Indy News Update #2 for February 2, 2011
Submit your Indy news and results to: AdamMartin@wrestleview.com
WSU promoter Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey sent this in:
For a look about how TNA has cost several of their lower end talents paydays & runs their business, plus thoughts on how to create new stars, check out the following link: http://www.declarationofindependents.net/doi/pages/mcross2211x.html
You can also reprint the story in its original format here:
McRoss Report for 2/2/11
Yes it is the return of the McRoss Report. I could write something cute or witty here, but you’d read it, and forget about it 10 seconds later anyway. A .ing nation of ADD. Anyway, I haven’t done one of these in a while, and there’s a lot to discuss. So let me find the old shovel, and hopefully you’ll finish this column faster than Bill Behrens sending an email to someone complaining about the smallest thing possible that he finds offensive to his business. Like people not wanting to pay him an agent’s fee that even Eric Simms would say, “What a .ing jew!”
TNA
I think I’ve done about 12 different columns with factual information about why TNA sucks, what you can do to try to fix it and why TNA is a .ing joke. There’s no point in re-hashing the same shit over and over. It’s just mind boggling the way they run their business.
For example, the latest mess from Dixie Carter, who I think has to be a raging meth addict, because no one can really be that .ing stupid in real life, so I like to think she’s a .ing drug junkie which is why she makes bad decisions, is this whole “They” mess. First off, how many times will TNA hype up a mystery faction? No one gives a shit. You’ve been in business for 9 years now, and no one buys your PPVs. You’re in the red so much, people think you’re a communist. You guys are redder than the hair of that Red Cock Terry Taylor.
Holy shit, does anyone with any power in TNA have any interest in history? I mean how about even American history? With the names TNA have hired as of late from the 1990s, I wonder if Dixie Carter & her staff who must live in an opium den, are even aware of 9/11? The people behind TNA (and ICW for that matter) should call up Emmett Brown, and get their Delorian out of the 1990s and into 2011.
I mean, this whole “They” thing was supposed to be the main event mafia. I’m not going to examine TNA storylines, because one they are horrendous and two I don’t want to have a seizure. But basically TNA wanted to bring back one heel stable that buried everyone to feud with the current heel stable that buries everyone. So TNA promotes a whole show around the returns of Kevin Nash & Booker T. Except wait – they didn’t sign them to a contract. And this is not the first time TNA tried to build an angle around someone without a contract, as they did the same shit with Bobby Lashley. Again, does anyone learn from history? Then again, this is the same company that hired the .ing failures from WCW’s office to run this septic tank.
The worst part about all these mistakes from these people who have to be drug addicts (most likely meth), is that it is affecting the lower card people in TNA. I’m talking the people you know on the indy scene and are only making $200-$300 from TNA. But let me clarify – these people only get paid when they appear on Impact. So say Robbie E doesn’t show up on the Impact tapings for a month – that’s $800 out of his pocket. It’s even worse, the cock (rooster) that helps with the bookings, (he should’ve been booked as a snake, not a rooster) Terry Taylor (Who, like Vince Russo, has to have pictures of Dixie Carter getting gang banged and bukkaked on to even have a job in the first place) is telling all these lower end people (The Young Bucks, Jersey Shore, Sarita, Red, Kendrick, Daffney, British Invasion, Sharkboy, So Cal Val, etc) that TNA has to pull some house show dates from them because of budget cuts.
BUDGET CUTS? This is the same company that one has to have bought more drugs than the piles of cocaine on Tony Montana’s desk based on the way they run their business and two, the same company that was willing to bring back Nash & Booker T at high-end deals, two wrestlers who openly talked about what a joke TNA was and never treated it seriously. This is also the same company that is now paying for Matt Hardy’s pill budget, Scott Steiner’s steroids and put Karen Jarrett under a contract. So TNA has all this money to pay for all these old .s, but can’t throw an extra $200 to the Young Bucks?
Will TNA ever realize they look more like the Heroes of Wrestling every day? If you want to play wrestling with all these 90’s guys, buy a video game.
This is just sad. TNA is supposed to be the number 2 company in America, but instead it’s just a big pile of steamy number 2.
What’s even worse is that TNA has the right to pull people, who only get paid when they are booked by TNA (aka no guaranteed deals) from paying gigs. So if a promoter can pay a wrestler $500 for an indy show, while the TNA person only gets $200, TNA can do it because the wrestling business is so dead that wrestlers are forced to go along with what they are given.
For example, here’s a story that happens with TNA all the time. Let’s use Rob Eckos for this. (Robbie E, the Jersey Shore guy, another short-sighted gimmick and is a retarded waste of Eckos ability. Plus, who books a gimmick that promotes a show that airs head-to-head with Impact? Oh it must be someone on drugs or someone stupid enough to hire Vince Russo as booker & Terry Taylor as head of talent relations).
Anyway, Rob Eckos who worked for Battling Bodies wonderstud Kevin Knight for the past 10 years and calls Knight’s IWF his home fed, because he trained there, can be pulled off IWF without pay and without a replacement booking. So say Knight was giving Eckos $500 for an IWF show, it is in TNA’s right to pull that date from him, not book him on TV and house shows, and Eckos has to accept that. Again Eckos only gets paid when he works, like a lot of people on the TNA roster.
It’s a shame. A lot of indy promoters won’t book TNA talent because the prices are ridiculous. The reason a lot of indy companies are going out of business are because of TNA’s high rates for talent. TNA also hurts the value of indy talent and does not promote them well. It is sad that a company like ROH, with no TV exposure or cable backing, can make bigger stars out of guys like Samoa Joe, Homicide, Christopher Daniels, etc, but in TNA, their value has decreased. Does anyone remember when Samoa Joe was a monster on the indies/ROH? Now he’s that fat guy who shows up from time to time. It is impossible for a lot of indy promoters to make money on these TNA wrestlers when TNA’s awful booking buries the talent on TV.
There is a reason why when people ask for their release from TNA and get it, they go back to using their indy names because their value being in TNA goes down. Wrestlers who get their release are given sympathetic reactions from fans, because they know the political mess TNA is. Just look at Homicide. Homicide was miserable ever since TNA threw away a rare money making act that they had. Once Homicide finally got his release, he felt like Andy Dufresne after he got out of the shit pipe in “Shawshank Redemption”. Video re-enactment of Homicide’s feelings after his TNA release:
(EDIT: Blah, youtube won’t let me embed the video so here’s the link:
Tim Robbins, As Homicide, Goes Through the Shit Tunnel Called TNA & Gets His Freedom at the End
If TNA was a real wrestling company, not the Studio 54 of 1990s wrestling where people with pending drug charges can be world champion, then all of the talent on the TNA roster should be able to live comfortably.
One of the many reasons TNA is perceived as a joke is because more than 1/2 the roster have to take secondary jobs because TNA can’t give them a comfortable living. At least the guys from the 80’s and 90’s can still get paid to live off their laurels, but the knockouts and the X-division wrestlers, the ones who actually move ratings, have to take second jobs pushing shopping carts to make ends meet. It is sad that a company would strip their champions, one who had to work at sunglass hut, because their money is tied up elsewhere. That same champion has now retired from wrestling, because TNA has disenchanted her drive for this. Just wild(e).
It is sad that people like Rob Eckos doesn’t have a full-time contract and has to work side jobs (as a gym teacher) to make ends meet because TNA has their money allocated to former WWE guys who can’t move ratings, sell house show tickets, sell PPVs and are money losing albatrosses. Aside from using Eckos as an example for this, I hope he does well and he deserves as much success as he can achieve, but in all honesty, it’s a pop culture gimmick that will die out. Then what? TNA can’t even announce matches for a PPV on the go-home Impact, am I expected to think TNA has any long-term idea for Eckos after the Jersey shore phenomena dies out?
It’s a shame that the Red Cock Terry Taylor & Brian “Where’s Frank Goodman’s Coffee & Hotdog” Wittenstein can play with peoples lives and finances like they do. Everyone wants to see the wrestlers do well & to make as much money as possible.
It is a shame that a company that can’t afford to provide their roster with a full-time living would take money out of their wrestlers bank accounts and food out of their mouths.
I mean really do you think the marks at TNA would turn down Jeff Hardy’s bookings? Shit, they’d probably call the local drug dealers in town to let him know he’s swinging through. Of course not. TNA only punishes the innocent & the aspiring because that is all those marks can get away with.
It’s a shame and really .ing pathetic that TNA can’t give their wrestlers full-time wages and treats them like they are African-American’s in the 1700s. You have to wonder when Red Tip Taylor gives the lower end roster members their bookings, if they are required to say “Thank you massa.”
Oh & for the record, I have heard of TNA pulling talent from 8 different promoters shows and in all 8 cases, the wrestlers weren’t compensated for the date that TNA pulled from them. You stay classy Dixie. I hope your next batch of meth turns you into a vegetable. It will be an improvement from the nut you are now.
Um, so how about them Knicks?
Next…
The Lost Art of Creating Stars
Whether it be WWE, TNA (Definitely TNA) or the indies, one trend I’m noticing is the lack of stars being created. In WWE land, the Nexus stuff has fizzled out. Alberto Del Rios seems to be the next big thing, but just because you win a championship, doesn’t mean you are a star. Look at the reigns of Jack Swagger & The Miz (Who to date, only has one clean win since winning the championship.) Flukes aren’t stars.
I was happy when I checked out the DGUSA show this past Sunday, as Tozawa cemented himself as an official star of DGUSA. I didn’t see his other matches of the weekend, but according to all reports, he had a show stealing match with Austin Aries, which kind of reminded me of way back when, when Christopher Daniels made Austin Aries a star in the northeast in the finals of the 2004 Super 8 Tournament. After that tournament, Aries became indy wrestling’s newest darling, kind of like the reaction Tozawa is getting right now.
I think it is imperative for bookers to try to create new stars on the indy scene. The parity way of booking and protecting everyone will not work. Someone needs to be dominant. The biggest matches in wrestling history are between two people who are dominant. Whether it was Hogan/Andre, Hogan/Warrior, Gotch/Hackenschmidt, Graham/Sammartino, Austin/Rock, Goldberg/Hogan (Although WCW .ed up not putting it on PPV) etc, the best box office/business matches, are the matches between two legit and over as hell stars. When you do the trading wins/losses stars, these guys come off as being in a rut, and fans don’t buy into them anymore.
Championship belts need to mean something. As a stickler for wanting wrestling to have some realism, it is sickening what has become of the championship situation in WWE. We’ve all have said this to our friends. Guys like Rick Rude, Jake the Snake, Ted Dibiase, Curt Hennig, etc, never won the WWF Championship, but Jack Swagger, Great Khali, The Miz, etc are all champions. Edge is a 10 time world champion. That is disguting. It’s not about the amount of times you won it, it’s about the duration of the reign, which is why Sammartino & Hogan did great business. Backlund was the abberation.
Championships, while in reality can be debated as nothing more than props, should always be important and everyone’s goal. If you take the prop mentality, then your prop should make stars. When you have 2 world titles, and 10-time champs & guys who wouldn’t even get past the $150 payday level in the 1970’s holding world titles, it devalues everything. UFC has taken over the wrestling world on PPV and in business for a number of reasons, but if you look at UFC, all their titles mean something. Fans are excited for championship fights. It’s always unpredictable. Stars are made by winning/losing championships. The same can’t be said about pro wrestling anymore. And that’s one of the reasons the business is in shambles right now.
Creating a star doesn’t happen over night. It takes time and dedication to staying the course. There may be stumbles, but you must get back up and continue running. Sure, you may have to adjust your gameplan according to crowd reaction, but you can’t give up. What if the WWE gave up on Rocky Maivia? What if WWE gave up on The Ringmaster? For wrestling to hit a golden age again, new stars must emerge. It’s not easy, but hard work rarely is.
Random Questions & Thoughts
If JAPW has a show with none of their champions & did nothing to promote it, did it really happen?
Does Jac Sabboth have a “A Reason To Cancel My Wrestling Show” Excuse Rolodex, like the excuse rolodex Jerry Seinfeld had in one of the earlier seasons of Seinfeld?
Can you get social security or medicare if you’ve been a karaoke singer your whole life?
Is the ACE arena becoming the ECW arena of NJ?
If you only run 1-2 shows a year, can you really be considered a promotion?
Are niche promotions & ticket seller feds the only way for promoters to stay profitable these days?
Do wrestlers realize what they do somewhere else can hurt their standing in another company? How are the fans supposed to believe what you’re doing and take you for real when you act one way one place, one way the next?
It seems like Sami Callihan & Jon Moxley are 2011’s Homicide and Jay Lethal. Who will be the next great indy wrestler to work in every fed in a 5 mile radius?
Is it sad or is it the “Show Must Go On” attitude when no one talks about people who left wrestling either out of depression or to move on in life?
When will people realize ECW has officially been dead for over 10 years now and if Paul Heyman was booking anything it would be something different not something that worked back then? Is it because the maroons who believe in religion/creationism are too scared to accept the theory of evolution?
Will the New York State Athletic commission ever give a . again? For all you people who are happy the NYSAC does “jac” shit about illegal rentals, I wonder if you are happy when the wrestlers don’t get paid on canceled dates? If there was a strong commission, the wrestlers would get paid and fans would have their tickets refunded right away.
When you cancel a show, the word is CANCELED. Not postponed. Postponed is when you move an event a week back due to an unfortunate circumstance. Canceled is when you move the event to a date you already had announced.
It’s now been 7 years since Rob Feinstein has said he has an idea that will work when promoting shows. Is this 7 year itch ever going to be scratched?
Someone should run a pool on what wrestler will punch out CZW referee Brett Lauderdale next. First problems with Pinkie. Then Sabian. Now Sami Callihan. As Brett’s jewish brother from another hebrew mother would say, “Who’s Next?”
Not to offend anyone affected by this, but wouldn’t it be cool if that baby disease SIDS, was just a case of Sid Vicious showing up and powerbombing a baby? Ok that was bad, almost as bad as a Slashtones concert or a show booked by Harry Slash. It’s funny, I saw a Slashtones concert on DVD once and it reminded me of this:
For all intents and purposes, selling things on eBay does not constitute a real job.
Well that’s it for me. Hopefully you didn’t throw up in your mouth reading this. If you did, and you still finished this column, having a mouth full of puke is pretty impressive, so kudos on that.
Hate mail only can be sent to:
Sean “The MiC” McCaffrey
BULLSMC@aol.com
CHIKARA sent this in:
CHIKARA returns to action in Reading, PA in less than 3 weeks!
On Saturday evening, February 19th, the CHIKARA returns to Reading with a loaded line-up of cutting edge wrestling action as only we can deliver! Both the coveted Young Lions Cup and the Campeonatos de Parejas will be up for grabs as reigning champs Frightmare, and the team of Mike Quackenbush and Jigsaw, lay it all on the line! So far, we can confirm the following bouts:
~MAIN EVENT: FOR THE CAMPEONATOS!~
Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw vs. Obariyon & Kodama
~YOUNG LIONS CUP IN THE BALANCE!~
Frightmare vs. Rich Swann
~FIRST TIME EVER!~
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Dasher Hatfield
~ONE ON ONE!~
Gregory Iron vs. Icarus
~IN PURSUIT OF POINTS!~
The UnStable vs. 3.0
~JUST ADDED!~
Brodie Lee vs. Sugar Dunkerton
Tickets & directions available here: http://www.chikarapro.com/events.php
Season 10 begins here:
“Caught in a Cauldron of Hate”
2.19.2011 – Saturday Evening
Live @ The Goodwill Beneficial Assoc.
100 Madison Ave.
in Reading, PA!
The action starts @ 7:00 pm!
“Clutch of Doom”
2.20.2011 – Sunday Afternoon
Live @ The Palmer Center
4100 Green Pond Road
in Easton, PA!
The action starts @ 4:00 pm!
“Operation Big Freeze”
3.12.2011 – Saturday Evening
Live @ The Campbell Street Center
600 Campbell Street
in Williamsport, PA!
The action starts @ 7:00 pm!
Our homebase: www.chikarapro.com – Updated daily!
New to CHIKARA? Start here: www.chikara101.com
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/CHIKARAoffice
Get free updates on your mobile device: twitter.com/chikarapro
Join our official fan club: www.chikarmy.com
On Facebook! www.facebook.com/chikarapro
On MySpace! www.myspace.com/chikarapro