Today, I am going to briefly speak on two parts of this thought. The promoting of matches themselves and promoting opportunities to get involved in the sport.
Part 1:
Let us start out with why UFC and WWE have been so successful for so long. Is it because of the actual in cage or in ring product, or is it because they tug at our emotions with promoting their events? Let's use Conor McGregor for an example. Conor lost to Khabib in 2018 and then lost twice to Dustin Poirier in 2021. His lone win since 2018 was versus Donald Cerrone in 2020. Giving Conor a 1-3 UFC record since 2018. On June 29th Conor will fight Michale Chandler in his first fight in nearly 3 years. It will be a huge event! Why you ask? One word, promotion. Conor could never win another fight in his life, but the way he builds the drama leading into each and every one of his fights makes you want to tune in and see it. He is truly the world's best at 'Promoting' the upcoming event. That leads to more posted videos and eyeballs outside of the sport of MMA to come in to see it happen. In that process, other athletes are showcased in front of this new crowd and builds an even bigger fan base. The same can be said for WWE. They have nearly the same business model. The difference being that UFC is a legitimate sport, while the WWE is an athletic form of entertainment. But both entities know that just throwing two guys in a cage or a ring will never sell tickets or grow their respective brands. There has to be a conflict or something on the line worth fighting for. A reason behind the fight taking place. Otherwise, there is no emotional ties for the consumer to cheer one way or the other. Nobody will really care (especially as a casual viewer) who wins and who loses, and in that case, nobody will tune in.
The sport of wrestling has a small niche audience for this reason. If you're a fan of the sport or a former wrestler yourself, you will tune in to see big matchups that Flo wrestling puts on, or even the Olympics. Outside of that, the viewership of the NCAA's is significantly lower in the early rounds than in the semifinals and finals. Why is that? The semifinals are for a trip to wrestle for a national championship and the finals are for the national championship. Something is on the line. A reason behind the match occurring. Staying with me so far?
Why is Carter Starocci so popular within the sport of wrestling? He "promotes" and is a little brash and calls people out. He creates a dynamic that people want to see unfold. Something people would pay to see. When Starocci was asked about wrestling icon Jordan Burroughs, particularly in regard to him shoving Mesenbrink's head to the mat during the Olympic trials, Starocci without hesitation said the following:
"If I was Mitchell Mesenbrink and he jammed my face into the mat I would have spit in his face," "Obviously, (Burroughs has) done a lot for the sport, but for me, it doesn’t mean much. I kind of have that side where I don’t care who you are, what you stand for, what you say. ... I just think he walks around thinking he’s King Kong and he’s not."
Starocci created a conflict in the statement that would create a huge match between Starocci and Burroughs if that ever happened down the line at a Beat the Streets or Flo wrestling event. It isn't just two guys wrestling. There's a story that has given the match a dynamic that could be "promoted" leading into the match.
This is why I personally feel the sport of wrestling continues to only have a niche following. There isn't enough reasoning behind matches to build them into a 'Box-Office" event so to speak. And before anyone points out the rules of the sport not translating to the casual viewer, remember people didn't exactly understand MMA in the beginning either. They just knew two guys were fighting. In this instance, it would unfold the same way if promoted correctly. Flo wrestling is doing an excellent job in recent years promoting the sport and creating dynamics between wrestlers prior to specific matchups, and you can tell it is working as USA wrestling memberships continue to trend in the right direction. It was even announced on the USA wrestling website back in March that they had reached 300,000 members for the first time since their inception in 1968.
Part 2:
For the second part of the "Lack of promoting" argument is on the local levels with clubs and training centers. Clubs and training centers typically do a great job across social media trying to lure in new wrestlers, but without community support it can be a challenge. In one of my previous blogs, I mentioned Cleveland High School and their dominance. The school system endorses the "Higher Calling" wrestling club and community members even "promote" it across social media and word of mouth. In my experience this is the exception and not the rule. In most cases community recreations that offer sports to their respective communities do not offer wrestling. If their community has a club non-affiliated with the recreation itself, they will in no way promote it. It is almost that wrestling is taboo or something. There is continually very little funding for the sport of wrestling in most communities as well.
How do we bring the sport to the forefront in communities and areas where historically the sport isn't very big? If you live in Ohio or Pennsylvania, you can probably throw a rock in any direction and hit a club or training center, but states like Mississippi for instance, just held their first high school state tournament last year or the year before (I can't remember off the top of my head, but it's very new) and are trying to incorporate the sport across their state. What is the answer to do just that?
My thought would have a wrestling club attached to each school that offers wrestling as a varsity sport. The school systems would have to rethink their budgets, but coaches can't solely rely on their wrestlers going to training centers and other clubs to build their programs. Of course there will still be those kids, but this is a needed concept at any school trying to build a successful program. It should be put under the same umbrella as the youth football and baseball programs in the community and be PROMOTED. Be easy for parents and kids alike to find!
Out of this, all of the training centers in the area would benefit. The wrestlers that began at a local school club and were wanting to improve their skills would be looking out for more coaching and different partners. Training centers could even send information to all of the structured school-based clubs for their club kids to maybe pickup an extra practice or two each week. Unlike other sports, wrestling coaches would love this.
If this were to ever become a reality across the country (which is a stretch at best, but not impossible.) the sport would grow in droves. The 6th grader that gets cut from the basketball team sees he can try wrestling and jumps in. A kid that is getting bullied wants to learn to defend himself and sees a flyer in the school and jumps in. The scenarios are endless, but the final results would be the same. It would be like getting a boulder to the top of the mountain and it is gaining steam after you pushed it down the other side. Communities either need to offer the sport out of their local recreation, or at the bare minimum 'Promote' it to the kids playing other sports. If not, we will continue the same fight up the mountain as the sport has faced forever.
In my humble opinion,
Jesse Drennen
Founder $Bmoney Beastin' Athletics LLC.
info@bmoneybeastinathletics.com
