BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
“Worst Case Scenario” is a new take on the concept of “fantasy booking”. For years professional wrestling fans would spend endless hours of thinking up the coolest things that could happen. Why waste the energy? This only leads to high expectations. “Worst Case Scenario” flips that. Instead of looking through rose colored glasses, let’s take a bi-weekly look at the worst possible scenarios in professional wrestling. I’m not going to be malicious or anything too mean, but I will not refrain from letting my brain come up with the worst possible shit I can. Sadly, it seems the writers and producers of mainstream TV wrestling and the mainstream iPPV level indies are doing the same thing but charging us for it. And now…
“WWE Indie Franchises!”
The WWE is pretty much a monopoly in professional wrestling. Unless a billionaire or a company with a lot of disposable funds decides to throw a handful of fortune at the wall it’s just not going to change. Wrestling is weird in a way where ANYTHING is possible, but this one is just a little more far-fetched than one would think. TNA has gotten far and is a okay enough product, but it’s not a real alternative. There is no Pepsi in this WWE-Coca cola world.
The WWE is a brand. It’s like a Walmart, a McDonalds, or a Walgreens. People know the brand. If someone wants to watch wrestling they just say “WWE” or even still “WWF”. When companies dominate their market and own the competition they offer franchises. The WWE has no fear of competition so soaking up every loose end of money is a priority. So, why not control the whole landscape, right?
Basically a franchise is when a name brand business licenses their name, likeless, and product availability. Someone puts money into a local Subway. In return the corporation allows them the name use, lets them sell the product, and includes them under their umbrella of not-quite-a-foot foot longs.
The WWE knows there are shitty indies out there. With this the WWE would OWN the indies. The second you start training to be a wrestler, the WWE is somehow getting your money one way or another. The WWE would provide franchise belts, a ring, a mini entrance way, ref shirts, and then added accessories like cages, ladder match set, backstage set, etc. etc. etc.
Under this, we’d have WWE-Nebraska South, WWE-Indiana South East, WWE-Texas North West, WWE-90210, WWE-60613, WWE-zip code here!, etc. etc. etc. Really bland and generic names, BUT it’s the WWE so feel proud!
Don’t you think they’d monopolize the venues, the promotion, and the normal avenues an indie would go to run shows and to promote those shows? Of course they would. This means the indies down the street are gone. These indies are often ran by people with day jobs and real lives. Competing with a corporate machine would not be in their best interest. So the majority of the indies would be gone. The wrestlers would have to pay MORE to be wrestlers, learn the WWE way right off the bat, and there would be no more talks of “the next ECW” ever again.
Then again, I’d like to see this…
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