Far be it from me to write a column based on another column, but I just canât resist.
God bless Bill Behrens.
No, Iâm not getting all âShawn â~Souldierâ Michaelsâ on you when referring to my new hero. But Bill is doing this business perhaps the greatest service of all. Exposing those slimeball, low-level wrestling promoters for what they do and who they are. Neâer-do-wells who are nothing but toxic to the independent wrestling scene.
Anyone who has access to a ring and a building can be a promoter nowadays. Some states have licensure requirements. Others donât. Trust me; a lack of a license wouldnât stop some of these scumbags. Theyâll move forward with the supposed best thing next to WrestleMania. They promote big name wrestlers who will not be there. Then, those bottom-feeders turn around the screw the wrestlers who do show up.
I donât mean to paint all independent wrestling promoters with a broad brush. Mind you, the brush is not thin. However, for every one good and honest promoter, there are multitudes of individuals who are lowlife conmen.
If I sound harsh, I am harsh. Screw them. I came into my own non-wrestling involvement in the Minnesota independent scene with wide-eyed enthusiasm. In other words, I was naïve and clueless. Yes, it was exciting at first, hobnobbing with the boys. Being in the locker room. Serving as ring announcer. Doing (bad) commentary. Taking tickets. Bringing jackets and belts to the back.
Yet, the deeper I got involved, the more I saw the seedier side of this business. Heck, I wrote before how I got screwed out of a payoff back in 1990. $20 for doing music. Nothing. Nada. Just a short, paunchy promoter skipping out the back door of a hockey arena while we waited with hats in hands.
And this guy is still promoting. At a pretty high-profile level. Iâll refrain from mentioning his name or his promotion. As the saying goes in this business, âAngles Will Apply.â
Honestly, I donât want the twenty dollars. I donât need it. But the hard-working wrestlers in this business deserve to be treated better. Especially those up-and-coming guys who are seemingly dispensable to the promoter when it comes to passing out the envelopes of cash.
Whatâs truly sad about this situation is that most wrestlers will work for a promoter who screwed them in the past. The jerks will give them a âsong and danceâ about how things are different and they will make it up to them. I donât fault the wrestlers. They want experience. They want exposure. They want to make it big. So, theyâll roll the dice and trust people who are truly untrustworthy.
As I said before, God bless Bill Behrens. And the same goes to every guy and girl out there who busts his or her ass night after night for a mere pittance. And the former WWE and TNA guys who just want to continue doing what they love. Next time some pinhead denies you your payoff, get your pound of flesh â” by pounding their flesh. Over and over and over and overâ¦
One more thing. Allow me to reiterate what Bill wrote earlier.
Gary Damron of All-Star Wrestling – $650 to Kip James
PAY HIM!
Dennis âShadyâ Richardson – $300 to Elix Skipper
LIVE UP TO YOUR WORD! YOUâRE ALREADY LIVING UP TO YOUR NICKNAME!
A.T. “I Will Pay When I Get The Money Out Of My Own Pocket. I’m Only Part Of This In Name Only Now” Huck of IWF â” Undisclosed payoffs to Bobby Roode and Rhino.
GET THE MONEY OUT OF YOUR POCKET AND YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR A$$!
