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Check Out USA Pro Wrestling at www.usaprowrestling.com
In last week's installment I talked with Frank Goodman about how he created USA Pro Wrestling and discussed how the company evolved, ending by touching upon some of the stars that helped make USA Pro Wrestling a success. This week, we discover what exactly Goodman looks for in a good wrestler, who he thinks is the future of the business and why he gives wrestlers a chance when they may not have what it takes to make it in mainstream wrestling.
"Mike Kruel, who started and is still in USAPW, is the future of pro wrestling along with current WWE stars HHH and Kurt Angle," Goodman stated before commenting on why the current crop of new WWE superstars will have to make way for Kruel's talents. "I really am not happy with the current crop of new WWE superstars since most, if they disappeared, would not even be noticed. That's why the WWE was trying to recreate the legend of Hulk Hogan and other legends that have something the new wrestlers don't have."
Goodman knows that many stars in the WWE, and even in his own promotion, don't have what it takes to enjoy a long successful career in the business. "If you haven't busted your ass in wrestling school and aren't that special person, then you shouldn't be in the business," he said. "There are tons of wrestlers who have and still work for USAPW that don't belong in this select WORLD I am in, but money is why I promote and if someone is capable of wrestling, I am willing to give them a chance, but that doesn't mean I respect their work or if I was another wrestler, would want to share a locker room with them."
Goodman, puts over Kruel as the kind of consummate professional with the knowledge for the business that will take him far. Wayne, who wrestled as the Convenience Store Guy and is now part of a successful tag-team championship combo, The Flock, with likeminded Mikey Whipwreck, also receives a stamp of approval from Goodman who states that "he is an excellent wrestler who will be a very big star someday." Wayne is an example of a talent that Goodman gave a shot, because of his ability to wrestle, that surprised fans and continued to excel, even beating former WCW star Norman Smiley. It wasn't long ago that Wayne was wrestling guys, like the Trekkie, from an elite comedic wrestling division known as the ticket sellers division, which at one time even had its own champion.
Ticket sellers are wrestlers who have the ability, but not enough skill to compete against big time stars. They sell tickets to friends, family and others who want to come see them wrestle. It's a revenue maker that has helped many promotions for years, but has been the subject of concern for some Internet wrestling fans who do not like the fact that Goodman uses so much green talent they feel ruins the product. Other fans know that some of these ticket sellers could become the next USAPW legend, like Xavier or the Boogie Knights, and need their chance to shine or they'll never make it. Goodman doesn't see the reason for so much concern.
"Ticket sellers are very important and have been around forever," he says. "The only difference is 10 years ago, a show would have one or two selling five tickets to his mom and dad and I just took it to the next level having 10 or 20 selling a minimum of 10 to 100 tickets each. Look, I can spend an extra $2,000 on advertising per show to get another 200 to 300 in the building or save the money and be guaranteed $6,000 to $7,000 in ticket seller revenue for tossing 10 to 20 more bodies on each show."
Goodman breaks it down on how important these ticket sellers are when he points out, "Our entire show's budget ranges from $5,000 to $8,000, so ticket sellers basically pay for the entire show."
With so many wrestlers on the show, even length has become another pet peeve for Internet fans with shows lasting over five hours at times. The word over the Internet and from other promoters is that this is too much for any fan to take and will cost the company the fan support in the future. Goodman scoffs at such a notion and chalks it up to jealousy over his product, stating that the shows have been long for some time and still, the fans keep coming.
"The truth is, if we have 700 fans at a show and it runs five hours, do people leave? Yes," he responds. "But it's not hundreds. It may be 50 to 100 people, but there are still 600 fans that don't care. There is no rule that says our shows must be two or three hours and its other promoters who can't find any other thing to bash USAPW about that complain about the length. It's definitely not the fans who come back over and over again."
And those fans that keep on coming back can see many of these wrestlers on Saturday, November 29, when USAPW will present at 7 p.m. an End to an Era, the last show at the Elks Lodge, featuring Raven (current champion) vs. Al Snow for the USAPW World Championship. Shane Douglas has just been announced as being a part of the show. Don't miss the Franchise in his USA Pro Wrestling debut.
Come back next week for part three of our interview with Frank Goodman where he discusses how to create interesting storylines involving the multitude of wrestlers he has on the show and why, although a match may look good on paper, it doesn't mean it is. All that and more, next week.
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