Wrestling On The Web

So gone are the days when the wrestling landscape comprised of numerous wrestling promotions were scattered across the nation. They held and promoted their events within their territory and did not invade their fellow promoters territory. These territorial promotions would be threaded together via a governing body called the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Through membership in the NWA, a territory would get support in promoting their events and had access to using the recognized NWA World Heavyweight Champion to hype up their events. Many attribute the downfall of the territorial system to the up rise of the World Wrestling Federation (now known as WWE) whereas Vincent K. McMahon would sign to an exclusive contract the best wrestlers in these territories and invade their area by holding WWF sponsored events. But, the less known recognized reason, which is the other part of the failure of the territorial system was the regional promotions could not keep up with the times. During the 1980’s, VHS tape sharing and cable television was beginning to expand across the nation. Because of this, fans saw the discrepancies between the storyline of one wrestler in one promotion and the storyline of the same wrestler in another promotion. Also, with the growth of Pay Per View programs of which the WWF took advantage, the fans became more interested with the popular promotions so as to be aware of the build up leading to the Pay Per View event. After years of promotions trying to compete at this level of wrestling business, it’s only the WWF (now WWE) that was left standing. After the fall of WCW and ECW, it is only TNA/Impact Wrestling that is the closest at competing with the WWE. Because the WWE and TNA/Impact Wrestling are the most recognized wrestling promotion, many people are not aware that independent wrestling promotions still exist, and their presence can be found on the web.

With the creation of video hosting websites like Youtube and Blip.tv, many independent wrestling promotions have taken to the world wide web to promote their brand of wrestling. Their product may not be at the same level of the WWE and TNA, but that’s not to say that the quality of their wrestling is not at par with these two companies. Many of these promotions are started by or in partnership with veteran wrestlers who may or may not have made it to the WWE or TNA. Many of the up-and-coming wrestlers who perform on these shows have been trained by veterans so it’s not as sloppy as one would think of when they think of a non-WWE or non-TNA show. Because of the advancement of video cameras, video editing equipment, recording equipment, graphic design programs, and other audio-video equipment, many of these wrestling companies are able to produce a very tolerable show worth watching.

Unlike the territorial system, many of these promotions do not need to be a member of a governing body like the NWA in order for them to be successful. Many of them hold weekly events in their area with some having airtime on their local TV station. But because of the advancement of computers, Internet, and social media, these companies are reaching a larger market in promoting their own events, using their own homegrown talent, shooting and editing their own video, and marketing their product to the public with a fair degree of success. Their special events are put on a DVD and sold on-line, with some beginning to offer live stream Internet Pay Per Views (iPPV) and Video On Demand (VOD). This phenomenon of using Internet videos and social media is relatively new and is the sign times as of where promotions have to go in order to expand their product. In the next 10 years, no one should be amazed to see 3 or 4 wrestling companies that are at the competitive level with the WWE or TNA. Like everything in life, you must learn to walk before you run.

One has to admire the effort that these small companies have in trying to compete with the wrestling company giants. From the west coast to the east coast, there are many people aspiring to become the next break out wrestling superstar. It is in these small promotions that they are honing their skills in the ring, on the mic, and in front of a camera. We should realize that many of the owners and talent grew-up or were around watching the pre-Attitude Era, the Attitude Era, the NWO/WCW Invasion angle, Extreme Championship Wrestling, the fall of WCW and ECW, and the post Attitude Era. The mid-90s to early 2000s was a time when wrestling reached levels that no one could have imagined. It is the knowledge that they gained from watching wrestling TV shows during this period, which gives the new wrestling promotions the edge over other promotions prior to the mid-90s. Because of this, we can expect that they are doing their best with the limitations in trying to give the fans what they want.

One website that is innovative in their approach to wrestling is the Territory League (www.territoryleague.com) which is ran by Knokx Pro Entertainment out of Sun Valley, California. Their concept of a wrestling show is for wrestlers to be grouped in teams in order to represent a specific city. The winner of a best of a series of 4 Matches wins that series/taping. The wins and losses of the teams are recorded. At the end of the year, the top 4 teams with best record will battle for the Rodney Anoa’i Cup and be declared the Territory League Champions of that year. Videos of their weekly matches can be viewed on their website. Many on the roster have twitter accounts to interact with their fans. This is one example of an independent promotion trying something new with wrestling and getting their product out to the public via the world wide web and social media.

There is no need for the wrestling fan to feel that there is no variety of wrestling shows for them to watch. The WWE will be around for a long time. Though TNA/Impact wrestling is having their ups and downs, they most likely will be around for a while. Now, if you need an alternative to these shows, just surf the web for “independent wrestling promotions” and you will discover that there are many wrestling promotions with websites with videos of their matches on-line for you to view. Who knows? You might be watching the next big promotion or the next big wrestling superstar.