merely a paid performer), who goes by the name Big Schwag (and who later became the voiceover for Discovery Channel´s Monster Garage), state, "That guy isn´t moving out there."
Immediately, I went out to ringside and watched as an onsite EMT wheeled a stretcher out to the ring. He really had been injured. He really needed to go to the hospital. Yet, the audience could not distinguish where the act halted and when the event was derailed, spilling out the cause and effect of taking dangerous risks in the real world.
Needless to say, I was feeling as if I had been power bombed.
As the old saying goes, the show did go on, climaxed by a main event featuring the Honky Tonk Man, an Elvis themed, former World Wrestling Intercontinental Champion (for those who do not know, that is a prestigious reward- even amongst the wrestlers who know the belt is not earned by an actual victory, but by the wrestler to fan connection and the revenue that is generated accordingly).
At the end of the event, my first event, in the battered San Jose Civic Auditorium, I was paying the wrestlers in the back, hoping that it would somehow balance with the gate receipts. As I was checking the locker room area to make sure it was clean and that nothing was left behind, a figure emerged that resembled the stiff walk of Frankenstein.
It was the wrestler who was power bombed. Apparently, he had refused to go to the hospital, got up from the gurney and hobbled into the back area. I was astonished.
He simply looked at me with a face contorting from shooting pain and asked," Am I working tomorrow night?"
True story.
Now, there are many things you need to do to become a promoter and to promote an event. You need to get a business license in the city you will do business in. This is done by going to City Hall. You will also need liability insurance.
You will need to buy or rent a wrestling ring, pay wrestlers, buy a title belt, create a website, print programs for the event, etc.
You will also want to create a liability waiver for each of the wrestlers to sign saying that all risks are taken by themselves and that they accept any type of bodily injuries that occur to them based on their match.
There are a lot of things to consider and, if you do not do them correctly, you could pay for it eventually. However, if you start small and understand what you need to do to acheive your dream, you can make a profitable business out of it.
If you would like more information, check out the book I wrote, titled "So, You Want to be a Wrestling Promoter?", with Ric "The Equalizer" Drasin, at http://www.amazon.com/So-You-Want-Wrestling-Promoter/dp/1591099498/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217212637&sr=8-1
Good luck on your venture.
Bruce
www.BruceDCollins.com
I had seen a few Oscar worthy, pain filled shuffles as the war weary grapplers returned from the squared circle. Miraculously, each limp turned into a strut once the, ahem, athletes had passed through the curtain that separated the audience from the inner workings.
As I was talking to a few wrestlers about their order (who would enter the arena from which side of the auditorium which is part of the illusion distinguishing ´good´ from ´bad´ wrestlers), I glanced out around the curtain to see a power bomb performed on one of the wrestlers. Now, a power bomb must be executed properly in order to avoid injury. Dropping someone on their head or neck instead of the shoulder blades can be devastating.
I know, it´s a bit topsy turvy to imagine inflicting pain on your enemy- while doing your best not to inflict pain!
The victim of this wrestling move rolled to the ring apron or edge of the ring with one arm dangling outside. Naturally, this was part of the performance and I continued on with what I needed to do.
From behind me, I heard a wrestling manager (which is merely a paid performer), who goes by the name Big Schwag (and who later became the voiceover for Discovery Channel´s Monster Garage), state, "That guy isn´t moving out there."
Immediately, I went out to ringside and watched as an onsite EMT wheeled a stretcher out to the ring. He really had been injured. He really needed to go to the hospital. Yet, the audience could not distinguish where the act halted and when the event was derailed, spilling out the cause and effect of taking dangerous risks in the real world.
Needless to say, I was feeling as if I had been power bombed.
As the old saying goes, the show did go on, climaxed by a main event featuring the Honky Tonk Man, an Elvis themed, former World Wrestling Intercontinental Champion (for those who do not know, that is a prestigious reward- even amongst the wrestlers who know the belt is not earned by an actual victory, but by the wrestler to fan connection and the revenue that is generated accordingly).
At the end of the event, my first event, in the battered San Jose Civic Auditorium, I was paying the wrestlers in the back, hoping that it would somehow balance with the gate receipts. As I was checking the locker room area to make sure it was clean and that nothing was left behind, a figure emerged that resembled the stiff walk of Frankenstein.
It was the wrestler who was power bombed. Apparently, he had refused to go to the hospital, got up from the gurney and hobbled into the back area. I was astonished.
He simply looked at me with a face contorting from shooting pain and asked," Am I working tomorrow night?"
True story.
Now, there are many things you need to do to become a promoter and to promote an event. You need to get a business license in the city you will do business in. This is done by going to City Hall. You will also need liability insurance.
You will need to buy or rent a wrestling ring, pay wrestlers, buy a title belt, create a website, print programs for the event, etc.
You will also want to create a liability waiver for each of the wrestlers to sign saying that all risks are taken by themselves and that they accept any type of bodily injuries that occur to them based on their match.
There are a lot of things to consider and, if you do not do them correctly, you could pay for it eventually. However, if you start small and understand what you need to do to acheive your dream, you can make a profitable business out of it.
If you would like more information, check out the book I wrote, titled "So, You Want to be a Wrestling Promoter?", with Ric "The Equalizer" Drasin, at http://www.amazon.com/So-You-Want-Wrestling-Promoter/dp/1591099498/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217212637&sr=8-1
Good luck on your venture.
Bruce
www.BruceDCollins.com
Print
Email
