The COVID-19 pandemic is going to have a long sprawling effect on the modern world. As we begin to think about phasing into a re-opening of the United States, some businesses are going to have an easier go of it than others. One of the businesses I anticipate struggling the most is independent wrestling. I’m worried about a lot of the people I’ve come to know over the year who are in the business.
Y’know – I’ve always been one to bang the drum for transparency. But, in this case, I’m going to be a hypocrite and keep things close to the vest. Over the last several weeks, I’ve spoken to a myriad of sources within independent wrestling, and it seems like with each week that passes, the more concerned people in the business grow.
Experts suggest that we’re still at least a year from being able to gather in large groups again. We won’t truly be able to until there’s an effective vaccine that everyone has access to. Some have even suggested that it’ll be Fall of 2021 before things go back to full-on normal. That’s a long time for an industry to go on hiatus.
Obviously, concern number one for the promoters is the money. It’s a layered issue. On one hand, how many big promotions are in the hole because of WrestleMania week being canceled? There are promoters out there who are selling their homes because of the financial loss. One has said they stand to lose $25,000 because of that. How do you recover from that?
Even when entertainment is given the green light, how long will it be before people are comfortable going to a show? I feel like it’s going to be a long time before you get the circumstances that favor large crowds….especially in a medium that isn’t exactly known for spacious venues and hygienic fans.
Then, you have to think about the supply issues and how that’s going to effect the wrestlers. There’s going to be a flood of talent – everyone’s going to be available all at once, and the WWE isn’t helping matters by releasing all these people. There’s going to be a tsunami of available talent, and unfortunately, that means that people are going to be left out. Even when you can ‘flip the switch’ and turn indie wrestling back on, it doesn’t mean that everyone’s just going to get work right off the bat.
I’m interested to see how many guys retire because of all this – I’ve spoken to a couple of wrestlers who have actually been kicking around the idea. Some don’t need it – they have established careers outside of wrestling….happy lives with families…and knowing how bleak the outlook is, they’ve already figured that this whole thing isn’t going to end well for a lot of people. They’re fortunate not to be among them. Then, there are people who thought they couldn’t live without wrestling who are finding out that they can actually be content without it. This isn’t a dynamic among the wrestling community that I expected.
I think the little small town mud shows should be fine. I know places in Tennessee that can run a full-on show for $200 or less. Plus, the people on the outskirts of town are treating this whole pandemic a lot differently (that’s an entirely separate can of worms, but my point is that they would probably go sit in a crowd of 100 right now without issue). But, it’s the mid-level and higher end indies that have the higher stakes. They’re the ones who lost a ton of money on WrestleMania week, and typically have bigger budgets to work with.
So, what’s the solution? Can indie wrestling survive on shows without fans? When the gate matters so much, how do you afford to run without that revenue stream? Could you do more production style stuff like the Boneyard Match? Again, how would the indies make money off of that? Or, do you just cut your losses and shut your doors? There are a lot of heavy decisions to make.
Indie wrestling, in a way that makes it feel like no other industry, really has its back against the wall because of this pandemic.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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