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| Trevor Horne on WWE's legal threats toward U.K. group |
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Hi Dave, Well, it seems that the WWE legal guys don’t have enough to do, so they’ve started picking fights with groups a fraction of their size and not even based on the same continent! VPW – Varsity Pro Wrestling – have made mention on their recent publicity that they feature “former WWE superstar” Bob Holly and the “former DX members” Billy Gunn and “Road Dogg” Brian James. If James, Gunn and Holly are all going to be on the card, this doesn’t seem unreasonable marketing yet here comes the tyrannical big dog in the yard, stomping and huffing for no apparent reason. Let’s be honest here - is a group that draws 600 – 800 fans per show really a threat to a group that basically has created an oligopoly? It’s not even as if the WWE attempts to draw in the same region – I know in the States that everything far apart is considered commutable but over here, people who live in Portsmouth and Basingstoke (where the VPW shows are) consider London a way to go for a wrestling event. WWE tour in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff and Glasgow. Maybe Sheffield now and again. What about the fans in Bristol? Or Southampton? What about Norfolk, York and Cambridge? Add commuting costs and an overnight stay onto the huge ticket prices of WWE events and you’re asking a lot of money. My wife and I went to the RAW and Smackdown tapings last April and paid £60 total in travel, £120 in tickets and £60 for a room in London overnight. That’s nearly $400 when you convert it – that’s a lot of money. At between £10 - £15 a ticket, VPW offers an enjoyable and cost effective evening of wrestling (if you want to see something of the sort of show they put on, go to http://www.varsityprowrestling.com/TagMatch_120210.html) with some big stars on offer – not to mention some very talented British talent. Chris Andrews, Jake McCluskey and Rob Holte are superb performers and the UK Kid, who trained at Shawn Michaels’ TWA school, is more than likely the best wrestler in the entire country right now. The more people this group reaches, the better. And the better for WWE! The upcoming VPW shows are on Friday 12th (Portsmouth) and Saturday 13th (Basingstoke), which is the school half-term over here. Lots of kids on holiday. WWE are looking to get as many youngsters on board as possible right now with their PG rated shenanigans so surely the more people come to the VPW show and decide they *like* wrestling, the more kids you will have begging their parents to go to WWE shows later in the year, the more kids will be asking to buy the pay per views, the more kids will be wanting WWE merch for their birthdays... and so on. It really does make you wonder why WWE doesn’t actually *help* VPW promote their events... And what about Bob Holly, Billy Gunn and the Road Dogg? Holly worked in the WWE for 16 years (and would arguably still be there if Ken Anderson weren’t such a colossal prick) but he was paid for best service and he gave it. He hasn’t worked in the WWE for over a year, so why shouldn’t he be able to make a living on the independent circuit? He’s flying quite a way for a two day gig and he clearly believes in the product or he wouldn’t bother. What does it matter to the WWE if a group who is promoting thousands of miles away and two months before their next landing promotes this guy as a “former WWE superstar”? He is, isn’t he? Robbing Bob of that kudos is like banning someone from putting the name of former employers on their CV. Again, it all seems incredibly arrogant from the market leader. Billy Gunn and Brian James put their primes into the WWE too, why should they be precluded from making money to feed their families just because they don’t work there anymore? It really does seem to me that the WWE coined the phrase “WWE Universe” because that’s how they see it – there’s only the space out there for one group and it’s them. Sod everyone else, no matter how hard they work or how good their shows are. Personally, I find that quite sad. |
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