Since y'all asked for it. Newt's deep south indie wrestling pic thread

[Dom D Spoon! Find all posts View Profile Close Dom D]

And since I know Dom,I think it was dom,is interested in how these events do money wise.

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Yup, that'd be me! I have a fascination for the financials of live events because it's so hard to make a profit doing this stuff. Thanks! Sounds like they got it worked out pretty well. I'm surprised the wrestlers don't get paid more though. It looks brutalising on the body. I'm much to much of a coward to do that shit but even if I wasn't I think I would want to be paid handsomely.

[Newt Cox Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Newt Cox]

I like that there's a wrestler called Muddy Waters who, unless I'm wrong, doesn't have any sick blues jams.

Muddy Waters is a tag team,made up of The Judge RJW and Gio Savage. And they come out to Muddy Waters-Mannish Boy.

[Newt Cox Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Newt Cox]

Yup, that'd be me! I have a fascination for the financials of live events because it's so hard to make a profit doing this stuff. Thanks! Sounds like they got it worked out pretty well. I'm surprised the wrestlers don't get paid more though. It looks brutalising on the body. I'm much to much of a coward to do that shit but even if I wasn't I think I would want to be paid handsomely.

BZ is known for not paying the wrestlers much. Hell use to be in BZ if you were a rookie,IE had been in wrestling less than 2 years and/or had less than 100 matches,you worked for free. But that changed a bit over 2 years ago.

That is why most of the wrestlers try to have a table set up to sell stuff. Cause the real money is made selling pics/shirts/whatever at your gimmick table.

[Darcy Parker Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Darcy Parker]

Yup, that'd be me! I have a fascination for the financials of live events because it's so hard to make a profit doing this stuff. Thanks! Sounds like they got it worked out pretty well. I'm surprised the wrestlers don't get paid more though. It looks brutalising on the body. I'm much to much of a coward to do that shit but even if I wasn't I think I would want to be paid handsomely.

You'd find the last few chapters of the book Killing The Business be Matt and Nick Jackson interesting. They're also known as The Young Bucks, and have gone from being big on the independent scene and in Japan to being executives in what instantly became the second-biggest American promotion.

They go into detail about how hard it is making a living on the indies, and even how some of the larger promotions can give terrible contracts to newer talents. When they worked for TNA, now known as Impact Wrestling, their contracts didn't pay travel or accommodations, and they were paid per match taped. They had to fly from California to Florida for tapings, and often were given no matches in a set of tapings, so they weren't paid at all. They also couldn't take other bookings, and almost quit the business entirely because even though they had “full-time” deals with the second-largest wrestling company in the US, they were going broke due to the expenses.

[Dom D Spoon! Find all posts View Profile Close Dom D]

You'd find the last few chapters of the book Killing The Business be Matt and Nick Jackson interesting. They're also known as The Young Bucks, and have gone from being big on the independent scene and in Japan to being executives in what instantly became the second-biggest American promotion.

They go into detail about how hard it is making a living on the indies, and even how some of the larger promotions can give terrible contracts to newer talents. When they worked for TNA, now known as Impact Wrestling, their contracts didn't pay travel or accommodations, and they were paid per match taped. They had to fly from California to Florida for tapings, and often were given no matches in a set of tapings, so they weren't paid at all. They also couldn't take other bookings, and almost quit the business entirely because even though they had “full-time” deals with the second-largest wrestling company in the US, they were going broke due to the expenses.

Sounds like a good read. I shall see if Kindle has it.

Newt, if you don't mind me asking, the other thing that stands out is how cheap the tickets are. It makes for a very reasonably priced night out. Are there that many shows that ticket prices are driven down?

When I start to think about the reality of staging these events the thing that seems the major bar to me is insurance. It costs a fortune to get insurance for a show when its just a girl waving fans. I can't imagine what wrestling producers must be up against. Maybe the legals are different over there...

[Newt Cox Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Newt Cox]

Sounds like a good read. I shall see if Kindle has it.

Newt, if you don't mind me asking, the other thing that stands out is how cheap the tickets are. It makes for a very reasonably priced night out. Are there that many shows that ticket prices are driven down?

When I start to think about the reality of staging these events the thing that seems the major bar to me is insurance. It costs a fortune to get insurance for a show when its just a girl waving fans. I can't imagine what wrestling producers must be up against. Maybe the legals are different over there...

See in MS pretty every fed is 10 bucks for GA tickets and 15 for front row tickets. Now in Louisiana it is 20 for GA,25 for 2nd thru 5th row and 30 for front row. But I'm pretty sure that is cause the rental on the buildings in LA is much higher.

For example BIW,they run the civic center outside of the town I live in. Besides the fair,that happens two times a year and the hunting expo that civic center is empty most of the year. Once the civic center saw that not only was BIW coming to the civic center 4 to 5 times a year,but also the promoter was willing to clean the place up after the show the rent on the civic center dropped.

With Battlezone,the group I went to last weekend,the booker was in the Army National Guard. So he gets a good deal at piles of Armorys around the state. Been told the civic center the last show was at is like the one by my town. In that it sits empty most of the year. So they rent the place cheap.

I've always heard the cheap rent plus how poor lots of the locals are is why tickets are so cheap.

Another factor is that most feds in MS do not bring in "Name" wrestlers. Battlezone usually only brings in a name or two for their 2 night Widowfest event each year. THe reason they had the Rock N Roll Express was one of the sponsors paid for them to come in.

BIW rarely uses a name. "Sure you will draw a big crowd if I bring in say Hacksaw Duggan. But the next show how many of those people will come back? I rather make the local and drive in guys the draw." And it has worked well for BIW. Besides the outdoors show last year in October,BIW hasn't drew less than 300 in town in 9 years now. The outdoors show happened on a night when it was in the low 40s,there was 4 local high school football games going on. And there was still 200 people there.

[Newt Cox Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Newt Cox]

Vladimir Koloff is the BZ Brass Knucks champion. In the old southern territories a Brass Knucks title is what is called a Hardcore title now. Walker Hayes is a Memphis guy. This is a tables match. Which means to win you gotta put your opponent thru a table.

[Newt Cox Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Newt Cox]

Nightmare known as Jeremiah is the Capital City Champion,which is the big title in BZ think of it as their WORLD title. Jaxon Slade is the son of a fairly well known guy in the south,Adrian Whisper. Learned when I met Jaxon last year this info. So was telling him how back in high school his aunt and I dated for a short bit.

This was the Main Event of the Battlezone vs EGO 3 show.

[Newt Cox Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Newt Cox]

After Jeremiah won his match Gio Savage,one half of Muddy Waters,ran out and cashed in his title shot.

[Newt Cox Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Newt Cox]

After the Gio Savage title win BZ had a Lights Out event. Where if you paid for the VIP meet and Greet you got 3 more matches.

Eddie Martinez had just won the BZ Jr Heavyweight title in the opening match of the BZ vs EGO 3 event. Eric Black is a local vet. Sammy Riot is a youngster that is rising,and is the cousin of a fairly popular guy that retired last year. And finally you have Charlie Ace and his manager The Brilliant One Brandon Turner.

Brandon is the guy I do a wrestling podcast with. He is a ref in BIW and sometimes SWA. He does commentary in DCW. And manages in DCW and BZ. Brandon is the guy that paid for the Rock n Roll Express to come in.

As yall can see the crowd is tiny. But that is mostly cause after the Rock n Roll Express match lots of the crowd left. Brandon found me before the match "Newt make as much noise as you can when we come out. Make sure the crowd knows to boo me and Charlie."

So ,and I have done this on the podcast,I started calling Brandon "The Balding One". Mostly cause one dude at ringside was making fun of Brandon's mother. I could tell it was getting to Brandon. So figured Hey get the guy to notice Brandon is balding at the back of his head.

Also my dumb ass flipped my tablet upside down and didn't realize it. So for a short bit the footage is upside down.

[Newt Cox Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Newt Cox]

Capital City Champion Gio Savage defends his title against Walker Hayes in the Main EVENT of LIGHTS OUT 7.

[Newt Cox Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Newt Cox]

Hit up the Battlezone Back to School Bash in COlumbia MS.

It was held in the National Guard Armory,and drew a tiny crowd of 80. But first show in that town for this group. And a group of backyarders ran a few shows in Columbia a few years back and hurt the towns draw.

We went cause the main event was local Favorite The Ring Wrecker Vordell Walker facing Battlezone Brass Knuckles champion Vladimir Koloff for the title in a street fight. Which means pretty much anything goes pins and submissions count anywhere. I had to run all over and outside the building cause I was filming this match.

Thankfully a buddy took a pile of pics.


The show poster.


Vordell,black tights,suplexs Vladimir Koloff,red mask and tights,on the concrete floor.

Then once they both recovered from that Vordell took Vlad spun him around then HURLED him right where we were all sitting in the front row. I managed to get myself,Dad,and my hat and camera out of the way. But forgot the drink I had just bought.

[Newt Cox Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Newt Cox]

THere's the main event. It gets a bit shaky when I'm walking fast to follow the guys as they brawl out the arena into the parking lot and a nearby staircase.

[Newt Cox Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Newt Cox]

Semi Main Event was The Nightmare Known as Jeremiah vs Jaxson Slade winner is the #1 contender for the BCW Capital City Championship.

Well after the match Jeremiah was pissed and went after the ref with an AX!

[Newt Cox Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Newt Cox]

Jeremy Awesome(AKA Nightmare Jeremiah using his old gimmick from almost 10 years ago) comes out to the ring to cut a promo about Jeremiah's upcoming #1 contenders match later on in the show.