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IS WWE THE LONGEST RUNNING TOURING ENTITY?, WHAT AN INDEPENDENT PROMOTION GETS OUT OF WORKING WITH WWE, OWENS-SHANIA AND MORE

By Mike Johnson on 2018-06-30 10:00:00

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With talk of WWE's involvement in indies like EVOLVE, etc., what would be the upside for them if WWE made a tiered pricing system on the network that would include their shows?  I can see the upside.  I also know the inevitable downside.  For the small promotion and the consumer.  People who love the business and people who think it is just a business.  I can just feel like it's going to only benefit one party here.  Or am I just making assumptions?

You are forgetting a big factor here for the smaller promotions - money and exposure.  You mentioned EVOLVE.  They have been so close to death so many times I have lost count.  Even now with the WWE connection, there are some shows they struggle to get 200 fans in the door, but if they are on the WWE Network, they are going to get paid a fee for their content and they are going to get exposure that would conceivably bring fans in the door, especially on a week like Wrestlemania week.  EVOLVE shows do better iPPV buys and live gate numbers when WWE plugs them.  They benefit when WWE sends them talent - in fact there are times where WWE sends them talent and saves them financially that weekend because of the upsurge in fan attendance.  That's the upside for a smaller promotion.  It's the difference between those running EVOLVE having to having to drive a limo or work some other job during the week just to keep the rent paid and do wrestling for pennies on the dollar while making little for the time and emotional investment or being able to do pro wrestling full-time, because WWE is bestowing that upon them.  WWE giveth and they could take it away, but in this case, they are helping something that was dying on the vine have a chance to live and potentially flourish.

If you were going to open a wrestling company, who would your producers/agents be?

Pat Kenney, Shane Helms, Les Thatcher and Jim Cornette.

Do you feel that Johnny Gargano...The Tommy Dreamer of NXT? Popular with the crowd, always comes up short in big matches

I could see why you make that analogy.  Gargano is absolutely the heart and soul of NXT right now, the way Tommy Dreamer was back in the day 20 years ago for ECW.

With Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey gone by the wayside, would that possibly leave WWE as one of, if not the longest running, continuously touring entertainment troupes of sorts in the U.S.? 

I believe WWE and The Harlem Globetrotters would probably hold those distinctions and would be the most known, although there may be smaller circuses that have been running longer, especially over in Europe.

Are there any other touring entities you see as important as WWE would be these days?

Well, not in the pro wrestling world, but certainly the Feld Group which does Disney on Ice and Marvel Universe Live and similar touring shows has a lot of importance in the family show realm.  I would also point out Cirque du Soliel as a pretty important touring group these days as they have multiple shows on the road regularly at the same time.

I read your article where Shania Twain said that if Kevin Owens beats Brawn Strowman, she will sing him his requested song. Do you see WWE altering their plans to have Owens beat Strowman (if that was indeed the plan) just to get some mainstream attention from it? 

I don't see WWE ever doing that unless it was a performer on the level of Taylor Swift or another massive star.  Shania is awesome, but in 2018, she's not at the cusp of pop culture anymore.

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