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Aaron Undercover
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AARON UNDERCOVER EXPLAINS
WHY BRITISH WRESTLERS ARE AMONG THE
MOST DEDICATEDAROUND.
British wrestling has always been looked
at as not being the place to make a
living. It can be said for just about
any other country where the wrestling
scene as very little impact. But today
I am not here to talk about all the
other wrestling scenes around the globe;
today I am here to talk about why British
wrestlers are dedicated., and why they
deserve respect.
Today I welcome you to another edition
of Aaron Undercover
The British wrestling scene has always
had a reputation as being a place where
wrestlers get very little pay. So if
the wrestling business here in Britain
is such a bad payer, why do the wrestlers
continue to wrestle for low payoffs?
Even in the days of British wrestling
glory, where over 10 million viewers
would tune in to watch British wrestling
on TV and when auditoriums were sold
out all across the country, the wrestlers
still received low payoffs. Giant Haystacks
was once quoted to have got “ £60
a night”. Yes, even the biggest
name in British wrestling only received
£60 a night, and believe me that
was a good night, what about the bad
nights?
Which brings us to the present day,
and with British wrestling getting no
TV coverage and very little interest
from the wrestling fans in this country,
what payment does the average British
wrestler receive?
Well as a person that has promoted
4 wrestling shows, I can say that it’s
even hard for a promoter to break even,
never mind make a profit. Some wrestlers
might receive enough payment to cover
their travelling expenses to the shows,
while some will get nothing, and even
fewer will actually be left with any
money after expenses.
The British wrestler will travel to
the show rather by using his car, or
by using public transport. The wrestler
will then have to buy his refreshments
and food while at the show. Most of
the promotions fail to draw crowds of
over 200 in attendance. A show can cost
over £1,000 to put on, so the
promoter as to recoup his s outgoings
by drawing a crowd of over 150 plus
to break even. If the promoter fails
to draw his needed crowd for the night,
he then looks at the possibility of
losing his money.
With the very little interest in British
wrestling it is a very hard task indeed
for the promoter to make his money back.
Many promoters will break even or lose
money. Very few promoters actually make
money from their shows, and the ones
that do are the successful ones.
British wrestlers will attend a show
and some travel hundreds of miles to
wrestle. Some of these wrestlers receive
£20 – £30 for the nights
work ahead. £30 might sound good
for 10 minutes work, but it sounds less
attractive when you find out that wrestler
as travelled 300 miles to get to the
show and has to pay for overnight accommodation,
and then travel 300 miles home the next
day.
Some wrestlers receive less for their
matches, and some receive nothing. Only
a handful of wrestlers actually make
money out of wrestling. Even the promoter
who put on the show can walk away having
lost all or part of his money he invested
in to the show.
On the very first show I was involved
with I lost over £600, but luckily
I bounced back and the next shows actually
made a little money. The fans slated
BXW, which I was involved in, they said
it would never survive, but Iceman &
Myself proved them wrong and BXW was
a success (Despite what Tom Lancaster
tells people).
Talking of Tom Lancaster here is this
guy, and I am sure you have all heard
of him, he takes the photos at British
wrestling shows. Well this guy brought
AWOL over from America to wrestle on
his show; he also invited a number of
British wrestlers to take part. Tom
went out and got a ticket master to
sell his tickets. On the night of the
show around 30 fans turned up to witness
the show. Tom went on to lose over £1,000
on that show and he has gone on to never
promoted again.
On my first show which was with the
EEW ownership, we managed to draw a
crowd of around 90 fans, but with the
set-up of the show we actually lost
£600 plus. When I said we, I must
state I was the one that lost the money,
as the other 2 involved never actually
invested money in the show, yet they
did the booking, and with me being very
green I didn’t realise what I was
letting myself in for.
Most wrestler actually realise that
the promoters aren’t going to make
money on their shows and agree to wrestle
on the show for a small fee to help
towards their travelling costs. I have
always looked at British wrestling as
a hobby, and appreciate the hard work
each wrestler puts in to his shows,
and respect the wrestlers even more
for what little they make out of their
appearances.
Most British wrestlers look at the
British wrestling scene as a hobby,
they go out there and risk injuring
themselves for little if any payment.
British wrestlers deserve all the credit
for the shows they appear on, because
without them there would be no show.
Has a promoter I have come to admire
the British wrestler and by writing
this column I can let each and every
fan know why the British wrestler deserves
respect, they are amongst the most dedicated
wrestler on god green earth.
Even the wrestling promoter deserves
credit, because at the end of the day
he more than likely will go home short
of his investment. I can say the thing
that keeps me promoting is the fact
that there is nothing better than to
actually promote a show and see the
wrestlers and fans enjoy a great night
of wrestling action. So much hard work
s to go in to promoting a show, you
just don’t stick a few posters
up and expect crowds of 300 plus to
your show. To promote a show you have
to stick up lots of posters, give out
fliers to the passers-by in the town
centres. You may then wish to advertise
your show in the local paper, which
can be quite expensive, or you can opt
to send your local newspaper a press
release hoping they print it in their
paper. There are so many things you
can do for advertising, ad you have
to take every one of them and use them
effective to even draw a decent crowd.
The wrestler is the most important
of each show you promote, and without
the wrestler your show wouldn’t
go ahead.
Each and every wrestler in this country
deserves a huge pat on the back, and
the respect of everyone as they truly
the most dedicated. Without these guys
you wouldn’t have a show, and without
these guys accepting low payments and
for some who give their time for free,
you wouldn’t have wrestling.
So today I ask each and everyone one
of you to stand with me and salute each
and every British wrestler.
Aaron Spencer
If you have any opinions on this article
then email aaron@britwrestling.co.uk
You can also visit my British wrestling
news site www.britwrestling.co.uk
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