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| Presumably a WWC show in the 1980's |
On this final day of the 30 days wrestling challenge; I’m to speak about my views on the current scene. Well, I decided to make this challenge exclusive to the Puerto Rican scene; meaning, this final day will be my thoughts on the current status of what, to me, is local wrestling.
Still, I can’t talk about the current state of wrestling on the Island without talking about the current state of wrestling around the world. It boggles my mind, both as a fan and as an academic who studies wrestling as literature/art; how much wrestling is there these days. Not just simple wrestling, good and even great wrestling is available for almost every single type of fan out there. From the indiest of indy shows to the mainstream, wrestling might not be at its peak of popularity, but it’s as robust as it has ever been as an industry.
That’s a good thing for workers from around the globe, they don’t have to get to the mainstream in order to make a living out of what they love to do. In turn it is a good thing for the promotions because they can enjoy the global bonanza and utilize technology to draw more eyes to their product; which often gives fans an alternative that suits their tastes and/or gives new wrestlers a platform to showcase their abilities to a wider audience.
That brings me back to the topic at hand. I have had talks with people in the “fandom” (to put a word to it) about Puerto Rican wrestling. To some I have even shared videos of matches or events that you might find on YouTube and they are the reason I started this blog to begin with. Most of those talks always have the question of “what happened?” in some form or fashion.
We went from having sold out crowds for both IWA and WWC, to barely filling out a small arena. We went from being a stepping stone for many WWE/ECW/WCW/CMLL/AAA/NJPW legends to a stage that has very little coverage. “What happened?”
I’d love to have an answer to that question; but since I’m not an insider and I don’t have a way into the local industry; I can’t pin point anything. There are some who believe Victor Quiñones’ untimely death derailed local wrestling; others cite the economic situation our Island is living; others the narrow mindness of promoters in the island. The fact remains, local wrestling is a shell of its former self.
Obviously, as a scholar, I have some ideas of what might’ve happened. I believe, and this has been brought up in conversations I’ve had, that local wrestling in Puerto Rico is experiencing the same thing the UK scene experienced in the late 90’s early 00’s. Where veterans chose to give themselves and a select few the leading roles within their respective promotions; which lead to a lot of young promising wrestlers leaving the Island in search for an opportunity; which in turn left the Island dry in young talent for a long period of time combined with the fact some promoters only think about the “now” and not about the “future”. But, I’m just a fan... what do I know, right?
Yet, even if I feel sad about the current state, I remain optimistic about the future. I know for a fact there are some championing for change. I, myself, am open to give my knowledge, skills and ideas to better the product. Wrestling on the Island has a bright future; IF those in charge change their minds and see the ways other promotions have flourished around the world.
Promoters on the Island live with the fear of fans not going to the shows if they are broadcasted; but miss out on streaming revenue due to that. A bunch of promotions started small, filming live shows on small venues; word got around and their shows started to fill more and more with fans. It’s simple math, money is not earned easily, especially on an Island with more than 70 billion dollars in debt... so people won’t spend it blindly on a product, any product. Fans want to see and know what they’re buying before they buy... let them see and let them know.
But once more, what does a fan know, right?
