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An update on the fledgling new promotion, Classic Wrestling Revolution aka Revolution Sports, which Shane Douglas has been working on getting off the ground with backer Bill Townsend, the the Internet entrepreneur who helped create a number of online platforms, including Lycos.com, before turning to writing, motivational speaking and philanthropy.
In a letter issued to talents who had previously sent letters of intent to the company (referred to by the initials CWR) that they would be interested in performing there once it got off the ground, Townsend and Douglas stated that their launch plans have been delayed "3 to 6 months" for several reasons, including the loss of three "funding partners" due to their deaths, that they have "not receiving sanctioning" yet as their new vision of professional wrestling is "so new" that there have yet to be new rules drafted by "the sanctioning bodies."
Most interesting was the statement that the company is 48 days behind schedule on the creation of their "Arena." PWInsider.com has confirmed with a source that the promotion has signed a deal to present events in a parking lot outside the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas with the promotion erecting a tent to house their tapings. The letter to talents stated that the company will be using "augmented reality" technologies as part of their programming and that it needs "seats that could tie into our virtual and augmented reality fan experience." The letter stated that the initial seats built were not up to the promotion's quality or comfort standards, setting them back, but that their provider has promised that the issues have been resolved.
The letter stated that the company has brought $36 million "in technology" to the company.
The letter also states that their casino arena designs are completed and waiting county approval, that they have "secured broadcast and cable and distribution that reaches 1.3 billion people" with an additional 1 billion that will be reached via a digital network distribution deal. They also stated they have begun work on programming their own digital network.
The letter also stated that they ave hired eight announcers, training staff and "world class" coaches but did not identify any of the hirings. As previously reported on PWInsider.com, Kris Kloss, who was the voice of XPW and Wrestling Society X, is on board as an announcer for the company.
It also stated that the company has identified providers it intends to work with to provide medical insurances and a 401K plan for those who work for the company.
In a video released to potential investors in May, Bill Townsend stated that working on the company has been the most fun he's had personally since "the Lycos days" and stated the TV show will be available before "2 billion viewers." He described Revolution Sports as wanting to be "The ESPN of Combat Sports" and said the company would also be developing programming for boxing, karate, sword fighting and other combat sports featuring a number of different technologies, including virtual reality.
As previously reported on PWInsider.com, the plan has been that the promotion would be based out of Las Vegas with an eye on presenting a "non" PG-13 style product with babyfaces vs. heels and an eye towards capturing the male 18-34 demographic that loved pro wrestling during the Monday Night War era. The promotion's plan has been to partner with a Las Vegas casino and run wrestling events up to six days a week for the purpose of producing 36-44 hours of original TV episodes. Townsend stated in his video that they have locked in a deal with a casino to act as "their arena" but did not name the location.
The promotion's potential TV series will be tentatively titled "Revolution TV" with the product being billed as "reality sports." As we noted back when the sizzle reel was filmed, there was material also filmed based around the idea of veterans like Douglas and Animal managing new talents, so their outside of the ring segments would fall under the "reality" aspect. Roddy Piper was also to be heavily involved before his passing.
Revolution Sports quietly filmed material for a sizzle reel that would be used to show potential TV, licensing and financial partners in July 2015 in California during a TV Taping promoted by Dave Marquez' Championship Wrestling from Hollywood. Roddy Piper, Shane Douglas, Piper's son Roderick Toombs, Road Warrior Animal and former WWE stars Mason Ryan and Michael Tarver were involved in segments shot for the reel. The basic plot as it was described to me was that Piper and Douglas were at odds and had their own "teams" of talent. Shane Douglas was the booker of the taping while Animal worked as a Producer. Some of the material from that sizzle reel was uploaded to a Youtube channel for the promotion.
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