So a Friend Wants to Start a Promotion...

[Dragonfly]

As the title thoroughly suggests, a friend of my wife wants to start promoting shows. Now he means well and is a really cool guy, but... yeah. Please note that the answers given below are completely, 100% real.


Q: Do you have any money saved?
A: No, not really.

Q: What's your goal? And please, for the love of all that's good and holy, don't say "bring back the Attitude Era."
A: Beat Vince McMahon or at the very least, get bought out by Vince.

Q: Fantastic. Do you watch Indy wrestling?
A: Nope.

Q: Nothing? Not even Dragon Gate or ROH?
A: No.

Q: How about stuff from Mexico or Japan?
A: No.

Q: Do you even watch TNA? Did you ever watch TNA?
A: No.

Q: Do you watch, or have you ever watched, anything that wasn't produced by Vince McMahon or NWO-era WCW?
A: Mid-South [He's talking Bill Watts' UWF, not Ian Rotten]. There are people in Northern Mississippi who still believe that wrestling is real because of [Watts]. I want a promotion like that.

Q: Okay... now we're getting somewhere. Do you know any wrestlers?
A: I met Buff Bagwell at the gym a few times.

Q: Do you have any contacts - wrestlers, other promoters, etc?
A: No.

Q: Where are you getting your ring then?
A: I figured that I would be three or four from the Internet. Did you know that they're basically made out of wood?

Q: Yes... we've seen crews both put together and take apart rings before. What did you think that they were made out of?
A: Rubber or something. I guess I'll have to add that.

Q: Fine. Did you research the rules of running a show in Georgia?
A: There are rules?

Q: Well in Pennsylvania, you have to follow the guidelines set by the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission. We don't know the Georgia scene enough to help there.
A: Ah.

Q: So let us get this straight: You have no ring, no connections, are unfamiliar with the current state of the Indies and know nothing about the policies of the Georgia Athletic Commission. So who do you plan on booking for your first show?
A: Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. He's not doing anything these days.

Q: Um... okay... does he live in the area?
A: I don't know.

Q: What's his rate?
A: I don't know. $100 maybe?

Q: Anyone else you have in mind?
A: Buff, DDP, Scott Steiner... you know... WCW guys. And maybe some of the guys you know.

Q: Buff won't be wrestling for a while (if ever) due to his car accident, DDP does yoga and Steiner... he would want "money." And the guys we know are in Pittsburgh. I don't think they would travel twelve hours for a new promotion. Do you have anyone else?
A: What about that Hughes guy [my wife] keeps talking about?

Q: Mr. Hughes?
A: Yeah. I'll book him.

Q: So your main event would be Greg "The Hammer" Valentine versus Mr. Hughes in a rubber ring. Good luck with that.

[flatsdomino]

NEW BOOM PERIOD

[Bo Rida]

What a business plan that is, how can I invest in this promotion?

That said it must be tough to start out without any contacts, I assume much harder than comparable industries (ie you can book bands to play in bars).

[Spankymac is sick of the swiss]

Dude, I don't want to say anything bad about your friend, but.....I wanna say SO many bad things about your friend. Just...what the hell?

[tennesseetitan]

Why is your wife "always talking" about Mr. Hughes?

["Playboy" Don Douglas]

So he wants a promotion with the reality of Mid-South with a main event of Greg Valentine and Mr. Hughes. In a rubber ring.

I actually like both of those guys, but wow.

[Spankymac is sick of the swiss]

Jun 13, 2012 13:21:02 GMT -5 "Playboy" Don Douglas said:

So he wants a promotion with the reality of Mid-South with a main event of Greg Valentine and Mr. Hughes. In a rubber ring.

I actually like both of those guys, but wow.

Yeah. I mean, Mr. Hughes is actually in better ring shape now than he was in his prime, but still....yikes.

[Dragonfly]

Jun 13, 2012 13:14:02 GMT -5 tennesseetitan said:

Why is your wife "always talking" about Mr. Hughes?

She mentioned him twice: Once in a conversation about AR Fox and Nation (he never heard of either), and once in a conversation about wrestling schools.

[unoriginalalex]

So, where can I buy tickets?

[Andrew is Good]

If people remember, there was interest in buying the IWA:MS library and getting a promotion going. There were a few issues. I called Ian Rotten and the tape library would have been about 10-12,000 (I lowballed him at $5000). One big issue was the ring itself and someone here, I think it was Nikki Heyman, said guys got infected with staph on the ring.

So if a new promotion was to be started, a new ring would be a must. Having later bumped in a WWE style ring, those would be the best to have though I would have had to check out the 18x18 rings as that's the norm on the indies. So to start a strong promotion, you need a good ring, especially if you want to keep your wrestlers healthy so they can come back. Among many other things.

[Hit Girl]

Whatever happens, make sure he books you as champion at least once.

[Rave]

Jun 13, 2012 13:21:51 GMT -5 Spankymac is sick of the swiss said:

Jun 13, 2012 13:21:02 GMT -5 "Playboy" Don Douglas said:

So he wants a promotion with the reality of Mid-South with a main event of Greg Valentine and Mr. Hughes. In a rubber ring.

I actually like both of those guys, but wow.

Yeah. I mean, Mr. Hughes is actually in better ring shape now than he was in his prime, but still....yikes.

Isn't he a narcoleptic?

[Spankymac is sick of the swiss]

Jun 13, 2012 15:17:40 GMT -5 Rave said:

Jun 13, 2012 13:21:51 GMT -5 Spankymac is sick of the swiss said:

Yeah. I mean, Mr. Hughes is actually in better ring shape now than he was in his prime, but still....yikes.

Isn't he a narcoleptic?

Not in my experience, though, I admit, I'd just hang out at the WWA4 school a lot. He's a nice guy, though. Intimidating as all hell, but a nice guy.

[Kash Flagg]

In Georgia? I'm there. I hope he has shirts.

[tigermaskxxxvii]

Jun 13, 2012 12:49:27 GMT -5 Dragonfly said:

Q: What's your goal? And please, for the love of all that's good and holy, don't say "bring back the Attitude Era."
A: Beat Vince McMahon or at the very least, get bought out by Vince.

"Buy him out boys!" Patterson and Briscoe immediately destroy everything in your wife's friend's home office. "Oh what? You don't think I got rich by writing a lot of checks?"

[Hassan bin Sober]

Jun 13, 2012 18:13:33 GMT -5 tigermaskxxxvii said:

Jun 13, 2012 12:49:27 GMT -5 Dragonfly said:

Q: What's your goal? And please, for the love of all that's good and holy, don't say "bring back the Attitude Era."
A: Beat Vince McMahon or at the very least, get bought out by Vince.

"Buy him out boys!" Patterson and Briscoe immediately destroy everything in your wife's friend's home office. "Oh what? You don't think I got rich by writing a lot of checks?"

i have a feeling this guy doesn't have a home office.

[molson5]

I imagine the most important thing to have is money. if you have enough you can probably figure out a way to run a show or two, with the understanding that you'd lose most, if not all of your money.

Just for fun, how much would it take this board to put on one show, like as a kickstarter project, with no expectation of profits, just trying to lose as little money as possible? Assuming we had one booker/pointman who made all the major decisions and got things rolling, and who had enough credibility in the industry to actually get workers to show up. Could $10k do it?

[joebob27]

Tell him to download EWR and try to build a fed around Greg Valentine and Mr. Hughes.

[El Pollo Guerrera]

Jun 13, 2012 13:52:33 GMT -5 Dragonfly said:

Jun 13, 2012 13:14:02 GMT -5 tennesseetitan said:

Why is your wife "always talking" about Mr. Hughes?

She mentioned him twice: Once in a conversation about AR Fox and Nation (he never heard of either), and once in a conversation about wrestling schools.

Just as long as she didn't call his name out during sex...

[siredger]

The sad part in this is that I'm pretty sure he isn't the only guy who thinks that any Joe Schmo can open a wrestling promotion. I spent a short time booking for a local indy fed in my area and I witness stuff like that.

So, basically, you need to slap some sense into your friend's head. Or literally, slap him. Either way, as long as he's not going through with that idea.