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FUNK VS. HANSEN IN A RIVER, WHAT TO SHOW NON-WRESTLING FANS TO MAKE THEM LIKE WRESTLING, WWNLIVE IN CHINA AND MORE

By Mike Johnson on 2019-01-03 10:00:00

Back in 2014 WWN had a tour of China and it was reported that they had signed a deal to do future tours. No further tours happened and I was wondering if you know the reason why?

Yes, and it's a sad story.  The point person in China who brought them in to run the tours was diagnosed with cancer and passed away rather shortly afterward.  The tours never resumed after that, although WWNLIVE had discussions with the company involved.  Running China is not easy politically and it never happened.  It's a shame as those who worked the tours really loved being in front of an audience that was completely virgin to wrestling as it gave them a fresh canvas to paint with in the ring.    The tour really was a big breakthrough for WWN.

Do you see the WWE holding a PPV at Seattle's new arena even though Seattle isn't a top wrestling arket compared to the likes of NYC, LA, Chicago or St. Louis?

At some point, sure.  WWE brought a Wrestlemania to Seattle once, so I don't know why they wouldn't do a PPV at some point.  Their biggest concern would likely be routing the TV tapings that come after.

I've noticed that MLW is using songs not directly piped into the broadcast feed like ECW did back in the day to get around paying higher royalty fees. I remember Paul Heyman talking about this law on the WWE Network and that UFC did/does the same thing during thei events. Do you know the specifics of this law? Does MLW pay any royalties for using this music, or just pays royalties at a lower rate?

I believe the law you are referring to is the one that would allow sporting events to play music in stadiums.  If the music is picked up by the cameras, it's more ambient noise as opposed to something pumped into the TV production.  I know MLW has worked to get clearances on a lot of the music used.  I don't know if they are doing any sort of strategy where the music isn't "piped in" as you said, but I tend to think they probably aren't, especially since they are placing the episodes online and at some point, one would think they want to use them in other media, whether it be DVD, streaming, etc.

If you wanted to convince a non wrestling fan why they should give pro wrestling a chance, what match or matches would you initially suggest or recommend ?

I would tell them it's live theater, no different than Broadway and if you like stunts in movies, it's just like that but live.  I'm older, so I'd probably want to show them Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat or something that is very character-centric, like The Undertaker, but there are dozens of matches that can show off how much fun and exciting pro wrestling can be.  I think promos are a big key too.  It was Roddy Piper and Jim Cornette promos that really kicked off my love of pro wrestling.  You might also just want to try and get them to go to a show as I think the live experience is usually what really captures people's imagination if they aren't already a fan.  They are either going to like it or not, and you really can't force it.

I was watching a YouTube clip where Terry Funk was wrestling Stan Hansen in a river at a show. What the hell was this about?  It didn't appear to be in Japan, where sometimes wacky things like this occur.

This was a show promoted by the late Dennis Coraluzzo in Pennsauken, New Jersey in 1990 titled "Rumble in The River."  They had a Falls Count Anywhere match and naturally, it ended up in the river.  I remember watching a VHS tape of this many years ago and it was entertaining.

Whatever happened to Ring Warriors on WGN America?

They have shifted to Amazon Prime.

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