GCW Promoter Brett Lauderdale Explains Why He Feels Independent Wrestling Scene Is In A ‘Down Cycle’
Lauderdale offers his thoughts.
On a recording of The Business of the Business podcast, Game Changer Wrestling promoter Brett Lauderdale joined the show.
As the conversation moved along, Lauderdale was asked for his thoughts about the state of the independent wrestling scene. Lauderdale dove into why he feels it is in a ‘down cycle.’
“Yeah, we’re in a down cycle. There’s no doubt about it. Sometimes you can see these things coming but it takes a little while for them to actually hit, and I think now, whether it’s the economy or there’s so many factors that go into it. The economy’s obviously a big thing. People only have so much disposable income. They have to choose where their money goes every week, every month. I think people are obviously — have less of that to go around right now but, absolutely, just things change in wrestling, in this industry every day, and I think, just, there’s so much wrestling right now and it’s tough for people to stand out, and for many years, we’ve had a lot of high-profile indies that were running high-profile events, spending a lot of money. Making big investments into their product and a lot of them are doing this on a show-to-show basis, where you have one show go wrong and it can put a real dent in things but then… you’re piecing one, two, three, four shows that don’t do what they’re supposed to do and you can have, an otherwise strong company, lose their footing and I think it’s just so hard right now for people to stand out in independent wrestling… Maybe it’s a lack of drawing power out there. Maybe people are watching more TV wrestling and less indie wrestling. Maybe they don’t have the time or money to spend on following indie wrestling right now. It’s just so hard to pin down any one factor but, we’re definitely in a down cycle, and these things happen. It’s not the first time I’ve seen it, and this is the times where we all kind of have to — it’s not easy for anybody. Not the promoters, not the wrestlers. We all just kind of have to, you know, really bear down and we have a storm we have to weather here. We’re gonna have to get creative in how we make money, spend money, save money, generate revenue… It’s impossible not to acknowledge it right now. You’re talking about companies that were at the forefront, leading the way. So, for them to bow out, it just goes to show you — for a lot of people, wrestling is not a business. It’s a passion. It’s a hobby, it’s a passion, it’s a love. For times to be so tough that… not only are they shutting down their business but they’re walking away from their passion, it just goes to show you how tough things really are right now and yeah, we’re gonna have to weather this storm, and this is how wrestling’s always been. There’s cycles, and there’s cycles of fandom where how long does the hardcore fan last before they lose interest? And you have to make new fans. So, we all need to make new fans right now. That’s how we’re gonna churn through this and weather the storm and get back to the other side.”
Lauderdale took over the Game Changer Wrestling brand in 2015. On 12/5, the promotion is presenting its ‘Say You Will’ event, and on 12/6, they are presenting ‘Highest In The Room 4.’
If the quote in this article is used, please credit The Business of the Business podcast with an H/T to Fightful for the transcription.
