The WWE should bring back Territories

[Jack-Hammer]

With WWE's extensive tape library, they have a lot of available programming. The last I heard, the WWE tape library contains more than 100,000 hours of wrestling footage. The WWE Network schedule will determine how long they'll go through this without resorting to showing reruns.

Last I heard, WWE was also planning on adding a good deal of original content to the network. One thing I remember reading about was WWE doing non-wrestling shows on the network like sitcoms.

The territory system is dead. It wasn't just the WWE that killed it either. The territory system was dealt crippling blows by the advent of cable television and syndication. Before all that, your geographic location determined what wrestling you were able to watch. If you lived in the Mid-Atlantic area, it was Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling. If you lived in Minnesota, it was the AWA. If you lived in the Memphis, it was the CWA. Cable & syndication came along and ended all that. Now, you could be living in Florida and potentially watch WCCW or in Chicago and watch WWF. The WWE would almost certainly lose money trying to fund a dozen or more "independent" wrestling organizations. If WWE wants to fund something that has a shot of growing & becoming something, Vince would be better off trying to purchase TNA.

[Menski]

Why stick to USA and Canada? There are hundreds of countries out there.

Ted DiBiase. Chavo, Roddy Piper and others have been worked with Scottish Wrestling Entertainment (SWE) in my area. Get them and other similar groups involved around the world and it'll give a lot more exposure to a wider audience. There is nowhere near enough non-Americans/Canadians in professional wrestling.. Give the territories a hour a week on the WWE network. I think they'd have to be independent to a large extent for it to work. Working in a similar way to feeder clubs in football.

[RicSpade]

I don't think necessarily its that they need to fund money for farming territories to put on TV, but there are about 30-40 indy places with shows already that are syndicated I could see WWE reaching out to them as a "hey will give your show TV time, but in return any guy shown on the WWE network has to agree that WWE gets first dibs out of ROH and TNA" sort of thing, but honestly look at HBO its the same crappy 20 movies each month. WWE has all the purposed shows like Legends house, They can show reruns of old WWF Superstars, Confidential, OVW footage from before it became a TNA farming location, FCW footage, Tough Enough, Legends Roundtable, Every documentary they ever put on DVD, WCW, ECW, Stampede, AWA, WCCW, and even the C-List Movies they have produced.

To keep things fresh and new I say its a good idea, but in reality the WWE probably has about 20 years of footage if they spread it out correctly where they can show Monday Nitro and WWE Raw from the beginning every monday one episiode a week, Thunder and Smackdown same thing, show Superstars, WWF Main Event, Shotgun Saturday Night, WCW Saturday, Recap Shows, ECW, Old PPV's if you designate possibly 10-15 of these a week, you aren't even beginning to break the WWE ice.

[BC1978]

Originally Posted by RicSpade

I don't think necessarily its that they need to fund money for farming territories to put on TV, but there are about 30-40 indy places with shows already that are syndicated I could see WWE reaching out to them as a "hey will give your show TV time, but in return any guy shown on the WWE network has to agree that WWE gets first dibs out of ROH and TNA" sort of thing, but honestly look at HBO its the same crappy 20 movies each month. WWE has all the purposed shows like Legends house, They can show reruns of old WWF Superstars, Confidential, OVW footage from before it became a TNA farming location, FCW footage, Tough Enough, Legends Roundtable, Every documentary they ever put on DVD, WCW, ECW, Stampede, AWA, WCCW, and even the C-List Movies they have produced.

To keep things fresh and new I say its a good idea, but in reality the WWE probably has about 20 years of footage if they spread it out correctly where they can show Monday Nitro and WWE Raw from the beginning every monday one episiode a week, Thunder and Smackdown same thing, show Superstars, WWF Main Event, Shotgun Saturday Night, WCW Saturday, Recap Shows, ECW, Old PPV's if you designate possibly 10-15 of these a week, you aren't even beginning to break the WWE ice.

HBO also has a ton of new original content each week; Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones, Bill Mahr, Treme, Real Sports, Boxing, Etc. Plus HBO gives you about 10 channells for $20.00. While the WWE will cost $7 to $12 per month for one channel.

Problem is how much of that 100,000 hours is useable? And how does the WWE plan on putting shows together. Will we see see the best of WCW every wednesday from 5 to 7 or will we see old shows of Saturday Night in its entirety?

Big Josh and The Lightning Express wont bring in the viewers.

[Kelso1ftw]

I do like the idea but like many have said I don't think its really possible because it would have to put in so much money into getting this onto their network. Plus they already have started a seemingly good looking developmental system with NXT which will probably be one of the main wrestling shows that is on the network.

[kcordloh]

If you went and watched a lot of independent wrestling you would see why the "lots of various promotions" idea won't work.

Let's say we ignore the fact there will be 5 to 10 various shows, all which will unfortunately have the same stories. Wrestling promoters on independents tend to stick to basic stories, there is probably a reason for that, if they came up with amazing stories they probably wouldn't be working for an independent wrestling organization that runs 10-20 shows a year.

Guys tend to look the same on the indy's. Gear is similar, their bodies are similar, their movesets are similar. It's rare for someone to stand out. It's bad enough watching WWE/TNA/ROH and some NXT anymore. I can't imagine trying to watch more fed's.


The whole $$$ is also an issue. You'd need a weekly show for them, which means at least one event a week, which is 50+ events a year. That's a lot for an independent. They're going to need help booking.

Also, those events are going to be a lot of highschool/community center gyms. Not exactly what you want to see on a network, eh?

Assume you get the independent on board, get them the 50 bookings in decent places and help advertise so it's not 100 people in a 5000 seat arena, and even buy them some equipment and train their guys in operating it so it looks good on TV. How about training the talent? Most independent wrestlers I have met have 2-3 jobs, and can't train because there is no place to do it. So you rent them a building, get them a ring, and pay those guys some extra money so they can afford train 2-3x a week so their wrestling looks good.

$1000 a month for rent, $150 per week per person (10-15 people per fed). That's $7000 minimum. Heck on an investment.. Oh, but they'll draw a lot right? Pay off that debt? No. I'm sorry, but independent wrestling isn't a huge money maker or we wouldn't see so many fed's start and end within a year

[Hot Chocolate]

I have to disagree I think the various Feeder Feds would totally work.. Maybe not to the degree that BC proposed. But if you had 4 or 5 Feds located in the Northeast, South, Midwest, Southwest, and Canadian West-Pacific Northwest and you treated them like single A, Double A and Triple A. I think the E could pull it off.

I always felt the E should have used ECW in this manner. Where it was the last place the guys would work before the WWE.

The idea is good because you can start following a guy when he first gets in the business. Just like watching the local High School Kid progress from HS to College to the Minors and to the Pros.

Rookie Ball: Tough Enough
Single A: FCW
Double A: NXT
Triple AAA: ECW
Major League: WWE

[kcordloh]

Originally Posted by Hot Chocolate

I have to disagree I think the various Feeder Feds would totally work.. Maybe not to the degree that BC proposed. But if you had 4 or 5 Feds located in the Northeast, South, Midwest, Southwest, and Canadian West-Pacific Northwest and you treated them like single A, Double A and Triple A. I think the E could pull it off.

I always felt the E should have used ECW in this manner. Where it was the last place the guys would work before the WWE.

The idea is good because you can start following a guy when he first gets in the business. Just like watching the local High School Kid progress from HS to College to the Minors and to the Pros.

Rookie Ball: Tough Enough
Single A: FCW
Double A: NXT
Triple AAA: ECW
Major League: WWE

I have nothing against a system like that, at all! I think it'd be great. The problem is the idea of it being ran as content. Do you enjoy the 3 hours of RAW, 2 hours of SmackDown, and 1 hour of main event each week? Honestly? I have a hard time as it is, a lot of the guys wrestling don't entertain me.

Why would I want to watch another 2-4 hours a week of unseasoned newbies?

WWE Global, Shane McMahon's last great idea, that was something I wanted to see.

[EastCoastFan]

People have said that Vince did the wrestling business more harm than good by killing off the territories, because now there was no place for new guys to learn.

I became a wrestling fan back in the 80's, when you had WWF, JCP, AWA, Memphis, World Class, Florida, Calgary, Continental, Pacific Northwest, Mid-South/UWF and others. It was a great time to be a wrestling fan.

I fully believe WWE needs more developmental areas than just FCW. I agree with the idea that WWE should have 3-4 "minor league" areas for guys to learn, like baseball has different levels of minor leagues (A, AA, AAA) beneath the two majors.

[Mighty NorCal]

Im sure some pretentious moron with their head in the sand will go bananas on me for saying this, but it doesn't make it any less valid or true....


Uh, what exactly is so different about the current Indy system compared to the Territories? I mean, as far as anything WWE could help?

Are the Indies not smaller, regionalized, and sometimes syndicated markets? If someone has success over a period of time, he goes to another area, and works there some? if he continues to have success and get better, he goes to the final stages before the big leagues, ROH or TNA...Right? How exactly is it so much different?

The difference is only that of talent pool, money being made in those places, and the skill and knowledge of those doing the training and promoting. This, however, has nothing to do with the WWE...It has to do with the overall state of pro wrestling.

Besides, the entire reason guys showed up so much more seasoned and skilled in the territory years was because they worked under different promoters, and the territories had distinct styles and veterans, and people "added tools to their tool box" over the years, so to speak. If the WWE ran all of them, it defeats that whole purpose, because they will all be molded in the WWE "frat boy wrestling" ken-doll niche.

Just give it some time. They pick over the Indies / the other "medium 2" very well, and both of those places mold guys really well. If wrestling ever becomes popular enough again that local stations consider giving the local Indy program some syndication, then that is the closest you will ever see to the territories coming back.