This is for those of you who are well familiar with the wrestling in the UK which followed the Admiral-Lord Mountevans rules.
Having just recently become more intimately familiar with the old Brit Pro (I add 'old' as often the term is still used for UK wrestling today, which is not the same), and liking its heel/face scenarios better than today's pro wrestling product, I'm wondering if it would play well in today's market. It's tough to know, what with all the years, now, of people watching what is essentially a free-for-all (refs there only to count pins, or as an always one-sided ruse to allow for extra double teaming by the heels).
For me, it seems, that even compared to the 70's wrestling in the U.S., today's pro-wrestling is virtually always an 'anything goes' festival, with the 'inside the ring' rules cheating that was once the mark of the heel having disappeared. Now that the rules are routinely ignored by all wrestlers, a heel can only really be established via elaborate scripts and actions performed outside the ring. More time is spent on fantastically lousy scripts read by bad actors, and pre and post match antics, than in ring time. This is even more the case in the big promotions, e.g. WWE, than in the small ones. And yet, even the longer match times in the indies are well short of an old Brit Pro match.
Of course, the uninterrupted pace of today's wrestling is part to blame for shortening the match. That there are no brief pauses in between rounds with a chance for the wrestlers to get water, and that there is less hold working time (promoters wanting constant action), increases the rate of energy exhaustion, and thus shortens the match. While most of today's top athletes should be more aerobically fit, the casual indie wrestler is much less so.
Another critique, of today's pro-wrestling product, has to do with the degree of obvious phoniness. Certainly there is much in even the old Brit Pro that requires a suspension of disbelief in order to enjoy it, but nothing so much as the insane phoniness of today's 'action'. I know my opinion is heavily influenced by my ability to replay, in slow motion, suspicious looking moves, and that had I not that ability I'd probably be happy to accept the action as portrayed. It is understandable that those attending an event, unless they happen to be positioned at the perfect angle to detect the 'slight of hand' behind several of the head blows and other impact moves, are too caught up in the real time event, and influenced by the audience reaction, to second guess the visual results of a 'hit'. And yet, isn't the vast majority of pro-wrestling consumption done via taped viewings?
Moves that would obviously, if done with intent, cause great pain are done in today's wrestling with little effect, or certainly not the submission producing frequency which occurred in the old Brit Pro; where back breaking holds were the most effective at producing submissions; a fact which did put into question the ease with which some were applied.
I've watched an audience viewing an old Brit Pro match between two 'good' guys, where everything was on the up-and-up. Though one was a known commodity, even a title holder, and the other a good looking newbie, and there was some cheering from the audience, there were many who looked bored. But, when you see a match with an obvious heel and face, the crowd sound level shoots up, they are intensely into the match. So much, that even older women are apt to get out of their seats and go give the heel a tongue lashing.
I just wonder about the financial viability of establishing such a wrestling organization here today. Because of the lower chance of injury, it should be easier to attract good looking wrestlers to be faces, but that is only going to be a plus for the female audience, a small portion of the market overall. I don't know how much the 18-49 male sector, the most lucrative target audience for pro-wrestling, turns on the heel-face scenario. It might be big for the kids, but I'm suspecting that the $ is going to the promotions which can produce the most simulated violence, or at least the action with the highest serious injury risk.
So, what do you guys think? Would you invest money into a Brit-Pro style startup? Please limit comments about differences in styles to those which are relevant to your opinion of the financial viability of such a venture. Thanks.
workovertheguy (10)
04/12/2020 17:22This is for those of you who are well familiar with the wrestling in the UK which followed the Admiral-Lord Mountevans rules.
Having just recently become more intimately familiar with the old Brit Pro (I add 'old' as often the term is still used for UK wrestling today, which is not the same), and liking its heel/face scenarios better than today's pro wrestling product, I'm wondering if it would play well in today's market. It's tough to know, what with all the years, now, of people watching what is essentially a free-for-all (refs there only to count pins, or as an always one-sided ruse to allow for extra double teaming by the heels).
For me, it seems, that even compared to the 70's wrestling in the U.S., today's pro-wrestling is virtually always an 'anything goes' festival, with the 'inside the ring' rules cheating that was once the mark of the heel having disappeared. Now that the rules are routinely ignored by all wrestlers, a heel can only really be established via elaborate scripts and actions performed outside the ring. More time is spent on fantastically lousy scripts read by bad actors, and pre and post match antics, than in ring time. This is even more the case in the big promotions, e.g. WWE, than in the small ones. And yet, even the longer match times in the indies are well short of an old Brit Pro match.
Of course, the uninterrupted pace of today's wrestling is part to blame for shortening the match. That there are no brief pauses in between rounds with a chance for the wrestlers to get water, and that there is less hold working time (promoters wanting constant action), increases the rate of energy exhaustion, and thus shortens the match. While most of today's top athletes should be more aerobically fit, the casual indie wrestler is much less so.
Another critique, of today's pro-wrestling product, has to do with the degree of obvious phoniness. Certainly there is much in even the old Brit Pro that requires a suspension of disbelief in order to enjoy it, but nothing so much as the insane phoniness of today's 'action'. I know my opinion is heavily influenced by my ability to replay, in slow motion, suspicious looking moves, and that had I not that ability I'd probably be happy to accept the action as portrayed. It is understandable that those attending an event, unless they happen to be positioned at the perfect angle to detect the 'slight of hand' behind several of the head blows and other impact moves, are too caught up in the real time event, and influenced by the audience reaction, to second guess the visual results of a 'hit'. And yet, isn't the vast majority of pro-wrestling consumption done via taped viewings?
Moves that would obviously, if done with intent, cause great pain are done in today's wrestling with little effect, or certainly not the submission producing frequency which occurred in the old Brit Pro; where back breaking holds were the most effective at producing submissions; a fact which did put into question the ease with which some were applied.
I've watched an audience viewing an old Brit Pro match between two 'good' guys, where everything was on the up-and-up. Though one was a known commodity, even a title holder, and the other a good looking newbie, and there was some cheering from the audience, there were many who looked bored. But, when you see a match with an obvious heel and face, the crowd sound level shoots up, they are intensely into the match. So much, that even older women are apt to get out of their seats and go give the heel a tongue lashing.
I just wonder about the financial viability of establishing such a wrestling organization here today. Because of the lower chance of injury, it should be easier to attract good looking wrestlers to be faces, but that is only going to be a plus for the female audience, a small portion of the market overall. I don't know how much the 18-49 male sector, the most lucrative target audience for pro-wrestling, turns on the heel-face scenario. It might be big for the kids, but I'm suspecting that the $ is going to the promotions which can produce the most simulated violence, or at least the action with the highest serious injury risk.
So, what do you guys think? Would you invest money into a Brit-Pro style startup? Please limit comments about differences in styles to those which are relevant to your opinion of the financial viability of such a venture. Thanks.