Pride Comes Before a (Contest Scheduled you pinned his wages to a door and told him all he
for One) fall
had to do was travel across the country and pick
them up - free money, in other words - it would
There is no pride in British Wrestling. Why is a UK
barely be worth his while. But wrestlers continue
wrestler happy to destroy his body for virtually no
to be marks for the business, and marks for
money? Why is a UK wrestling promoter
themselves, and so continue to accept £40
content to draw 100 when a bit of hard work
paydays. £20 paydays. Less, even...
could actually see him pocket some serious
cash? On the roundtable portion of the new
And the promoters taking the wrestlers
WWE Heatseekers DVD Jerry Lawler and
for a ride still refuse to put any serious
Michael Hayes share a laugh about low pay-
money into the business. Sure, they
offs they received in various regional U.S.
might invest in a fancy ring apron, or a
promotions in the 1970s. Sadly, these low
snazzy website, or superfluous security
pay-offs are comparable to what a lot of our
railings, but how many of them have
guys still get today. In some cases, much more!
purchased advertising space in a
national newspaper? Contacted local
We can’t even say ‘it was better in the old
businesses about
days’. In Simon Garfield’s book, "The
sponsorship? Bought radio
Wrestling", Jackie Pallo reveals that the
advertising? Hired a PR
old ITV contract with World of Sport
firm? Rented a venue
was worth £15,000 a week to the
that can hold more
promoter - not to mention that ITV
than a few hundred
also sent down their own camera
fans? Billboard
and production people to actually
advertising?
film the show - yet a wrestler
was only paid between £25 and
£40 for a TV match. £85 on Cup
Final day. Who pocketed the
rest of the moolah? The
promoter, of course.
They didn’t even have the
foresight to plough some of it
back into the business that
You have
sustained them, so as soon as
to spend money to make
WWF came along and sold ITV
money, and one of the
their old tapes for £500 a pop - filmed
flaws of the typical UK
in packed stadiums with larger than life,
wrestling promoter is that
colourful stars and state of the art
he often resents forking
production values - British wrestling aged
out on anything that he
100 years overnight. Set in dingy town halls,
can’t see an immediate,
with handbag-wielding grannies, pipe-
tangible return on his
smoking men in ties, and wrestlers who
investment from. A few
looked like they ought to be fighting in a pub
posters in the local
car park rather than on national TV, British
chip shops mightdraw
wrestling suddenly looked very old indeed.
some fans. A post on
an internet fan forum
Whether we like to admit it or not, the
maysway some people
wrestlers were - and are - being taken for a
down to your show.
ride. In his BBC Video Diaries broadcast in the
But why not think
early 1990s, Robbie Brookside admitted that if
bigger?
10 The online magazine for pro wrestling fans worldwide
thewrestlingpress.com
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