FWA: All 10 Principles Revealed!

No 1: We strive to produce the very best wrestling seen in Great Britain.

As part of the FWA's working relationship with the new Grapple Group agency (check our NB for further details, note by WE.Com), we are committed to aiding it's contracted performers (who wrestle for the FWA) by helping them be seen by the biggest movers and shakers in the industry. This is done by our monthly TV tapings (explained in later principles) being handed directly, thanks to the vast array of contacts of many of our shareholders, to all the major heads of talent relations and bookers worldwide every month without fail. We believe that even if this means that the FWA lose several of our contracted performers to other companies (Over 20 of Britain's top names have been contracted to this project in the last 2 months) in the process we will gain many more who will see our events and the Grapple Group itself as a real way to advance their careers. In fact one of the purposes of the agency's contracts is to get the talent signed to bigger deals and thus make a commission from them. This will also make certain that the talents performances for us are the very best that they can possibly perform as they are safe in the knowledge that they will be seen by the right people in the top companies all over the world. We aim to motivate those who perform for the FWA to work harder for us than they would anywhere and in turn enable our shows to feature the very best bouts in Europe. We believe that the fans of British Wrestling have seen nothing close to the level of action that is possible if the people in the ring knew that each match they did for us could be watched by talent relations from WWE, TNA, NOAH, ROH or any number of promotions world wide.

On top of this our booking and management team is made up of some of the key players in bringing the best quality wrestling to Great Britain over the last decade. The booking committee alone is comprised of former Ring of Honor and current Dragon Gate USA booker Gabe Sapolsky, former FWA and current XWA booker Greg Lambert and current IPW:UK booker Andy Quildan. This brings together a team comprising of some of the best wrestling/creative minds on both sides of the Atlantic who will not only inspire confidence in our roster but also build interest in our product amongst wrestling fans worldwide. Due to this, the FWA will always ensure that the highest possible standard of wrestling takes place on it's shows and we aim to make our monthly TV tapings the countries 'must see' events once again without constantly having to bring over imported talent in order to do so.



No 2: We go above and beyond the call of duty to show the rest of the world how talented British wrestlers are

Working hand in hand with principle 1, the FWA is also committed to sending footage of its weekly TV show around the world with deals in multiple other countries already in the pipeline. As countries such as India (thanks to our links with Mr India, Varinder Singh who will be appearing on the monthly shows) who will be paying for our TV product it enables us to offer it to the UK market for little or no money. We will also work with our worldwide contacts to distribute the FWA’s DVDs in markets that have not really pushed British Wrestling before. Through our links in places such as the US, Japan and Europe we aim to show fans in these regions the very best of UK wrestling and just how talented the current batch of British performers really are. In years gone by the FWA used foreign talent to sell their events to fans and often it was argued that this was at the expense of the domestic talent. This will no longer be the case. It is very likely that their will be guest matches from various promotions world wide used on our events in the future due to our links with so many companies however, we aim to make the primary focus of the new Frontier Wrestling Alliance the very best British wrestlers on the scene.

On top of this The Grapple Group and the FWA will sponsor regular flights overseas for our contracted talent when interest is shown by international companies who may not be willing to pay for the performer's first flight abroad. Working with our overseas agents such as Gabe Sapolsky and Doug Williams, we will organise tours abroad for top UK stars in order to increase their experience and domestic name value whilst boosting interest in our product in overseas markets.

Even those wrestlers who are not contract to the FWA will get their chance to be seen in a TV environment with our monthly FWA Unsigned events which take place on the afternoon of FWA TV tapings. These recorded events will showcase the countries best up and coming talent and be broadcast for free online for promoters and fans alike to view both here and abroad.



No 3: We encourage those fans with initiative who wish to break into the business, to treat the FWA as their own company and will offer help, assistance and backing to those who show us their ability to enable the British Wrestling scene to grow

The FWA is working directly with JobsInWrestling.com to allow those fans who wish to get involved in the industry the chance to do so. Jobs in wrestling is the business’s first ever recruitment site, allowing fans the chance to get directly involved in the industry whilst giving promoters a useful database of potential new staff who are willing to work for free for a period of time in order to have their use to the company assessed whilst helping them expand their promotion at no extra cost. This is part of the FWA’s commitment to allow those on the outside of the business to play a part in this new drive to take British Wrestling to the next level, a step that we believe is vital if we really want to expand the industry to the degree we believe it can be across Europe. The old FWA model worked by selling tickets directly to the UK’s most dedicated fans and those fans alone. While we still feel that this will be partly the case, we also believe that allowing many of these fans and their passion for the industry to get on the inside of what we do will allow the entire scene to grow by helping us generate a far larger fan base in the long term, not just for the FWA, but for British Wrestling as a whole.



No 4: We provide official funding, resources and help to the new Retired Wrestler’s charitable trust fund by giving a percentage of all our profits to them

The FWA has gone into partnership with the Wrestler’s Reunion to set up a charitable trust fund for retired pro wrestlers in the UK. The fund will benefit from percentages of the profits made from the FWA, The Grapple Group, Jobsinwrestling.com and our training company, The BWC. Our aim is to offer both financial and moral support to those wrestlers who are in dire need of it, and, in the process, allow the stars of the past to feel appreciated by their modern day counterparts and current British Wrestling fans. Our Managing Director is working alongside Martin Berry, and Ricky Knight in this massively positive step for the UK industry which we are extremely proud to have begun.



No 5: We nurture the young talent on the UK scene and select several each year for subsidised training and mentoring

The FWA works alongside The Grapple Group, which is Europe’s first ever wrestling agency. The agency has contracted over 20 of the country’s top performers and will work to get them the very best wrestling and multimedia bookings both here and overseas (see Principle 2). Concurrently the agency will also be paying for their accident insurance policy, something no promotion or agency has ever done to our knowledge, which financially protects those who work for us should they get injured. The agency also gives non contracted wrestlers the chance to be on the agency books and offers professional photo shoots, TV quality match footage, websites, mentoring, accident insurance, assistance in raising their profile and is generally there to help increase a UK wrestlers income and exposure. The back bone of this will be the “FWA Unsigned” events that will take place on the afternoon of the monthly FWA TV tapings. This will give wrestlers who are not contracted the chance to be seen by a new audience whilst providing them with the relevant raw materials (such as TV quality footage and professional photos) to advance their career. These events will then be sent (via email link) to every promoter in Britain who can assess the latest new talent on the scene, which in turn will aid these performers in receiving more work and even greater exposure. The Grapple Group charges a small fee for things such as photo shoots and graphic design work to all non contracted performers, however the FWA will locate and sponsor several promising young new wrestlers every year by covering the cost of their training and agency fees.

We are also working alongside SAS in London and FSW in Manchester, who will be the official Northern and Southern feeder groups for both the FWA TV and “Unsigned” projects. These promotions will work as training grounds which offer its wrestlers guidance and assistance to improve and will have our mentors making regular trips to their events to offer advice and keep up to date with people’s progress. This system is designed to help those who want to improve rather than just put them on shows for years, left to their own devices with no real input on how to better their overall performance as so many young wrestlers in this country currently are.

FWA representatives will also go to shows around the UK in the hopes of finding new talent to put forward to these feeder groups. On top of this our mentors will also be going to training schools across the country to offer sponsorship to those students who we believe have great potential yet require financial assistance.



No 6: We endeavor to work with everyone within the UK scene in order to try and create harmony amongst wrestlers and promoters alike in an attempt to create a level of cooperation and produce a British scene that our fans can be proud of

One major problem that British wrestling has suffered from in the past is petty, inter-promotional rivalry and past issues amongst those running promotions becoming public grievances and leading to volatile situations between people who are ambassadors of the UK wrestling industry. Our aim is to begin to slowly build bridges between people who have previously had these issues for the good of all involved. There is room for everyone in British wrestling and the new FWA has purposely included so many different people, with various backgrounds, to be part of its management team as our aim is to start with a completely clean slate collectively. By having such a wide range of people involved, who can meditate past problems and help deal with new ones, we want the FWA as a collective to no longer be a target. No one individual is bigger than the FWA or it's principles and as such the new company is a conglomerate of people putting forward their best ideas and creating a business that works rather than one person controlling every aspect of the entire operation.

In the new FWA we believe that the UK wrestling scene is too small for those of us in it to fight over crumbs anymore and as such want to take the first steps in helping bring those with something to offer, together. We urge people with past grievances to meet with our new Managing Director in order to allow British Wrestling to move forward in a positive manner and to realise that we are all working towards the same goal which is for the betterment of the UK scene as a whole. A whole that is at war with itself is never going to succeed in any way other than self destruction. We will not make petty comments or derogatory remarks publicly about others within the scene and urge those also within it to do the same for the good of all involved in the industry and it's reputation both here and abroad. Such actions only make all of us look unprofessional to those on the outside looking in.

We aim to be open and honest with any inter-promotional problems that may occur so that our dealings are done in the light of day and not behind the scenes where they may be twisted and used against us. We believe if our intentions are correct and we operate in this way, that we will always endeavor to do the right thing in order to not be caught out by our own actions and lose the confidence of our fans. We accept that we may sometimes have to make choices that may not be 100% popular with all. However we believe that if we always make those choices whilst sticking to our principles, our core audience will have faith in what we do and our intentions even during any potentially turbulent times.



No 7: We work hard to try and create a real unity between wrestling fans in the UK and work hard to offer them an actual community which they can be a part of

The FWA, The Grapple Group and the team at Jobs in Wrestling come from different walks of life, have different ideals and values, are of varying age and all bring a completely unique skill set to professional wrestling. However, the one thing that we all have is that we were and are the most passionate of wrestling fans and longed to be part, not just of the industry, but also the community that comes with it. Yet this community does not simply end with the wrestlers and promoters themselves but stretches out to fans all across the UK who love our sport as well. The first version of the FWA benefited massively from the TalkSport Wrestling radio show which gave fans around the UK something that brought them together every Saturday evening regardless of what type of wrestling they were a fan of. This also trickled over into the old FWA itself, whose shows were treated by many fans a social occasion to see their friends from around the country. As a wrestling fan today there are so few things to bring us together and allow us to celebrate and enjoy our passion as a social group despite what your different taste in product may be. This is why the FWA will go above and beyond the call of duty in order give fans of wrestling around the UK a community.

With social gatherings such as pay per view parties, wrestler and fan nights out, video game tournaments, bus trips to events around the UK be they FWA or otherwise, wrestling merchandise auctions, and “evenings with” dinner parties featuring certain wrestlers from the UK and aboard. Although some of these may be organised by people on our behalf, and as such may be profit making ventures for them, we will always try to make them as financially viable for UK fans as we can and when possible, do so at no cost at all.

Our belief is that even if the people who we cater these events too are not fans of British Wrestling, this commitment to fans of our sport will go a long way in the future with regards to allowing us to showcase what the UK scene may have to offer, just as TalkSport once did for so many current fans of the British scene.



No 8: We do all within our power to make our business model recession proof so that British wrestlers will always have a place to perform and in turn, British fans will always have a place to come and watch them

The strength of the FWA’s business model is that the costs which most companies encounter when trying to run a television show of decent quality have been almost all but taken away. To begin with, all the wrestlers on the FWA’s TV tapings are sponsored by the Grapple Group. This means that the largest cost when running a professional event is no longer there. Secondly almost all of our equipment is already owned by the company or it’s partners meaning that there is virtually no hire fee for it’s use. On top of this, whatever fees remain are covered by the Grapple Group and their “FWA Unsigned” shows which take place on the afternoon of the FWA monthly tapings (read Principle 4 for more details). When these factors are combined we feel confident that, even if the current economic climate worsens, the FWA could simply film it’s tapings at schools and colleges (black draping the backs of the hall as ROH do) and offer tickets to them for free as by this point the money we generate from overseas TV and events (such as prepaid tours of India already in the pipeline) will keep the company afloat during any such financial downturns in the UK.

We also have some extremely unique approaches to making the FWA as affordable to our fans as possible both in terms of live events and DVDs of our shows. These will be announced the day after the last principle, on Tuesday 26th of May in the first statement from our new Managing Director, Tony Simpson. We feel that they will clearly demonstrate our desire to work within the tighter budgets that many fans may now be experiencing in Britain.

Our belief is that even if the people who we cater these events too are not fans of British Wrestling, this commitment to fans of our sport will go a long way in the future with regards to allowing us to showcase what the UK scene may have to offer, just as TalkSport once did for so many current fans of the British scene.



No 9: We respect the great heritage of British wrestling and will endeavour to keep this respect alive amongst the new generation of fans and wrestlers alike

We work alongside the Wrestler's Reunion and those professionals of old in order to remind today's stars and the stars of the future around the wrestling schools of England just what an important role their predecessors played in allowing them to follow their dreams and be part of Pro Wrestling. Our aim is to also remind and inform wrestling fans what a huge part Britain played in getting wrestling where it is today and to never forget our heritage. We will work directly alongside the Wrestler's Reunion to increase recognition of what these men and women did for the betterment of our business in years past.



No 10: We will strive to be ambassadors for the sport of professional wrestling both domestically and internationally and endeavour to lead by example

The FWA plans to use everything at it's disposal to eventually be the standard bearer for how professional wrestling should protect, police and provide for itself, it's fans and those people involved in it. Our contracted performers have brand new accident policies should they get injured. Our MD is instrumental in setting up a charitable trust fund for the Wrestler's Reunion. We are already looking at talent around the country to sponsor. Our business structure is designed to make our product as exciting to watch and professional to look at as possible whilst being as affordable for fans as we can make it. Our staff will work to bring fans of wrestling all over the UK together for events and activities outside of the FWA shows themselves in an attempt to make a real community for them and these steps are just the beginning. We want to develop into a wrestling business and community that people in other countries worldwide can look to for encouragement with regards to how our young and old are treated. We want to work towards unity within the industry from all sides and present wrestling in the most positive light and produce a UK wrestling scene that fans and the general public at large can appreciate, respect and value. This drive to help the youth of wrestling also goes hand in hand with a project that members of the FWA are currently heavily involved with, which could see the very real possibility of Pro Wrestling being taught as a college course working alongside a proper syllabus. If this trial gets the green light, then it could have hugely positive ramifications for the industry as a whole with regards to its ultimate acceptance by the main stream. These are big dreams but ones that we will endeavour to achieve. Even if we are unsuccessful in them, we have confidence that our commitment will leave a positive shadow by making it even easier for those who should come afterwards to achieve these eventual goals, just as the FWA of old once did.

credits: www.fwauk.com