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I love professional wrestling, but I worry for it. It's a scary time and no one seems to be admitting that.
While there seems to be an endless list of great in-ring matches that have taken place over the last year, on an almost weekly basis, has that led to any major book for professional wrestling? I don't think it has and when you take a step back and look at a cross-section of how pro wrestling is doing, it's a scene that worries me. Consider the following:
WWE has continued to truck along, but on the eve of the latest financial filings tomorrow, the company has gotten extremely conservative with expenditures, whether they be pyro, WWE Network programming, production staffing or slowing down the process of acquiring new tape libraries. It's not unusual for fan discussion on social media to cross into how well or how badly live events or TV tapings are drawing, but the proliferation of photos showing poor crowds has shifted from being something that was done to mock Impact Wrestling into something that is done to regularly point out how many WWE shows aren't drawing or how tarped off certain sections are. There's a big reason for that - the top names aren't working those tours nor will they be anytime soon.
It used to be the top talents were the ones who carried the titles, but now being a top name means you get to work with the true champions - the ones who hold the "Part-Timer" championship, which allows them to tag out of the company and return only for big dates and big paydays. That is an aspect of the company that needs to be fixed, because in 2017, it's the first generation where being from the generation before holds more prestige than being the WWE champion week in and week out. The trickle down effect of that has hurt the touring aspect of the company, especially when so much focus remains on the TV rights (which should be important as they are the top money maker for the company) but there are obvious weaknesses that can't be fixed by just having great in-ring wrestling. Look at how much WWE rushed to give away the Kurt Angle return and AJ Styles vs. Finn Balor when two top names went down to illness. That is a sign of a larger issue that needs to be addressed.
WWE will always be the lynchpin for professional wrestling and will always exist, but it's obvious they are thin on top regular talent when it comes to the weekly touring product. WWE are being extremely careful and nuanced with spending - the question is, why? Are they trying to cut the fat to look better for stockholders? Are they prepping for life after USA Network in case of the worse? Have they realized the Network isn't making them the money they wanted, having come nowhere close to two million subs yet and even worse, are the numbers going to drop tomorrow? Is WWE looking long-term towards a sale, seeking the bounty that came for the Fertittas and Dana White when they sold UFC? Perhaps tomorrow's earnings report will provide clarity to ease some worry...or perhaps it will bring additional reasons to worry.
Impact Wrestling, under Anthem Media, is preparing to tape a PPV and TV in Canada next month as we close in on a year of Anthem having funded this company. Heading into the PPV, there are already talks among those in the company about cutbacks that are underway in terms of production and even who will be brought in for the shows when they can get away with using local Canadian talent in secondary roles like referees and ring announcers and extras. While some of this can be pointed to as proof that Anthem, unlike previous owners, are paying close attention to every dollar spent to prevent themselves from landing in the hole that Dixie Carter put the company in post-SpikeTV, the continued exodus of talent, endless reboots and the termination of Jeff Jarrett, who's vision Anthem had dove into the deep end of the pool with, feet first, looks like a Choose Your Own Adventure book that leads to doom and peril and regret with each choice.
There is no doubt that Anthem has tons of money. There is, however, no indication they intend to keep throwing money into a firepit if there's no way to make that money back. Even their TV regularly features content that is shot and filmed at other promotion's events and the One Night Only PPVs, which have never had one lick of momentum, are following suit. I respect the thrifty way the company is being run at this point, but how can one not worry about the long-term outlook of the company at this rate? Live events started and stopped with one weekend, the PPV taping this weekend was less attended than some independent events in the same State, the GFW app is off to a slow start and nearly a year in, Impact has to build even more loss ground, but without the likes of some of the names that he been used to cement the company before Anthem purchased it. Again, how does one not worry, especially when Canadian independent promotions are openly tweeting out discount codes for the Canadian PPV?
WWN/EVOLVE is also a promotion that one has to be worried about. With the promotion losing its Flosports deal, is it any wonder why they are taking off the entire month of November? Not only are they being sued for seven figures, but according to WWNLive sources, they (by my count) produced 13 live streaming shows for Flosports and then another five events since being pulled off the service. That means that for the last 18 events, they spent money but were not paid what they were expecting to produce those events. Imagine working your job and spending money for what you needed to work your job for three months and then finding out that not only are you not getting three months of a great salary but your job is looking to sue you for what they paid you in the past? That is the reality that WWN is now living in. They basically handed over their momentum to Flosports for that paycheck and all they have to show for it are expenditures for the last 90 days and legal bills to come.
WWN has never drawn major crowds unless it was riding the timing of scheduling shows during a big Wrestlemania weekend. What happens between now and April is anyone's guess. They canceled their never announced but scheduled last FIP event. November was canceled, even though the original plans were to run Survivor Series weekend in Houston - although part of that was due to damage to the scheduled venue. WWE is lending William Regal to EVOLVE's Queens return, but for a promotion that regularly plays to smaller audiences and now has locked themselves in to signing talents to deals as part of a Flosports contract that no longer exists, they are now going to have to fight and promote harder than ever just to maintain the position they were already at, which funding a legal battle and without making anywhere near the money they were a year ago. That's a scary, frustrating place to be, with no clear answers as to how to handle that. No wonder Gabe Sapolsky is trying to get a NXT gig.
If anything, Ring of Honor looks to be in the best, safest position and may be the promotion that others may need to study and follow when it comes to maintaining longevity. Run by a conservative company in Sinclair Broadcast Group, the very thing that some would privately criticize (the lack of funneling a bunch of money in to support the brand) may be the one thing that has kept ROH safe. In recent months, their relationship with New Japan has allowed Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks, as Bullet Club, to empower the company towards strong live gates and really good to great professional wrestling. As the Sinclair/Tribune merger closes, ROH being added to all those Tribune markets Sinclair will now have a foothold in as well as potentially WGN America nationally means that ROH may be in its greatest position ever as we head into 2018, but nothing is ever for sure.
It's been a long number of years with a lot of ups and downs for ROH, but slowly but surely they have weathered iPPV issues to bring the company to legitimate, regular live PPVs and are now building their own streaming service. People used to complain that ROH didn't do enough, didn't run enough or didn't spend enough money, but the one factor that may have helped preserve ROH and prepared it to springboard into a great position is the very thing that would frustrate some turns out to be the conservative nature of its owner.
Some fans will point to different promotions that have strengthened themselves in 2018 to argue against my fears. I will concede there are promotions who have done regular, good business and have provided great wrestling, week in and week out, but in terms of making major waves that feel like massive, seismic shifts to professional, not so much. There is also no great golden carrot on the horizon. Once upon a time, that carrot was PPV, then iPPV, but now its streaming services.
A year or so ago, following up on WWE launching the WWE Network, the belief was that streaming services were going to change the game for everyone on the independent scene. There have been some that have done well, but very few have figured out the riddle of creating great content and making money with that content. Even Flosports, which was touted as being a major game changer with a ton of money behind them, is, a year in, pretty much a non-existent entity as of this writing. So, while a streaming service is a great thing - and there are great examples of services out there, like Highspots Wrestling Network, Fite, New Japan World and newcomer Powerbomb.tv- there is no magic answer to finding millions of subscribers and taking their millions of dollars, because no one has found success at the level they would like with the technology. There are far more services than fans can ever hope to subscribe to, meaning there are far too many that will hit a dead end at some point.
Others will point to New Japan Pro Wrestling at a sun rising in the horizon for wrestling fans. NJPW has certainly captured the imagination of a lot of fans Stateside over the last few years and has dictated the pace of great wrestling on the independent scene more than anything since WCW Cruiserweights and ECW did twenty years ago, but until they make the decision to run the States regularly, it's impossible to see what sort of Butterfly Effect they will have beyond getting fans to watch their content on the New Japan World app or to assist ROH in bringing in paid customers, although whether those fans would be supporting ROH to begin with is another discussion. New Japan makes its money at home and how much time and effort do they really want to invest in drawing a few thousand American fans when they can make that money easier at home and still sell merchandise and app subscriptions Stateside?
When you make that same argument about European groups, it's more of the same. How many are going to try and run America regularly and how many can continue to run the United States and make the same money that they could running at home. PROGRESS has had some great shows and has made great money, but will that happen the 10th or 11th time or will the uniqueness of the attraction wear off? Or, will WWE, which has a business relationship with them, step in and tell them to knock it off?
Still others may point to Pro Wrestling Guerrilla as signs of greatness or growth for the business as they are the polar opposite of a ROH promotion in terms of infrastructure. Greatness is certainly there in that the promotion is pretty much a party for a bunch of young talents to go out and have fun by putting together great matches and going ball to the wall to impress the audience and their fellow wrestlers backstage - and it's a great live product - but it's playing to 400 or so fans in an American Legion Hall. There is no growth. PWG has no interest in growing beyond the walls they have already built, which is fine, but also smart. By growing, they risk the chance of failure but also losing that sweet spot they exist in where they can use talent from the UK, Germany, Impact, ROH, etc. without worrying about contract clauses or iPPV restrictions. They are great to watch but anyone who points to them as anything but a sign of great wrestling on a show is missing the point. They can always raise prices to make more money and can always sell DVDs (one of the few company that can still claim DVD as an important revenue source) but PWG is never going to rise up to challenge ROH or anyone else, because if they do, it's the beginning of the end of the nest it has built for itself. PWG is something unique unto itself and has to stay exactly what and where it is to remain golden. They are not a sign of anything greater than the wonderful abberation they already are in the wrestling world.
In guessing about the future, it may be that the companies that really think outside the box and circumvent the norms will be the ones who succeed in 2018, because they won't have the financial anchors that come with the traditional expenditures of professional wrestling on a regular basis. The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega have used their Youtube series Being the Elite to cultivate an impressive loyalty for fans that are willing to follow them and spend money on them. Groups like AAW and AIW run regularly and have built storylines and followings locally. The NWA is talking about creating all digital content and telling stories that way to begin to build a following. MLW is relaunching as a series of one night only type of events in Florida, which given the technology today and their podcast following, has to be an easier way to promote directly to their customers vs. paying to have TV in a market and hoping those watching turn into paying customers.
All of these are unique ways to promote compared to the old days of professional wrestling, even the pro wrestling of 5 years ago, but there's no guarantee of continued success when it comes to these untested waters. Colt Cabana was the first to popularize a pro wrestling podcast, but how many bigger stars have cannibalized his vision for themselves? That's the problem all of these smaller groups are looking at, even if they have success right off the bat. Wrestlecircus was the first to utilize Twitch an outlet, but now how many are heading that way, following the rush of gold as if they were California prospectors? 2018 is a scary place to think about, because the rules no longer apply.
What we are left with is a lot of smaller promotions who are drawing well at their level and larger companies that appear to be on the verge of major changes. There's no way to predict exactly what and when these changes will happen or how long of a run the smaller, more successful bubbles will continue to exist and be profitable. How the ripple effects of those changes will change pro wrestling, from the larger companies to the smaller groups remain to be seen, but we've seen in the past anything that hurts pro wrestling at a larger level, always have a chance to hurt it when those circumstances trickle down to the independents.
In 2001, when WCW and ECW died, there was a surge of talent that helped independent groups draw decent crowds, but a year later, many of those stars had lost their luster as they were seen too often and that led those talents no longer being as worthwhile for promoters to book, because the crowds didn't come back the 3rd or 4th time to see them. As existing stars continue to get older and technology continues to splinter the old norms when it comes to what defines a money-making star, pro wrestling continues to weather a storm that shows no signs of letting up and allows no hint of an easy answer.
To me, it's a scary time where certain areas are strong but it also feels like the entire scene is waiting for a rug to be yanked out from under it. If and when that will happen, no one can tell, but one can almost feel it coming. Everyone is looking to make money but it's harder than ever to know where the money is and even where there is the potential for money coming from new places, none of that cash is guaranteed, nor is it guaranteed that the new source will be consistent over time. These are the problems that try wrestling promotions, great and small, as we head into the last few months of 2017 and beyond - because there is only one guarantee - Wrestlemania week will do great business. So, what does everyone, from WWE on down, do about the other 51 weeks of the year?
Like I said, I love professional wrestling but I am also worried for it.
Mike Johnson can be reached at MikeJohnsonPWInsider@gmail.com.
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