The Forzese View - Keep Wrestling Alive
Submitted by Jim Forzese on Wednesday, October 22, 2003 at 7:34 AM EST



Keep Wrestling Alive

If you follow the NHL then you know that after this season the players and owners are set to go into a long, arduous battle over the financial well being of the entire hockey league. Everyone involved wants financial security and fiscal certainty so that all thirty major league teams can survive and prosper under a new collective bargaining agreement. Players want to keep the inflated salaries that they have come to expect through the years while the owners want to have all teams playing on an equal salaried playing field. The league itself wants to ensure that all thirty teams survive so that there are plenty of job opportunities for players both young and old.

All of the teams in the NHL are competitive to one another however they all work for the common goal of keeping their chosen profession alive. With a weak economy and very terrible TV ratings that may not be possible. Teams get a cut of the TV profits so when ratings are low the league suffers tremendous loss financially. If the league can pull together and reach an agreement with the owners and TV networks then the survival and the prospering of the league will be eminent. So what does this have to do with the wrestling business right? If WWE incorporated elements of this issue into their industry then it just may prosper again.

I believe that 90% of the wrestling world, albeit wrestlers or fans think that without any competition that WWE will never get back to the level that they once were. With no real alternative to turn to, you either watch WWE or you watch something else besides wrestling. TNA or MLW are options but they are options that cost the consumer money to view. There no longer is free competition to choose what you prefer to watch. So without being a lawyer I will make a suggestion that may not be capable of working but could help the entire industry if it could.

No wrestling company can afford anyone to go belly up and go bankrupt right now. Vince is learning all too well that being a monopoly is not a wise business decision. The camera’s eye is continually on you so that things that would be passable before are now meeting extreme scrutiny. Vince needs another national company to deflect some of the veraciousness of the rabid wrestling fan. WWE needs someone else to be there to pull up the slack when WWE is soft on creative ideas and also to possibly prove that their creative ideas are not all that bad compared to another companies ideas.

Vince should approach TNA and work out a collective bargaining agreement so that both companies can compete against each other and generate revenue for the survival of the wrestling industry. If Vince can get the Panda Energy people to sell him let’s say 5% of ownership of TNA then Vince can help support the company with an influx of a secondary revenue stream like he did somewhat with ECW.Vince, with his minimal share of the company can approach Viacom to let NWATNA have the Velocity/Confidential timeslot on Saturday night on TNN. If it is a WWE affiliated product Viacom should not disagree with this since in essence they would feel that it is still the same corporation.

If TNN can be the known wrestling station and generate a secondary revenue stream through what TNA does for them through their TV ratings then there is more Neilson money to be split between the companies. TNN can be looked at like Fox is with the MLB or ESPN is with the NFL.As long as it’s wrestling related Viacom would get a chunk of the overall business profits. TNA will have every business aspect be there own, they will in no way be controlled by or answer to WWE.TNA will have to survive on their own merit and business savvy and also TNA will have to pay out to the advertisers and talent out of their own payroll. By doing this, the more wrestling on TV could also mean more fans, higher ratings, and more money being put into the industry overall.

Just like in the NHL or MLB both the WWE and TNA will be fiercely competitive against one another but the ultimate goal will just be about being the best in the industry and not to ever put the other company out of business. With only one national company out there right now cable networks are looking at wrestling like a dying pastime of American culture which has to do with the sale of WCW and ECW’s financial problems and bankruptcy. If wrestling can get into a pact for fiscal certainty then perhaps it will open the door for other companies to reach a national level like ROH and MLW.Call me crazy but a working agreement between TNA and WWE could spark interest into the business again. This would also ensure that wrestlers would have steady and secure work for a very long time to come without fear of getting fired and losing everything they have with only one major company to work for.

Bottom Line:

Through all economic hardships and through all facets of business sometimes companies are forced to merge or create joint ventures to become a stronger entity in the industry. So if Vince were to get 5% silent partnership of TNA and get maybe 3% of TV revenues then maybe TNA could become a profitable company as opposed to the losses they are suffering by being a PPV only company. Panda Energy is eventually going to want a return on their investment and if they see the potential in getting on national cable TV with the help of WWE they very well may take it.

Vince would have to let his ego go and allow NWATNA to be important in the industry and not try and crush them right out of the starting gate. I do not believe that there is any animosity between the Jarrett’s and the McMahon’s so ideally they could work this endeavor together easily without anyone compromising their personal integrity. This idea would force WWE to once again start creating the storylines that we have come to expect from them and it lets TNA get a set roster that doesn’t continually rotate so that they can start to build storylines that they know will have longevity.

When Vince became the sole owner of a monopoly, he put himself in the position of having to carry the burden of this business on his shoulders. Vince has the responsibility of keeping the industry alive and prospering for years to come whether he thinks he needs to do it or not. WWE needs to think about the financial security and certainty of the wrestlers and the business as a whole. If WWE, the largest wrestling business in North America goes under then there will be little to no chance of someone else becoming as successful. And what cable company at that point would take a risk on a start up promotion when the industry leader just went under?

Again without being a lawyer I have no idea if this would even be allowed but if the possibility exists then maybe Vince, the Jarrett’s and Panda Energy should have a meeting to discuss the future of this great sport. Because much like what will happen to the NHL if they have a lockout, if wrestling disappears for an extended time it might just take an act of God to bring it back. If the 64 shares Neilson rating that the Red Sox and Yankees did isn’t proof positive to WWE that fierce competition breeds fans then I don’t know what will. Until next time that’s just my view.

Jim Forzese
forzeseview@yahoo.com









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