Mike "Godzilla" Tyler has been a promoter in the state of Florida for the last couple of years where he ran his own promotion, NWA Sunray. He has encountered quite a bit in the last month or so, and I thought it would be a good time to catch up with him and get the scoop on his recent happenings. I recently conducted this interview with Godzilla where he candidly discusses such topics as the selling of his promotion Sunray Pro Wrestling, his decison to leave the NWA and the first discussions about his soon to be formed promotion, Florida Unified Wrestling. I'd like to thank Godzilla for granting me this interview.
Will Rivera: First off, lets start with some recent events. You no longer own Sunray Pro Wrestling. Why did you decide to sell Sunray?
Mike "Godzilla" Tyler: Well, when I started it I was doing everything, the booking, the promoting, the business end… and being a single father with a fulltime job, it was a tremendous amount of work. I was at the point where I had to dump off some of the work to others or I would have had to shut it down. So, I was looking for a buyer. I happened to find a buyer shortly thereafter. In short, it was a one-man show. However, I can proudly say that during the time I ran it, Sunray was the best drawing promotion in the state.
WR: Ok, so for the record, can you state who the current owner of Sunray Pro Wrestling is?
Godzilla: The gentleman’s name is Gary. He is a fan, who has been to all of my shows, and honestly is a very nice guy, but frankly, he is in way over his head, and doesn’t take the steps needed to make the promotion successful. I think he thought it would be easy. Since he has taken over, attendance has dropped like a stone, though it’s still respectable compared to some other indies. I tell him what to do with the promoting end of it, and he just drops the ball on a constant basis.
WR: Can you give me some examples of what he does differently than how you did things with Sunray?
Godzilla: Well, when I ran Sunray, I had all the angles on the show make sense; everything had reasoning for happening. There was merchandise. There was a buzz on the internet about the promotion. The advertising I purchased was placed at the right locations at the right times. Gary got the advertising and placed them at the end of small streets in neighborhoods, instead of at major intersections. He didn’t put all the advertising out.
For example, we use a lot of signs to advertise our shows. He placed them at the entrance to the venue where in order to see them, you have to have already parked and are on the way into the show. Fact is, if your reading a sign there, you’re already coming to the show. Other things he does just don’t make sense. He took out radio advertising on AM stations whose demographic is male ages 35-50. He asks me ahead of time if he should do it, I tell him no and why, and he does it anyway. He doesn’t understand that I have already done a lot of what he is learning to do, and he doesn’t listen.
It’s also a lot of the small things. For example, Will, you have been to my shows. When I ran them, there was a curtain that the workers would come out for during their entrance. Gary didn’t see a need for that curtain. Sure, it’s not a major thing to hang one up, but to the fans, it’s the difference between a killer entrance and the wrestler walking out of a men’s room.
WR: Ok, now correct me if I'm wrong, but you have stayed on board with Sunray even after the sale. What exactly is your role with Sunray now?
Godzilla: When I sold it, I promised Gary I would stick around for a few months to help train him as to what needed to be done. I have a booker for Sunray, so he wouldn’t need to deal with the talent. All he would need to do is to handle the day-to-day operations, which I attempted to teach him except he doesn’t pick up on them. My role now? I show up the day of the show, and act as an intermediary between Gary and the booker and collect my payday and go home.
WR: Do you regret staying on board and having to see something that you built from the ground up kind of fall apart somewhat?
Godzilla: I would be lying if I said it doesn’t pain me to see it fall apart as it has. The shows themselves are still very good, the booker, in my opinion, is doing a fine job. But fact is, you can have the best show on earth, but if the promoter doesn’t let the fans know that there is a show, nobody will be there. And since he has taken over, attendance has dropped from a real number of 270-320 to around 60-80. Those are real numbers by the way, not your typical inflated numbers other promoters use.
WR: Ok, just to clear another thing up, when you sold Sunray you ended up retaining the rights to the NWA membership, correct? Why didn't you sell that along with Sunray?
Godzilla: Well, according to the sale contract, there were certain things I retained the right to. Among them was the insurance policy, the fact that the NWA name stays with me (according to NWA bylaw, it cannot transfer with sale), and there were other things in the sale contract.
WR: Now this brings us to your recent departure from the NWA. What was the reasoning behind leaving the NWA?
Godzilla: Well, there are a number of factors there as well. I am not and never have been a fan of politics. I don’t play them, and I could care less who likes who. It is a business as far as I am concerned. As for why I left the NWA, it was the right time to make a statement. When I was growing up here in Florida, the NWA to me represented the pinnacle of pro wrestling, the golden ring if you will. Joe Price and I had and still do have a good business relationship, and I was asked to join the NWA as NWA-Florida's associate member, which to me was a great honor at the time. I figured I would be a part of the new revolution of wrestling, part of my childhood dream of the NWA making a come back to where it once was.
Once I was in, I was in for a rude awakening. There was nothing but bitter infighting between members, many of whom had nothing but their own agenda's in mind. BUT, at the time Bill Behrens was the president, doing a fantastic job of it, getting a lot of mainstream positive press for the NWA, and while there was still infighting, there was still a glimmer of hope that the NWA would once again be the great organization it once was.
Back in October though, the NWA had its annual meeting, which was hosted up in the cold white north by Ernie Todd. Now, keep in mind, I came into the NWA with an open mind, formed my own opinions based on facts and my own research. Ernie Todd came off as a rube who didn’t seem to have the brains to pick his nose, much less run a promotion. Somehow, in all the political BS that was going back and forth, Ernie managed to get himself elected president of the NWA. Not a big deal at the time, but 2 weeks after the meeting, I asked the entire membership "what happened at the annual meeting?" The answer I got from Ernie was "you’re only an associate, you need to ask your supporting member." Now, up until the meeting, associate members were copied out of courtesy, all NWA things back and forth. It allowed me, and likely the other associates, to form their own opinions. This rude answer from Ernie pretty much confirmed my already low opinion of him.
Then, in my live journal blog, I said that I didn’t think Ernie was doing a good job, he saw it somehow, and shot off an email to Joe Price telling him to remove it from my site, which of course Joe couldn’t do. In short, Ernie Todd has a nonstop condescending attitude towards me and everyone else he deals with. His annual NWA show drew 80 people. EIGHTY. You have the entire NWA at your disposal and you can only draw 80 people?? And this is a man who is a promoter FOR A LIVING. Really. That is his real job! He also has a habit of claiming "aboriginal discrimination" every time someone says something bad about him. To those who don’t know what "aboriginal discrimination" is it’s him saying, "I am a Native American, you’re discriminating against me". I am a proud card carrying member of the Osage tribe, and I found that practice of his disgusting.
The final insult was his insult towards me sent to the membership on Christmas Eve. I realized at that point that I am a much greater asset to the NWA than they are to me, and with what I have planned down the road, I couldn’t be NWA anyway, so I might as well quit with a good reason and pin the blame where it is deserved, squarely on the meek shoulders of Ernie Todd.
WR: So for the record, it was heat between you and Ernie Todd, not heat that you had with the entire NWA organization.
Godzilla: Absolutely. I was and am honored to have met some fine people during my stint in the NWA. Joe Price, Bill Behrens, Ed Chuman, Dave Republic, all of them are first class stand up guys. I just was no longer willing to take unjustified shit from Ernie Todd. Ernie Todd is a wart on the ass of wrestling, and unfortunately, on the face of the NWA.
WR: Now, others have been saying that there may be a mass exodus of promotions leaving the NWA in the future. Do you tend to agree with this statement?
Godzilla: I wouldn’t be surprised by it if it were to happen. Fact is NWA-TNA doesn’t even use the NWA name on their impact show. There is no mention of it anywhere. As for other promotions? I cannot say for sure, but I certainly wouldn't be surprised if I weren't the only one to not want to have my organization represented by Mr. Todd.
WR: Do you have any advice for other promotions that are currently affiliated with the NWA?
Godzilla: That is a tough one, in that I don’t feel I have been in the business long enough to be able to give advice. I think I was very fortunate in that I have a knack for promoting, and was and am in the right place and time. My advice to them though? Weigh your options. Does the NWA offer you more than you offer them?
WR: If you could say anything to Ernie Todd right now, what would it be?
Godzilla: Nothing nice, that’s for sure. Honestly, I would like to meet him to see if he has the balls to say to my face what he said in email. It would increase my level of respect of him, and then I would punch him in the face for saying it.
WR: Are you open to reveal what exactly it is that he said in the email?
Godzilla: One of the NWA bylaws is that correspondence between members is confidential, and is to be kept among members only. Though I am no longer a member, I am going to respect their bylaws.
WR: Ok, now lets move on to some positive things that you have going on. You are currently in the process of starting a new promotion. Tell us a little bit about your latest business venture.
Godzilla: Well, I was sitting around my house one day after a show, and I had a true epiphany. My mind opened up, and it all became very very clear to me. I know that sounds stupid and corny, but that’s how it happened. It was suddenly clear in my mind how wrestling in Florida could be as big and as huge as it was when Eddie Graham ran the state back in the 70's and 80's. It all just came together in my head, all the parts went together like a kid’s puzzle, and I think... .I hope... I have it figure out. I can honestly say, that short of a handful of people, I really don’t have any (or much) heat with anyone in the business locally. Sure, I am sure there are those that don’t like me much, but chances are I don’t care that they don’t or it doesn’t matter to me. I also, in my time in the business, have studied everything. What works, what doesn’t work, what draws, and why. And I think I have figured out the secret to running a successful wrestling circuit in Florida, without losing money.
The more I thought about it, the more of a win/win/win situation it looked like. I ran the idea by a few friends of mine in the business, and the response was almost a universal "that’s amazing, I think that will actually work". Here is how it is win/win/win. The promoter will win, as he will get better money from it. The worker gets more work, more exposure, and of course, more paydays. The fans get storylines that they can follow from show to show, or they can just keep going to their local show once a month and still be able to keep up with the storylines. It all seems like common sense to me, and nobody has tried to do it like I plan on doing it. Look at those who have tried and failed. There are hundreds of them. Some with huge, huge budgets, and they failed. I can do it with a far less budget, and make it a success within 3 months if not sooner.
WR: What is it that these promoters are doing wrong that you have picked up on?
Godzilla: Well, there are a number of factors, it isn’t just one thing for one promotion, they all do things that I would do different. For example, the biggest mistake promoters in general don’t do correctly is advertise. If nobody knows there is a show, nobody will come. That is the #1 mistake. Also, I had to look at what made Sunray so very successful when I ran it, and I think I have it pinned down. Every match on the card, good or bad, had a reason to be on the card. All of them. I think another big, big killer of promotions is where they decide to run. Lets take MLW for example. They were running Orlando. Orlando has so many things to do, who wants to go see a wrestling show? My proof of that is that on MLW's last show, they had Terry Funk -v- Sabu as a main event. Their media coverage was even covered here where I run. They had big names, big talent. I had my local workers, and my local ads, and you know what? I drew over 3 times the crowd. Was my show 3 times better? I don’t know, but there was nothing else to do that night in Melbourne. Orlando, you know there was.
WR: Now before we get too far, I want to ask you the name of this new promotion.
Godzilla: Florida Unified Wrestling. The website will be www.floridaunified.com
WR: Florida Unified, as in you're looking to unify all Florida indy wrestling promotions?
Godzilla: There are too many egos and politics for that to ever happen, unfortunately. I am looking to bring quality shows, with quality workers and quality storylines to shows across the state. I mean, if a promoter wants in on it, I am sure something could be arranged, and for the record, I do have other promoters who will be helping out. The main thing though is to run 2-3 shows a weekend, every other weekend, all over the state, while avoiding places that simply don’t draw. Starting off with 4 cities a month, and moving up to 6. If it catches on from there, who knows. Worst I do is lose a few thousand, and it is better to regret the things you have done than the things you haven’t.
WR: Can you state which promoters have hopped on board with this project?
Godzilla: Not at the moment no, but every person has strengths and weaknesses, and I plan on utilizing those strengths in an attempt to entertain the fans and help put asses in seats. Everyone involved with Florida Unified will have a reason for being there. I am not going to put up with egos or bullshit.
WR: When do you anticipate running your first show? Where have you decided to begin running first?
Godzilla: I anticipate running our first show by mid February, march at the latest. We still have not completed our list of initial cities to run, but we will have that done within the next 3 weeks. All of our venues we will have exclusive on, and I can tell you we will not be running any major metropolitan area's, as that seems to be a death sentence to most promotions.
WR: Will you continue to run the southern style of wrestling that you used in Sunray, or are you going to cater to others, like say the smart marks of the world?
Godzilla: It will likely be more of a southern style. I grew up watching that, and it is what I enjoy. Sure, I know it needs to be mixed up, and when I ran sunray, I did mix it up, as I know that there are all different types of fans, but I cannot see it moving in the direction of a ROH type promotion. In short, it will be feuds, the referees will enforce the rules, the reason the wrestlers will be wrestling is to win the belts, and the main point of the shows will be to entertain the fans. Many matches now days are spot fests where the workers are out working their match to entertain each other. To me, that isn’t what it is about. It is about making the fans want to come back next month/next week and pay their hard earned money to see their hero fight the guy they hate.
WR: Do you have a list of workers that you plan on using? Will it be local guys? Will it be old school names?
Godzilla: I will always use local guys. I cannot see the point of paying "XX" a big payday, and then flying him in, when that persons name won’t bring in their payday through the gate. On that note, I do have a list of workers who will be on the shows. This list is by all means NOT all inclusive, but are workers I have worked with who truly have no egos and will do as I ask of them for the purpose of the show. If I may ask a question, what do you mean by old school names?
WR: I guess I'm looking to see if you're bringing in names that Florida would recognize during their heyday. I guess I'm looking for names like a Dusty Rhodes or a Kevin Sullivan.
Godzilla: While those names meant a lot to me while I was growing up, I honestly don’t feel their cost warrants bringing them in. Those names were the heyday of the late 70's early 80's. This is 25 years later. I intend on making new names that Florida will recognize. I want my wrestlers to look like wrestlers. I want them to have charisma. I want the fans to hate them or love them. I want kids to ask for autographs of my workers. I want the kids of today to remember my roster like I remember the roster of CWF when I was a kid, like black Bart, blackjack mulligan, the missing link, Barry Windham.
WR: Ok, so ultimately, what is your main goal with this new promotion?
Godzilla: I want Florida Unified to be to Florida what ROH is to up north, to what Calgary is to Canada, to what ECW was to Philly, to what World Class was to Texas. When people think "Florida Wrestling" I want them to think of "Florida Unified", and in time, if my theories are correct, they will.
WR: Now let's play some Name Association. I'm going to throw out a bunch of Florida promoter's names. First up:
New Sunray Owner Gary:
Godzilla: Super nice guy, clueless as to how to run a promotion
WR: NWA FL's Joe Price:
Godzilla: Nice guy, makes nice belts.
WR: NWA FL's Ron Niemi:
Godzilla: His mind for the business is sharp, knows wrestling inside and out.
WR: SCW promoter Chris Carson:
Godzilla: Never met the guy.
WR: NNW promoter Les/BoneZ:
Godzilla: Nice guy, his promoting has gotten better, but imp not a fan of his booking. He should stay a talent.
WR: FIP promoter Sal Hamaoui:
Godzilla: Don’t understand his logic. Big huge money show and he draws less than 25 people. With someone who can promote, he would do far better.
WR: FEW's Gino Carusso:
Godzilla: Last I heard, he was telling his locker room that I cut the brakes to his car. If he is going to involve me in angles on his show that drew a whopping 14, the least he could do is call me to let me know I’m in an angle, otherwise I might construe that as libel and take him to court over it. Otherwise, he’s a shitbag.
WR: FEW's Bam Bam Mancuso:
Godzilla: Met the man once when I was starting up Sunray, he either was trying to work his gimmick on me, or threatening me. Either way, I didn’t appreciate it. Don’t run a town for 2+ years, and its no longer your town. Funniest part is he emailed me for a booking 3 months later. I still have the email and laugh at it every now and again. I think the man is functionally illiterate. Oh, he’s a shitbag too.
WR: Bill Behrens:
Godzilla: Truly a gentleman, and true nice guy. I have had the pleasure to meet Bill, and communicate with him regularly. I would gladly help him in any way I could if he needed it.
WR: Ernie Todd:
Godzilla: Proof that there are stupid unintelligent promoters.
WR: Godzilla:
Godzilla: I try to put on shows that are fun for the fans, the workers, everyone gets paid, and nobody gets hurt. It’s all about the fans and having fun.
WR: In closing, what would you like to say to those that may be reading this?
Godzilla: I’m tempted to put in an obligatory "don’t eat yellow snow", as it is my nature to clown around at times, but in all seriousness, check out the site, www.floridaunified.com, look for updates coming within the next couple weeks. We will be announcing show dates, venues, our roster, everything. Things are looking up for Florida wrestling, and only getting better.
WR: Well, thank you for your time, and I appreciate the interview.
Godzilla: Thank you Will, it was my pleasure.
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