Diamond Jubilee

2008 marks the 60th Anniversary of the National Wrestling Alliance and we are going to try and milk it for all its worth (all those years with Disney taught me that millstones equal profits)...Currently the plan is to kick off the year long celebration in Atlanta on June 7 in the Philips Arena, but we are starting the campaign this month at our event in Enid, OK on May 31.

The decision of the kick off came when the our kind internet fans started a "broohhaha" over our June 7th card. Although this is the largest venue we've produced a show for in our minds it was business as usual cause arena's are nothing new to us anymore. When we learned that the fanatics in Georgia made our date nothing short of WrestleMania (sarcasm) I knew we needed something to grasp on to and try (AND I MEAN TRY) to meet their perceptions and expectations, thus the 60th Birthday kick off!

I must admit that at first this was just a marketing gimmick, but after some though it really became reality, especially after I was emailed the speck logo (created by Mike Mondragon AKA Disco Machine http://www.myspace.com/discomachine) and thought..,"hmmm, we can do something with this!"

At that moment I called Bob Trobich and pitched the idea of the year celebration and Atlanta and all and he said "sure." SURE?! Thats it? That's all I needed (I guess) and we started blues skying and coming up with other promotional ideas. Anyhow, the June 7th show is already being called a flop by critics (you see only WWE runs major buildings; everyone else is a failure) and the best part is that they are dead wrong!

From a business stand point it is a great relationship with the folks at the building, they are happy with the show we've produced for them on paper and knowing the financial's they will do better than good. Am I saying we are going to draw tens of thousands for them? NO! And they know that (you see I'm an honest wrestling person; go figure)! The other reason its a success is that we have built a reputation within the Arena world for producing a quality, entertaining product. I am very proud of my staff, everyone! They have helped us go so far! I ask the question to everyone I talk to about this:

"Why run a rec center or H.S. gym if you can run the Orleans or American Bank Center?"

Now, don't think I'm against gyms (we have a card at Santa Ana H.S. on June 1 and the JFK Rec Center in Newark, NJ on June 14) but we have evolved and in 20 years I have gained a lot of knowledge on how arenas work and partnering with real entertainment promoters - SUE ME FOR WANTING TO DO BIGGER THINGS!

There is always hate when people are uneducated. That is 100% of the pro wrestling business and the so called "internet reporters." I rarely get calls to verify a story or a statement, its just gossip and rumor for the most part and these "reporters" are not responsible for their "reports." They have no idea how damaging their words can be to a business like ours, they forget that non-wrestling people read them too, especially in today's world with access to info the way we have it and can get it! WOW, it wasn't my intention to get on a rant like this, but MAN!

Anyhow, hope to see you on June 7 in Atlanta! We're putting our best foot forward...Thanks for your continued support.