how to start a wrestling promotion

Question
hello joe
         i want to know details specially the procedure of opening a wrestling company the basic idea in my mind is to make a live drama by researching severel novels and to give worldclass wretling in ring its 75 % entertainment 25% wrestling but wrestling wpuld be at best if happens but least on show means in hour it wold be 2 matches hardly of 20 minutes rest to drama builtup and one major thing i rely on is fast storylines because its not 80's that people will wait for entire year to let it happen.
         now second comes the arena i want to have the one like where the RAW is being televised in 1992 to 1996 that arena is good small but lighted i dont like dark arenas like of ROH i know its a matter of money but for a year i can do it just to know the response i can handle the maeketing
         right now i am 24 years old not in wretling business but i understands it a lot as i only thinks about it all the time now i want to make a living, not living a mission out of it, i want to give peoples a good and stable oraganisation not copycat like TNA but original one like ROH,ECW which is diffrent from others. thanks want your views on this,thanks for reading.

Answer
Well, starting and maintaining a company is a very rough venture. It requires patience and a lot of cash to make it heavily known. To me, it's the hardest business in the world to start, simply because you have so much competition which are already miles ahead. Vince McMahon went bankrupt at one point while trying to get the WWF off the ground. Now, it all worked out in the end, but it's not something people can just throw money at and expect it to go.

In every state here in the US and in every Province in Canada, there is at least 2 wrestling companies. In the south, there are around 5 in every state or more.

Back in the old NWA days, things were based on territories. It was a good idea and one that got wrestling known throughout the US. When cable TV came along, that was when things starting moving forward to eventually seeing Nitro and RAW go at it on Monday Nights.

Nowadays, the territory scene is gone. But, it still remains somewhat in states. Certain areas of a state are like turf wars. For example, I live in Alabama. There are about 5 or 6 wrestling companies here that go on the regular. One works the top part of the state, one works part of the middle, one works the other middle, one works a little below that, and the other works lower Alabama. They then allow some promotions to come in every now and then.

They destroy any new one's that just pop up anywhere in their territory due to them wanting that place for themselves. Most promoters are like this, and they can also take local talent away. One guy here taught a bunch of the local talent, and he has a promotion. It's successful, and one of the better one's in the state. Guys know they'll get paid and can trust that usually.

If he doesn't like a guy coming up, he'll tell wrestlers not to go there and they'll end up leaving the new promoter high and dry. It's all political. This promoter ends up threatening wrestlers that if they go and wrestle with certain people, they can't go back with him at any point. Which, is a pretty big deal. Local talent needs money and being blackballed from one who can offer that is not good. So, this guy controls most of the state.

The political game of it all is the real kicker.

Having entertainment and what not is great, however for Indy wrestling, it's all about the actual art of wrestling. So, I'd reverse your thought.

Also, longer stories make for better set up. I can't stand stories that last a week or month, then suddenly die off when they could have progressed. Most fans hate this too. Which is why WWE has began doing longer stories as of late.

Arenas are tough as well. You have to pay building fees and insurance. Which can add up. Most building charge by the hour, not the day. So, it could be 200 or 500 per hour, then add in insurance and you could drop 5K in one night, depending on the venue. WWE got out of paying certain fees when they said it wasn't wrestling but an entertainment event, which got them out of a few tax things. This usually can be done if you work big venues such as popular arenas and stadiums

Also, it doesn't matter what place you do the show if you're wanting to talk light. You just need to buy lights to set up the look you want. ROH doesn't do a show in the same place every week, they just want that type of look and light it to look that way. Same with WWE and every other promotion.

Getting one place to be at every week is a good idea. Many promotions do this when starting out. It's best to go on the road, but when you start out, having one place to call home is a very good thing. The best thing to do however, is own the place you are doing it in. This way, there is a lack of fees. I know a guy who did this, and he makes out pretty good every week. His first show saw around 200 people, at a 10 buck cover. Which meant he paid the wrestlers and kept the rest. Not bad money for the first show obviously. He now gets more people and is considered a rising promoter. But, he has the money to do it mainly because he owns the building. Not having to pay fees is a big deal.

At 24, I'm sure you've got stars in your eyes and want to go places. Can't blame you. But, just know it's not easy. Keep in mind, it's all about who you know. So, be sure to always remember people and make an impression on them in this business. You never know who can help.

Do I think it's a good idea to do this?

Well, not as much as it used to be. But, if you have the money and patience, then it's not a bad idea to try out. But, you will fail along the way. It's just common, everyone does. It's how you react to failure that can make or break you

Let me know if I can help with anything else