Shootin' with The Snapshot

There seems to be a resurgence of wrestling conventions lately. Seems like everyone is trying to out do the other. I would like to take a step back for a while and look at conventions from the past. Back in the early 80's Big Andy Varga ran a few conventions. I believe he was the one that started it for everyone. One of his shows featured the Rock n Roll Express, Wahoo Mcdaniel, Curt Hennig, Medusa, and a few other stars. Another one he had Sgt. Slaughter at. After that I remember John Arezzi doing a few conventions in NYC which was pretty big at the time. I believe I went to one around 1986 or so. My time line might be off but he ran in the mid 80's. I remember he had the GLOW girls which were hot at the time. I still have a PIC of Tina Moretti and I which most fans today will know as Ivory in WWE. I also remember seeing Bulldog Brower, Kevin and Nancy Sullivan, plus others I cannot remember. The place was packed. Conventions died off for a while then in the early 90's there was Fan Slam. That had a pretty good house. I remember bringing in as my guests Bastion Booger and Mr. Hughes. At an early Chiller show or some convention in North Jersey I had Cactus Jack as my guest before he got famous. I had him during his early ECW days. Soon after that there were some more Fan Slam. There were also Mega Toy and Collectible shows popping up. I started bringing in the Iron Sheik to a lot of conventions. I have been with the Sheik for close to 17 years already. He considers me a very good friend. But he plays both sides like a true politician.

Moving forward to 2004 it seems like everyone and there mother wants to do a wrestling convention and try to capitalize on the era of a time gone by that can never be recreated. Fan Slam just came off a very successful convention. Timing is everything in this business. The promoter ran Wrestlemania weekend with Wrestlemania in NYC. This kid cleaned up but now has some demons that he has to take care of. There is Wrestling Reunion that had a successful convention back in June and has another one that I am sure is going to be very good come November 13. The legends of the Ring just had a convention. I wrote about that in my last article. Boston legends has a show Oct 2 in Boston Mass. USA PRO who has done successful conventions in the past is running Oct 3. In Mineola, Long Island, NY. If you are a vendor and want to vend at this show please contact me at ess316@aol.com or the Masked Metal Maniac ( thats Frank Goodmans alter ego if you have not figured it out yet ) at usapromaniac@aol.com. He has a good line up going in. Oct 23 brings us another convention in Ronkonkama, Long Island NY. There is a big convention in Tampa FL at the end of January with about 50 or so stars. I get asked this question all the time. Do you think it will be successful? I am a fan of conventions. I think it is good for business. It gives the older fan a chance to meet the stars of there youth. It gives the old timers a chance to get a pay day and meet the fans. Like anything too much of something is not good and anything in moderation is good. I think it is becoming overkill and will soon die out. I then get asked why is one convention more successful than the other? The answer is simple. Promotion, Location, Talent and Timing. You can have Steve Austin, The Rock and Hulk Hogan at a convention. If no one or limited people know about it then they get a small house and lose money. If everyone knows about it and they get a big house then they make money. Also location is very important also. You need a place that is easily accessible by all means of transit. Train, plane, bus and car. Talent is very important also. If you get a talent that has not been around the circuit then you create interest. If you book talent that has been around a million times then there is no reason to come see them. My friends at Wrestling Reunion have this idea and so far they have been successful. You need a hook, and under card and then fillers. The last piece to the puzzle is timing. Fan Slam scored a home run with there timing. They tied there convention into the Wrestlemania weekend and had a huge turnout. If you put all the pieces of the puzzle together then you should have success. Nothing is guaranteed but at least your on the right track. Just to recap the following conventions will be taking place on:

Oct 2 Boston legends in Boston Mass
Oct 3 Usa Pro in Mineola NY
Oct 23 Great American Fan Fest in Ronkonkama NY
Nov 13 Wrestling Reunion in Carteret NJ
Nov 26 -28 Mid Atlantic convention in Charlotte NC
Jan 29 -30 Wrestle Reunion in Tampa FL ( not to be confused with Wrestling reunion in NJ )

Eric Simms
ESS316@aol.com
www.esspromotions.com