Is there too much plastic in the world?
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I don't want to get too deep for a couple reasons:
1- I'm kind of an idiot
2- I don't want this blog too get too serious
With that said, do you ever feel the world has gotten too plastic? Too disposable? Too easily forgotten? We've got access to so much and, likely, for the better.
Since doing my wrestling movie with AEW, Ring of Honor, NWA and WCW wrestlers I've been on hype duty to make sure it gets seen. I never wanted to be in the "content" business. I wanted to create things that people remembered, sought out and loved.
Every time I performed a match whether in public or private, or whether on video or just for the audience in the building (even if just one other person), I wanted it to be my best match...or at least incredibly close. I put a lot into every match and I believe that helped me standout (even if only a little bit).
I remember going to BG East for 2 days of wrestling and having 3 out of 5 matches get voted top spot (or close, my memory isn't what it used to be) for best matches of the year.
I've had this thought for awhile...is life too plastic and is it (kind of) my fault?
Hyping the wrestling movie on podcasts, news sites and reviews on YouTube has reminded me how forgettable life has become...or maybe I mean unmemorable. I wanted things to be the best and I wanted them to standout. We've done endless podcasts that are forgotten about almost within days. The next hot piece of "content" is coming right behind it.
This convo has been had with a few of my buddies including Jonny Firestorm. I used to meet fans and supporters who had a favorite DVD they'd watch over and over. I, even, signed a few.
There is so much out there....and I miss the old days.
I pride myself on filming 50 matches in 2 days. Or I used to. I've slowed down...and I think it's intentional. The last few shoots I've stuck to 3 to 10 matches...and I'm going to slow down even more. Currently, Wrestler4Hire is sitting on like 100 wrestling matches and I'll be merging WrestleFrat onto the W4H site (at least that's the plan as of today), so they'll be plenty of "content."
Don't get me wrong, there are some very good matches (even great ones) sitting on the shelf waiting to see the light of day, but I'm going to focus on making great matches. I wanna go backwards.
With that said, comment or email me about what you think is missing from the last 5 years of wrestling matches. I have an idea, but I'd love your input.
In fact, I've been saying it a lot lately so I'm going to start my own wrestling promotion when I return to Florida. I've been intending to do that for 2 years now, so I'm going to do it. Any good indy wrestlers you'd suggest getting?
I hope this doesn't come across as a negative post. It's actually the opposite...I think.
I (almost) always enjoying learning new things and I've got to learn a lot hyping the wrestling movie we made. I've learned a lot about YouTube, graphics, film festivals and other promotional stuff. Making the wrestling movie I got to learn a lot too...like there's a different between color correcting and color grading and why they use the clapper board to sync video/audio files.
It's been a fun, exhausting experience and I urge you to check out the wrestling movie. It's great for the Halloween season. It's a little horror movie meets Mad Max meets WWE. It's not for everyone I know.
I say all this to reiterate that I want to go back to making memorable things. Less plastic. More metal.
8 comments
“I’ll give them the most spectacular heroics anyone’s ever seen! And when I’m old and I’ve had my fun, I’ll sell my inventions so that everyone can be superheroes. Everyone can be a super! And when everyone’s super… no one will be.” – Syndrome “The Incredibles”
That’s it in a nutshell. Anyone can put out a wrestling video and it doesn’t have to be good. It doesn’t have to be bad. It just has to be theirs. It’s gotten so bad that some streamers aren’t making their own original content. They’re watching other people’s content and commenting on it!
It would be nice if we’d get back to the before/after scenes you used to see. Show the wrestler changing into gear. They don’t have to talk if they don’t want to. Then afterward show them pissed off in the locker room or celebrating a little. Again, it doesn’t have to be a verbal performance. Just something that ties everything together. So it’s more like a paid performance rather than just paid performers.
Quality over quantity for sure, and this way you’ll be avoiding burnout too. Smart move. As far as potential indie wrestlers for the site I definitely think you’ve gotta get Jordan Cruz up in here!
I agree with your overall sentiments. Quality is better than quantity.