The Effects of Coronaviris on Pro Wrestling When I first sat down to write this blog I had intended to fill if full of beer jokes and fun. After all, during any kind of crisis, no matter how big or small, people are always looking for an escape from their problems in hopes of bringing up their spirits. isn't that what pro wrestling is for anyways? As I began to write it however, I quickly realized that this blog doesn't need to rely on cheep humor because despite this virus, the future of professional wrestling is bright and the industry will continue to thrive! For the purpose of this blog I will not be getting into the health or political aspects of CoVid19. While there are many views and opinions on the strength of this virus, the legitimacy of this "crisis", the amount of precautions we as individuals should be taking and whether or not the government action taken was even necessary, none of those issues relate to this blog. Instead I will be focusing on the effects this situation has had on the business of professional wrestling and the wrestlers themselves. With the entire world feeling the effects of the CoVid19 (a.k.a. "Coronavirus") scare, no industry has been hit as drastically as Professional Wrestling an industry that relies on mass gatherings and up close interaction. With governments restricting public gatherings (in many places to as few as 100 people, or even LESS) not to mention state athletic commissions refusing to grant permits for sporting events at this time, the entire industry has hit a roadblock. Unless your company has a major television obligation like WWE and can therefore continue to bring new content to the masses (albeit in empty arenas) chances are your career is at a standstill. From a business standpoint, this situation could not have come at a worse time. After a 20 year rut due to the lack of televised competition succeeding the fall of WCW, Professional Wrestling was finally seeing an upturn in popularity with the emergence of AEW. While we were a good year or so away from seeing a wrestling boom in full blossom, the seeds were clearly planted and the upswing of the sport's popularity undeniable. The effect was felt not only in the major organisations but, smaller independent promotions as well. prior to the outbreak, crowds were increasing, more merchandise was being sold, local television stations were wanting to showcase local promotions and more companies were wanting to sponsor them. The effect was especially noticeable on the training side as wrestling schools were seeing an abundance of new enthusiastic young students wanting to get into the game. Having this Covid19 scare at this time has been devastating to the business. First there was the initial scare that kept people at home. Speaking from my own experience, the events in which I've been taking part that had been seeing a continuous upswing in attendance suddenly saw a drastic drop after but a single case of Covid19 was diagnosed in the state. Shortly thereafter, the government put major restrictions on public gatherings, followed by state athletic commissions banning sporting events and finally the government forcing businesses (and thus venues) to close brought to a hault virtually all of Independent wrestling. It wasn't limited just to the Indy scene. For example; Impact Wrestling has announced the cancellation of their upcoming PPV, "TNA: A Homecoming" as well as several house shows. Ring Of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling have cancelled all live events through May 31st. The Cauliflower Ally Club has postponed it's annual event until late April. Even WWE has not been immune to CoVid19 effects as it has moved both it's RAW and Smackdown Televised events to the WWE Performance Center. Undoubtedly the greatest hit was felt when WWE announced that the biggest wrestling event of the year, WrestleMania, would also be moving to the Performance Center. I personally know many individuals who had major opportunities coming within the next moth. Including young stars getting their first out of state booking, local wrestlers getting their first WWE tryout, veteran Indy workers just signed to a big company, legends scheduled to make their return to the national spotlight and one even on reserve for WrestleMania. My heart goes out for those who have been effected as you have all worked long and hard for these opportunities. The good news is that this WILL pass and professional wrestling will continue. While the short term effect are undeniable, long term effects on the business as a whole are likely to be little to none. The effects on the wrestlers themselves however could be long lasting. As I mentioned, there are so many people who will miss out great opportunities while the business is shut down. While I have no doubt that each of these individuals have the goods to earn similar opportunities in the future, the sad truth is that in professional wrestling people have short attention spans and getting an opportunity is often a matter of being in the right place at the right time. To all my brother and sisters in the business, I say keep your head up, keep improving and keep reaching for your goals. To the promoters, take this opportunity of down time to devise improvements to your companies to unveil upon the world when this outbreak has ended. Most importantly, to the fans I ask that you continue to support professional wrestling. Keep following your local affiliates and supporting your favorite stars. Without fans we have nothing. Thank you all for your continued support and be ready for a HUGE wave of professional wrestling to bust on the scenes when this issue has passed. 'Till Next Time My Friends,
-- The Boss
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Sean Bossman: Author Throughout my 22 years experience I have had the privilege of contributing on several different levels. From hosting my own wrestling hotline, to column writer, to interviewer, to commentator, to ring announcer, to referee, to wrestler. I've always striven to put forth the best effort that I can in order to help augment the show in any way that I can. Archives
December 2020
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