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LOOKING AT A WORLD WHERE PRO WRESTLING ISN'T A MALE SOAP OPERA

So I was sitting around and had an idea.  I have been thinking lately how much I wish wrestling was more interesting and less trying to be a character driven show (especially when some of the writing makes Hannah Montana look intelligently written).  So I had this idea, what if someone started a wrestling company strictly with the intention to profile professional wrestlers as talented athletes and we could eliminated half a show of promos?  Enter the Professional Wrestling League.

Yes, I would still use professional wrestling attributes but I would emphasize the competition and not so much the personas.  I hear about how the storylines sell the matches but I think many would just prefer action packed wrestling while still utilizing the art of the short interview/fighter profiles.  You could also use managers/interpreters to help with foreign talent who may not be as fluent in English as they are in talent.  You can sell a lot in pre and post fight interviews and don’t need good/bad guys; just guys being themselves to try and earn a spot in the name of competition and natural characters will come out.  If you want to do weigh-ins or some form of fighter profile in more detail, you can choose to do it on your website.

To make up for the lack of Hollywood writers carefully crafting story lines, you insert a ranking system so that each fighter can compete to work their way up the ladder.  It has worked in MMA and boxing for years, so why is it that wrestling companies do not understand how important you can make wins and losses?  If you lose, you have to work your way back up the ladder and if you win, you advance towards a potential title shot.  You utilize non-title shots to use your champion more frequently and save the title shots for the bigger or rarer events.  And bring in a “booker” who will award the belts to the guys who are working the best at the moment.  You can even institute belts for various weight classes and a women’s division as well.   

Now to my favorite part of the deal, the pay per view buys.  You know what I think about them?  Screw them unless you can make them more affordable for the average sports fan (no more than $10 a show).  The first avenue I would explore is HBO, Showtime, or one of those cable premium channels so that your fans can save money.  By the way, before someone tells me, that not everyone gets those channels, I have a response to that as well.  I would simply like to point out which is more cost efficient, a $40-$50 pay per view once a month for one show (or more if you order more than one) or adding HBO for $10-$15 a month that also comes with 24 hours of other programming?  I know the hope of MMA, boxing and pro wrestling companies is that you will want to see it so bad you will pay anything or you will team up with your buddies and chip in to watch it together but especially in a down economy, not everyone can manage that (plus some fans don’t have friends or family who like it so they have to pay that bill alone). 

So is this the perfect recipe that every wrestling fan is going to enjoy?  No, there is no magic fix that will satisfy all wrestling fans but I think this will appear more attractive to wrestlers who prefer to work on their craft as opposed to their promos.  This will also appeal to the casual fan who likes the more realistic MMA or boxing feel of it because instead of bigger than life characters, you are graded on your ability.  I think it will also appeal to wrestlers who appreciate working on their craft and not being held down by those with less talent than they have but no how to deliver promos.  In the end, everyone wins because there is actually a wrestling show on television and not just some male soap opera trying to make action movies on a weekly basis and fans who want real non-stop action are rewarded.

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