Wrestling on TV.
We are currently in one of the best times to be a wrestling fan in the uk, that can't be disputed - shows and promotions bringing to the table a multitude of different presentations when it comes to the thing we all love to watch - from the comedic to the hardcore, and all points in between.
TV and internet starting to merge as it has over the last few years thanks to new technology and how we watch, has lead to British wrestling getting a much wider audience than it has at many points in history. Look at ITV's resurrection of the world of sport brand which looks like it's going to go ahead soon, 5 star wrestling rocking up out of nowhere on spike TV (In the uk), and of course WWE holding their UK tournament - and that's just the mainstream channels - local digital TV in most areas either carries British wrestling weekly (NGW) or WAW. This is in addition to the multiple on demand and live streaming services for too many promotions to list.
Warning: The preamble sets the scene for something that could be described as a conspiracy theory, a complete speculation of a connection between things now and past, and I hope this stays entertaining writing it is to me. I have only used examples of nationally televised (via over the air tv) in this, along with the associated and affiliated media (that's why WCPW get a mention - see the affiliation to NGW), however I have not included online only promotions in this.
We all know the story of the national expansion of the WWF/WWE in the USA.
What we're seeing at the moment looks like a retelling of that story on a global scale. Either that or the big bang happening all over again, just with promotions as opposed to particles.
Certainly on the UK side of things, it would appear that most televised wrestling that is not WWE affiliated is currently produced by Trident Vision Media or the group that owns/hires them - Alex Shane's presence on the programming seems to be an indication of this (it would, it's his company) - world of sport on ITV flashed their logo, British wrestling weekly, the former wrestletalk tv from challenge - WAW remains outside of this group, it's television production handled by star elite. I'll come back to WAW later though.
On the Trident Vision Media website, the first visible thing is a sales pitch by the original showstealer himself (I was around for the FWA programming, I can't get my head around Nathan Cruz carrying the gimmick, but that's a story for another time) regarding the handling of "new media" with a lot of the example content consisting of wrestling related media, the site is well worth a look to be honest - there's an amusing video about video production on there mentioning an inanimate object and it's unintentional cameo in one of the biggest interviews he ever produced.
Anyhow, bringing it back to the main thrust of where I'm going with this, on top of producing a fair amount of British wrestling content, AAA in Mexico also employ TVM for their English language production. This could (in theory - obviously contracts and other agreements might or might not allow for this, I dunno - I'm just a car park attendant over thinking everything) provide a connection between uk promotions using TVM and talent being used by AAA - who might know other performers who have previously had global exposure and an established name looking for a booking.
Let's boil this down to a sound bite since that's what people seem to like these days:
A media production company whose owner has a passion for wrestling is producing wrestling in multiple international markets and has established links to talent (from the FWA days) and potential links to newer talent, the availability of which can influence the content of any of the shows they produce. Sound vaguely familiar?
Upcoming is a WCPW organised world cup of wrestling - I have no idea if Alex Shane and co are going out on location for the preliminary events, but I would expect they might being that the production quality of WCPW events has consistency of production quality expectations to live up to thanks to the audience it's built up.
Is this a scouting exercise? I guess that's a question that won't be answered until we find out if anyone who happens to outshine PJ Black or Anjelico in the African leg of the preliminary tournaments gets used again.
Is it an exercise in the expansion of the TVM's portfolio? TVM specialise in wrestling media production and whichever promotions host the WCPW world cup of wrestling are essentially getting a sample product. How many continue to use TVM after this could be an important factor in the future of British wrestling. If WCPW are going to hosting these shows themselves, are they going to continue running in these areas (or territories). If so, TVM have a built in base, assuming the shows draw. World of Sport on ITV being potentially brought back means the British viewer has a familiar brand at a familiar timeslot in a particularly important market.
So, what parallels am I drawing here? WWE is playing the part of itself obviously - it's affiliates and companies that may be feeding their weekly uk shows with British talent will be looked after, and hopefully won't get either absorbed or have the shared talent priced out of appearing at bookings.
The promotions that use TVM, are (whether it's intentional or not) pretty much positioned to become an NWA of sorts a group of territories interlinked by talent and good relations without intruding on each other booking wise, free from the WWE's corporate vision of wrestling.
Then there's WAW - in this unfolding saga, they are the AWA. This is not a slight, it's not saying it's likely to fold. It's TV is entertaining, and thanks to mustard TV catch up is a staple of my weekly viewing. It's live events have a decent following too. The reason I'm comparing them to the AWA, is to do with the difference in presentation. The fact that lot of the Knight family are at the forefront of the output (I could have said WCCW rather than the AWA for this point, but I don't really want to align the multiple tragedies of the Von Erich family to the Knight family. So I'm going Gagne on the nepotism angle) some of whom in my eyes might not have been ready for TV when they appeared, but then again I'm not a booker, I watch CCTV for a living. The WAW academy is giving new talent a platform to grow and shine under a mixture of a very old school environment and an audience conditioned to something less nuanced, which is an interesting approach. The WAW structures it's matches differently to most other uk promotions. There's a public warning system, no 5 count at the ropes, and a standing 8 count in after a potential TKO. Referees won't count a pinfall if they have started counting towards a TKO or if whatever led to the pinfall was an act that led to a public warning. It might not sound like much, but there are times that imported talent have appeared to have fallen foul of these rules (either as a really good booking device or as a shoot that the referees calling decisions that have confused them). It's TV is filmed at epic studios in the heart of their territory (Norwich, Norfolk) and has a different kind of sheen on it. Star Elite are doing a fantastic job producing the TV, and live up to the statement on their page relating to WAW, by giving it a unique identity. It does seem a bit strange that a production company in Madrid who's body of work apart from WAW is pretty much as detached from wrestling as it could be. Something of interest about WAWs tv is found in the credits at the end of each show. The name Len Davies. It might not mean much to many, but this was one of the main guys behind RQW and Spectrum multimedia. RQW appeared on the wrestling channel/fight network back when it was on sky, and unfortunately was ahead of its time. I would go into this further, but the RQW Wikipedia page pretty much goes into anything I could drill into further for information - apart from one thing: the company that produced RQW (spectrum multimedia) were based at an address which appears to currently house TVM. Len Davies had a foot in the door of the wrestling business and associated multimedia previously, and is a pretty damn good choice to be a part of the company. At the moment however it's not getting the exposure it could, and that is going to need to change if it's not going to be marginalised TV audience wise once ITV brings back world of sport and the WWE starts a UK show on a regular basis.
After all of that, the next chapter is yet to be written, and the world cup of wrestling is going to be one of many factors that could determine the future of British wrestling. Whatever the outcome, it's going to be a fantastic ride for wrestling fans, and to shamelessly stealing a famous quote: the only thing that's for sure about British wrestling is that nothing's for sure
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