When I was a kid in grade school, there was another fellow in my school who had this t-shirt featuring a hobo with a bag on the end of a stick that read "When the recession comes, I'm ready." I didn't know what that meant, and it wasn't really relevant to me but it certainly is now. And OH BOY, am I ready ... and excited!
Excited? Why would anyone be excited about the market crashes, the layoffs, and the doom and gloom that we see in the media every day related to the current global recession? Quite simply, look back to the recession of the 1930's ... what do you know about that time period? I'll tell you what I know, professional wrestling experienced its first major period of growth during that period. Wrestling was BOOMING in the 1930's, and as much as the media and the public challenged the "hokum" and hoodlumism" of professional wrestling, it experienced heights never before seen up to that point ... after twenty years mired in obscurity.
Do the math ... wrestling, at least at the regional level, has been on the downturn since 1989, when the territorial era of our business was swallowed up by Corporate America's business interests and syndication. It has been twenty years since the business has been any good, plus we're are now fully immersed in a recession -- could this mean a comeback for wrestling at our level? Well if it does, then I'm ready!!
When I was about a year into the business, one of the guys who had a hand in my early development, Doug McColl said: "The problem with guys in the business these days is they've never see the business be any good." I believe that to be true. Anyone that has struggled in the independents picking up their monthly bookings for whatever company haven't had to really think hard about what they're going to do tonight to support next week's pay cheque -- it's a thrill a minute high spot match, because you have 28 days, not 24 hours, to recover before you're in a ring again. Guys that have worked the independents haven't had to consider the intermission hustle to make as much money as they can to support their families, or consider how little they're being paid in exchange for the effort they're putting forth.
As I look ahead to my own schedule for 2009, I am encouraged that the winds of change are upon us. There are more promoters taking a stab at promotion, and investing in the talent that can help to get them to where they need to go. Vancouver looks like its got a territorial war brewing ... the competiive juices are flowing, the office in Lethbridge has expanded its schedule, the Edmonton market looks like it might be getting a little crowded -- but how will that shape up, in Winnipeg they're starting to do some progressive things and there's a little more to look forward to over there these days, and I have learned about a few new promotions on the horizon ... it smells like a positive change.
So ... if this business suddenly explodes again and opportunities spring up for a guy to make a living through the wrestling business again, are you ready?
Vance Nevada