If there’s one thing that this pandemic should show it’s the importance of a company having its own home base. A few indies have a wrestling school or venue they call home and they can continue running their shows. Just like NWA is able to for Powerrr.
In Japan, most promotions have a home base venue for their larger shows. Lately, they’ve taken the studio wrestling approach with 2AW’s home base being a venue many companies are using.
Down in Mexico, Lucha Libre AAA’s Lucha Fighter show is taking a studio approach. The thing with the studio approach is that you need a regular venue.
Prediction: WWE and Others Will Invest In A Home Base
This brings us to my prediction and the big two. All Elite Wrestling has been running Dynamite from Daily’s Place, a venue in Jacksonville. Meanwhile, WWE has been us its shows out of the Performance Center. Both these venues are rented but AEW’s rental situation is interesting because co-owner Shahid Khan pushed for a venue in the area.
After naming rights were scored by the Daily’s store chain Khan had a foothold on the venue its intent was to be a training area for the Jaguars as well as a venue for home game weekend festivities. It’s all business-related.
In WWE’s case, they’re leasing the space for the U.S Performance Center until November at anywhere between $19 million and $23 million a year. Their UK center is being leased until 2028. I see WWE renewing the lease for now while looking to build something that they own.
Actually, I see a number of promotions doing this since it’s common sense. If the company can’t build something, it’ll either purchase a building outright or develop close enough relationships with landlords to run a venue regularly. That is, when things are back to something close to normal.
Jim Cornette Was Always Big On This
While his Smoky Mountain Wrestling company had regular venues it would hit up during its tour horn, with Ohio Valley Wrestling, he and Danny Davis were keen on a home base. Memphis had two—the WMC-TV 5 studio for TV and Mid-South Coliseum for the Monday shows. TNA had the Impact Zone and Ohio Valley had Davis Arena.
When he was with Ring of Honor, this was something he pushed for heavily by purchasing an abandoned supermarket or whatever. A place where a company could do training, store equipment, do front office stuff, and run shows? What is this otherworldly convenience? Of course, that never came to fruition.
However, with COVID-19 ruining most of the industry’s business and the end zone for normalcy being moved like clockwork, once this ends I expect promotions to invest what they can in something concrete.
SUBSCRIBE NOW: Get The Overtimer’s Hottest Stories, Breaking News and Special Features in your email, CLICK HERE!
