Lately, I've seen some posts on social media as to why various wrestling promotions in Southeast Asia aren't running their shows every month of the year.
One of the things the fans need to remember is that pro wrestling in Southeast Asia is not the WWE, AEW, TNA and New Japan Pro Wrestling. The four companies are established companies that have been around for awhile. The wrestlers, for the most part, are being paid full time to entertain the fans and are making good money.
Recently, I read where Triple H and management gave a majority of the wrestlers time off around Christmas time. That is a change from when Vince McMahon was running things. It appears that it helped somewhat because the shows that I've seen so far in 2024 have a little more bounce to them.
The four major promotions mentioned are on the road throughout the year. It is definitely different from the days of The Territory Era where wrestlers didn't travel quite as much and far. To wrestlers with these companies, they are constantly on the road.
With the Southeast Asia wrestling promotions, definitely it is a lot different. The travel within the promotions is very minimal. With wrestlers in a promotion, they are either going to school and/or doing a second job besides entertaining the fans. Certainly, they are not making the salary of the big four companies. Promotions currently are working hard in attempting to get sponsorships, donors and more to help pay for the venue as well as the employees.
Where WWE, AEW, TNA and NJPW have anywhere from 800-1000 shows per a calendar year, a Southeast Asia promotion may have anywhere from six to 10 shows. So, we are talking apples and oranges here. Hopefully, the fans see this. I look at this like an independent promotion in the Bay Area where I live. Most of the companies here have seven to eight shows per year.
Having one show every six weeks to two months is really good. Wrestlers need the time to train, try and stay in as good of shape as possible and more. There is also recruiting people to wrestle, promoting the product and more. Last year was a great year in what was just mentioned here. In 2024, it will even be better with the vision of the promotions in the region.
Looking forward to 2024, this fan is grateful for any promotion in Southeast Asia to have shows. With the amount of shows, this gives promotions time to prepare with production, planning, making sure that the wrestlers have practice time to prepare, and making sure that equipment is more than adequate and in great shape.
I feel if wrestling fans see the big picture, which this wrestling fan sees, the quality of the product will reach greater heights than ever in 2024!