The world of independent wrestling is a strange one…
No matter what level a wrestling promotion is at, they all attempt to create some idea of “us against the world” or “us vs. them”. That mentality has worked ever since Shane Douglas threw down the NWA World’s Heavyweight Professional Wrestling Championship of The World in 1994. A revolution had begun in professional wrestling that some, even Shane himself, are still supposedly fighting today.
During the Monday Night Wars, we saw the two titanic empires bang heads against one another and the 3rd riling up the underground in retaliation. Wrestling companies, as much as fans, can’t get enough of the idea of competition with other wrestling companies. We are compelled to treat our favorite promotion like our favorite sports team, trashing them and praising them within the family circle, but ready to go to war at a moment’s notice when an outsider dares to disparage.
Fast forward to today. WWE is the monolithic sports-entertainment Party that rules the republic. Many promotions were born from the ashes of WCW and ECW in 2002 , however none have come close to even a brush off for wrestling’s Big Brother, Vince McMahon. He has won his war, and he has conquered all of his enemies. The likes of Total Non-Stop Action, Ring of Honor, CHIKARA, Combat Zone Wrestling and others exist in the wrestling world, only because most of them have avoided the fool-hardy decision of taking on Big Brother. However, taking each other on is another story.
If you’re an indy wrestling fan, you are most likely aware of the advent of the concept of the Internet Pay-Per-View (iPPV). For a fee marked down dramatically from your typical cable television pay-per-view event, you will be able to watch a full wrestling production live through your high-speed internet connection, with full audio, video and commentary. This outlet has proven to be somewhat successful for all of the indy companies that have attempted it, to the point where a lot of the major indy promotions are conducting regular iPPV Events through the various websites that provide the service, but two issues have arisen recently.
In the wake of the Monday Night Wars, wrestling promoters are still attempting to manufacture conflict and competition in the name of the almighty dollar. In the second weekend of May, there were 3 iPPV events occurring at the same time on the same evening, as well as one cable PPV Event from TNA Wrestling. Ring of Honor, CZW & Gabe Sapolsky’s EVOLVE promotion all ran live events simultaneously through different websites with varying results. I will give TNA the benefit of the doubt as they are a promotion with a cable television deal that tours worldwide consistently. For all intents and purposes, they do not have to take the indies into consideration in the same way WWE doesn’t, but that does not excuse those companies themselves.
Ring of Honor is the largest of these companies, and they have the financial and technological backing of the Sinclair Broadcast Group. However, their iPPVs have been marred with constant technical issues almost since their first, and they appear to be getting WORSE since the last two, most recently, the “Border Wars” event in Toronto, where they crowned a new World Champion in Kevin Steen. EVOLVE & CZW each have their own distinct audiences that do not register the same numbers as ROH, but there is still the one glaring issue for all 3 companies.
Why did they run on the same night, at the same time?
Was this just lack of foresight on all parts? Was this lack of concern for their general indy wrestling fan base and their wallets? Or was this some attempt to create some sort of Indy Wrestling War between promotions? I’m hoping it’s not that 3rd option, and I will give Gabe Sapolsky (former booker of ROH, and current owner of EVOLVE) the benefit of the doubt on that one, despite what may be better judgment.
Why I find this even more puzzling is because Ring of Honor, as recently as April 28th, held an event in conjunction with CHIKARA under the tag line “Synergy”, a clear example of two companies working together for the greater good. A relatively common occurrence in the puroresu world in Japan, but a rarity in the US.
Expecting fans to choose between indy wrestling companies is, in the opinion of this geek that you probably think lives in his mom’s basement, utterly absurd. No, iPPVs are not expensive, especially in comparison to WWE & TNA PPV events. But the most important thing the wrestling business needs to give its fans is CHOICE. There is a wrestling fan out there that will see 2 iPPVs over the course of a single weekend and would be more than happy to watch both, and would be ecstatic if one were on Saturday night, and the other on Sunday, barring any crossover with any other events. The more choices fans have, the better luck everyone will have to make more money.
Events like last weekend should NEVER happen. Promotions running iPPV events at the same time is bad for business and bad for fans. Working with one another to make sure nobody overlaps would be good for everyone.
And I really hope no one runs an iPPV the same evening as CHIKARA’s “Chikarasaurus Rex – How to Hatch a Dinosaur” because indy wrestling spitefulness hurts everybody.