It is sad to think that there is a whole new generation of wrestling fan who sees the WWE as the only game in town. Technically this is the early part of the 1990s all over again though. Who remembers when the only syndicated television most people watched was the WWE? Okay, for most of us, we were never deprived of our AWA or NWA or WCW but there are still generations who do not see the “competitionâ€, a word, which should always be used lightly when talking about the marketing powerhouse we know as Vince McMahon.
For those of you who do not know me which, by the way, will probably be all of you, my name is Ben LeDoux. I am an independent wrestler who has an undying love-hate relationship with this business. For anybody wondering, right now it is love so you can all rejoice. We seem to have a major problem though: there are too many wrestling fans out there bitching about little competition and how mundane the wrestling business is. Nobody try backing up against the wall, you all know who you are. It isn’t a bad thing. There is a consensus of people who would love to relive the glory of the Monday Night Wars along with a consensus of people who would like the WWE to once again have to meet the fans’ demands. Understandable.
Now here is the question I am posing to you: What are you doing about it? This is the elephant in the room during every conversation in which somebody questions the quality of the WWE. Nobody ever stops to think about what can be done to make the wrestling world listen because every Monday and Friday, people flock in and watch the wrestling show just to get on a message board and complain the next morning. Am I hitting a nerve? Excellent, you’re welcome. This is the article for all of those people that need the push in order to do something about what they care about.
I will never badmouth anybody. As a wrestler I can say that I have respect for every single person in the wrestling business for actually being able to be in the wrestling business. However one thing that I will say is that for the people who complain about something but do nothing about it, where is your head at? To the people who have these thoughts and support the independent scene, your thanks are appreciated. To the people who have these thoughts and never attend an independent show and bootleg every single independent event from the Internet or tape traders, for shame. Do not get me wrong, tape trading is an awesome tool that I loved when I began to expand my horizons but when you would rather steal the show going on down the street rather than buying a couple dollar ticket, you are reinforcing the fact that the WWE can continue their dominance by taking your ratings and proving to companies that people watch their show.
And secretly Vince McMahon is even a little pissed off at all of you. He may never admit it but he has been on top of the business long enough to know that people tune in when there is a war. Right now TNA is doing an unprecedented thing with making their move to Mondays. Why? Because this is going to push both brands to pull out all the stops and to fight for wrestling supremacy with one hoping to claim a ratings win. Now this is where everybody is going to wonder how this ties into local wrestling. Do you know where a place like TNA is going to look when they need something fresh? Once the nostalgia runs fizzle out, they are going to reach for the indy level wrestlers. This means that someone in your backyard may very well be picked but, oops there is a problem, most indy promotions are lucky to pull in enough people to continue their shows which mean less shows are being run, which inevitably means, less amazing workers are being seen.
This isn’t a shameless plug for me or anybody I am associated with but it is a shameless plug for professional wrestling. It is asking the people who continue to complain and whine because they are not getting their way to step off their pedestals and help wrestling rather than sucking from it’s nipple. Have I inspired anybody yet? Good, welcome to the bandwagon. It is time to bring wrestling back to the forefront of popular culture where it should be.
Now it is time for the shameless plugs.
To see me wrestle AND to support local professional wrestling, here are some shows that will soon be happening in Colorado. IWF Promotions will be holding the 6th Annual Beetlejuice Memorial Show on March 14th at the Buffalo Rose in Golden, Colorado. Primos Hardcore Wrestling will be holding a show on March 7th at Casselmann’s in Denver, Colorado, while AXW will be in Salt Lake City, Utah, at Club 90 this same night. Want a little exposure to help out independent wrestling? Send me footage, names and events and let’s bring local wrestling to the front lines.
And because this is the first column, the first star of the week will go to a local guy because nobody is including me into their local indy wrestling loop. The local superstar to look out for this week is “The Unreal†Joshua Michael. The man is an unstoppable force in the wrestling business right now and is, without a doubt, the best wrestler in Colorado. He currently wrestles for Primos Hardcore and Wrestling, IWF Promotions, Northern Colorado Championship Wrestling and Asylum Championship Wrestling. To see this man work is like watching artists paint a portrait. If he is not in a major promotion in the next five years, it is a shame.
There you have it. How’d I do? I look forward to hearing from everybody and will continue talking about the state of Professional Wrestling until it has been molded into something of beauty for all to see rather than just us over privileged people. It’s time to take back our shows and empower the new generation. Are you ready and willing to help?
