Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
Welcome to PWInsider.com's coverage of today's Starrcast conference call.
Conrad Thompson said it’s been a little nerve-wracking for him as a first-time promoter but he’s trying to put together something that he as a fan would want to see. All 40 hours of content will be airing on Fite.tv and it will all be available on VOD.
Conrad talked about the planned debate with Prichard vs. Bischoff.
Kazarian will be playing bass during the Papa Buck Jam Session.
The original Katie Vick outfit and Oz’s original robe, among other items will be on display as part of the Wrestlecrap event.
The hardest thing to put together for Starrcast was getting Jim Johnston to appear. Thompson wanted him there because he grew up loving all those original, amazing themes.
Jeff Jarrett joined the call. He will be hosting a TNA panel. Thompson has been on him to do a podcast and they haven't gotten to that point yet but they got him to agree to do the panel. Don West will be part of the panel because this is a fan's perspective and he always had a good eye for the fans. Scott Steiner will also be on the panel and there will be rotating guests from the X-Division, the Knockouts and more.
Jarrett said that FITE was the perfect home for the Starrcase event because of the technology. He said that he was amazed by their technology and as a talent, when he was invited to come on board, he knew the platform was ready-made. You can watch it live or archive it for later since it's Labor Day weekend. There's no buffering and it's perfect viewing.
Jarrett was asked whether all the success of All In and Starrcast reminds him of the old days. Jarrett said it's bigger because of the reach it has. He said that his family was involved in the AWA Superclash III event but to him, this is much larger and greater. It has something for every type of wrestling fan over the last 50 years. He said Thompson can't keep saying he's just the mortgage guy. He's a promoter now.
Jarrett said he's looking forward to the Monday Night War debate as he worked for Eric Bischoff and Bruce was involved in his WWF run from day one. He's interested in the Konnan podcast. He really has his eye on the Roast of Bruce Prichard as well.
Jarrett was asked what talents have his attention right now. He doesn't want to name just one because it puts an undue focus on some. He said the talent pool is as deep as its ever been. All In sold out in a matter of minutes and that's proof of that. World of Sport is on ITV. New Japan is doing well. AAA will have 22,000 fans at Triplemania this weekend. The business is very healthy.
Jarrett was asked if he ever saw this sort of boom in the independent promotions back during the time period his family was promoting. The territory era was a different time. There were 22 regional companies. The Monday Night Wars was a different time. But, when Vince McMahon bought his competition in 2001, it began a growing process for TNA and Ring of Honor. That allowed time for groups to grow and the changes in technology allowed for others to follow and learn about them and become fans.
Eric Bischoff joined the call. He said that he and Bruce Prichard have been friends since the first time he walked into a WWE set in 2002 and he considered him one of his best friends. He can count his friends on one hand and have fingers left over. However, he takes his career seriously. The Monday Night War was an important part of his life and he defends it. He's not going to pull punches. He hopes they are still friends when it's over and he thinks they will. He expects Bruce to come at him with the gloves off. What he hopes will happen is that the audience will decide for themselves what perspective they believe in the most. When you have two people who are on opposite sides of a war, they will believe in their perspective 100% but the fan will be able to decide for themselves what really happened.
The biggest misconception surrounding WCW is that they only succeeded because they outspent and stole WWE's talents. The talents came to him. Vince McMahon painted the idea that he was an underdog with the Billionaire Ted skits but he was the guy who actually did raid talent from the territories and put them out of business. He explained their talent expenditures were in the same area that WWE's are likely at today. They were more aggressive and realized the audience had changed while WWE was entrenched in their kiddie-friendly style and they were dying. Had they not changed the business, it's possible WWE wouldn't exist today.
Bischoff said he doesn't have the words to put over Cody and The Young Bucks for everything they have done with this event. When you go and put the money in and stick your neck out so publicly knowing it could not work, he has such great respect for that. He said they have made wrestling cool again and as long as Bischoff has been in the business, the one thing everyone laments is how do we make wrestling cool again. He said that Cody, The Bucks and others on the independent scene have made wrestling cool again. What WWE has done is incredible but their content has a "sameness" to it. When you see or hear about it, it's been processed through the WWE filter. The Bucks and Cody have created their own filter that is different from WWE and its cooler and it has success. Fans love the WWE but they also love want something cooler and different in its own way.
Bischoff said he's looking forward to seeing the energy for the four days and how the event will sustains itself for four days. He said he also wonders if four days is enough to contain everything planned. He says a great wrestling show is a buffett, that represents a good wrestling show. So much of what you have at Starrcast is the best wrestling buffett on the planet.
Bruce Prichard joined the call. He said that he doesn't know if he's looking forward to being roasted, as heisn't sure what he's gotten himself into. There are a lot of people who want to castrate him on stage. He's looking forward to it and dreading it equally.
Prichard wanted to comment on the Monday Night Debate. He said that he believes that people will be shocked at how much he and Eric Bischoff agree on. If they are going to be honest, it will be a lot of stories about why each side did what he did. He believes Eric is frustrated that his narrative isn't out there as much but in the end, WWE won the war and they will discuss that. It will be their viewpoints from two completely different perspectives.
Prichard was asked if he knows who is going to roast him. He's going in blind. He's looking forward to it and waiting to see what the hell is going to go on.
Prichard was asked if he ever envisioned the independent wrestling scene the way it is today. When he was coming up in Houston, those events were considered outlaw promotions because they were opposite the big businesses. His pet peeve is when fans want people to get fired or want promotions to go under because you need the independents for talents to have the best opportunities they have to showcase themselves and make money for their family. That is the beauty of today with groups like MLW and ROH. They get to go out and entertain everyone and that's great.
Prichard was asked what he thought the All In sellout meant for the future of the business. He said it's a statement that the business is healthy and that fans are hungry for more. He's happy and proud. It's a hell of a statement for the business when people have always said it's going to die. It's not. It's going to be healthy and grow.
Prichard was asked to compare the differences in WWE and TNA when he left those companies and locker rooms today. Prichard said today is a more business attitude vs. the old loud, rambunxious attitude back in the day. Talents have changed and they have become more business-like in how they approached the business.
Prichard was asked about potential future stars. He immediately named Tom Lawlor. He has the right attitude and look to pull it off. He's a diamond that's going to shine brightly.
He was asked his go-to karaoke song. He sang "Be With My Baby Tonight" and then said anything country and AC/DC are his go-to events.
If anyone had told him Cody was going to sell out a 10,000 seat arena, would he believe it. Prichard said yes, because a decade ago, he thought Cody would sell out stadiums. He said he read something recently that said charisma skips a generation, but he can't think of two guys who have stepped out more and made a name for themselves more than Cody and Goldust. He said this is just a step and next is stadiums. He has charisma and the world is his oyster.
Cody joined the panel. Cody joked that Conrad thouht he would be late and gave him a fake time, so he actually called in and heard the entire call and was blown away.
He was asked whether he thought this was going to be a major deal. He said that he had a good feeling texting back and forth with Conrad and had a good feeling about him. He said they were shooting for the moon and might have landed on it. He's a fan first and foremost and he's creating a fan convention. He thinks fans are going to wonder when the next one is when they walk out.
Cody asked what he's learned the most about accessibility with the fans and how is he bringing that towards Starrcast. He said that the relationship between wrestler and fan had been gripped in concrete with the idea that "we know what they want." In some ways, it's still that narrative but what he's learned since he's hooked up with the Bullet Club is that you can't force things upon them. They have a gag reflex and will push back hard. He said that everyone today goes out and does their thing and maybe they don't get the reaction they wanted, but it brings him a new mindset and a different perspective. Young Bucks bring him a different perspective. They want to bring a buffet of things the fans like.
When they were planning the event, they were in Osaka at the airport and asked a New Japan official about talent availability. They had different calendars out for each promotion trying to figure out when was the best day and it was this one Saturday 9/1. Chicago was a place where everyone could get to. Once they hit that, it stuck. There's lots of moving parts for the different companies.
There have been a lot of discussions about the future in recent weeks. One thing that is special to that group that he's part of is that he, The Bucks, Adam Page and Kenny Omega have made a verbal commitment to each other that they will all take the next step together. It could be the best thing for them or it could be a dumb idea but they are all going to do it together.
History has been made in that they will bring wrestling to WGN. They made history in selling out with their own money. He said that the show has to matter. The show has to be able to feel something, the same way you do when you see a good movie. With all the controversy and politics today, the world can be a downtrodden place and wrestling always gives you a big payoff. He wants that spirit. He wants fans to have that entire weekend and to have a great experience. WWE is very good at what they do, but they don't own wrestling. No one does. This is everyone's chance to experience everything that there is.
Cody was asked about Goldust's reaction to his success. He said he and Dustin have been in more contact than they ever were. They didn't grow up together but when they had the chance to do the Brotherhood tag, that was the chance for them to learn about each other as people. They don't have to call each other every day but that's the love they have for each other. They are also really competitive. He said people are surprised by that and said that if you think about Dusty Rhodes, he's on the Mount Rushmore of wrestling for everything he did and that leaves a big shadow for his children in the business. He says people always talk about Dusty's NXT kids but he had two real kids in the business and that leads to them working even harder to make their mark.
Cody was asked when he realized it was the right time to do "All In." He said that the ROH War of the Worlds live event tour was happening and they were either in Buffalo or Pittsburgh and there were 1,200 fans and it sounded like it was 20,000. When the show was over, no one wanted to leave. He never was on last in WWE but he was that night and it was palpable that the Bullet Club/Being the Elite energy was there. That's when Hot Topic and Funko came through and he knew that crew could draw 10,000 and it was that tour where he started to sway others to that believe.
Cody was asked which All In match he was most looking forward to seeing. He said it changes on a daily basis. He noted Pentagon Jr. vs. Kenny Omega. He said the six man tag with The Bucks, Rey and Kota Ibushi. He thinks there is a chance for people who have been deemed undesirable in the past who will end up being undeniable as talents when the show is over.
Cody was asked about putting the card together. He said that there were two booking meetings. One was a fitness center in a Marriot and the other one was in a Delta Skyclub. He said he'd be remiss to say that three guys put their money in but cast of Being the Elite made the show. He said that Okada if they could be part of this. He has a "Chewbacca-like" loyalty to Nick Jackson for how Nick helped and treated him when he was in the Impact locker room. That sort of loyalty and spirit was created and they want to give it to the audience. Conrad made it possible for fans to have four days.
Cody said Chicago is one of the major historical wrestling cities. They looked at a lot of places but a lot of this is about what's in their gut feeling. The Allstate Arena is special and that community is special. They made it a point to make sure the first show is in Chicago. There's something special and different in the air with fans in Chicago. You can't force it on them. They just let you know.
If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!
Bang On Casino
