Courtesy: Chris Hill & www.ballparkbrawl.com

So now that we have announced the dates (July 15th & August 13th), the other questions have hit the email address in waves. So I thought I would answer the ones that I can and explain some of the things going on in Ballpark Brawl Central.

The first group of questions surrounded the choice of a non-game day for the first event. It is definitely taking a financial risk. With a game you have some built in security of our standard walkup of baseball fans. There will be no baseball walk up on July 15th! The other concern was enabling fans from outside the area time to be able to make the show. There are groups of fans that travel far distances to get to the shows. They will need to prepare well in advance for a Friday Night show.

However, a non-game day gives us greater flexibility over staffing and the use of the field. Now we have a set time to open the gates and a set time to start the show. Right now is the plan to open the gates at 5pm and start the show at 7pm. Hopefully this will give our Toronto, Cleveland and Detroit area fans time to get to Buffalo. Plus, and for me this is the most important, I am not limited on the amount of time allocated for the show. I want to enable all of the talent to have enough time to tell their story. I am sure everyone would have loved five to ten minutes more from Sabu, AJ & Teddy!

The next group of questions surrounded who would be appearing. I appreciate all of the suggestions. Believe me, I listen. I may not book the show by emails and polls but I think it is very important to listen to what is going on and whom people want to see. I also spend time speaking with other promoters and wrestling executives to see what is going on in their areas. More business happened during the Sabu benefit show than many on the bus would even realize!

So who is coming in July? Right now I can honestly say that no one is contracted for the show. However, that is only because I have not emailed the contracts out to talent yet. That is happening next week. Right now I have verbally confirmed about 80% of the July show and 60% or so of the August show.

Once the contracts begin to come in we will start to articulate the talent. I will say that now that we have a title there will be a little more structure to the events. On our shows, continuity is incredibly important. Logic is imperative to keep people interested because talent is simply not enough. The wrestlers we employ are incredibly talented but we also need to have a proper storyline that helps to propel the match. We are going to have a five or six person scramble match during each show. These matches will utilize some of the top up and coming stars of the squared circle. These ‘Futures” matches will have an elimination format but unlike many scramble matches there will be a true inventive for victory other than pride. The winner advances to the next show to compete in a #1 Contenders match-up.

In July the winner of the #1 Contenders match-up will face the Natural Champion in August. The winner of the “Futures” match in July will face someone for the #1 Contenders position in August. I know it doesn’t sound like much but that structure will be important as these events multiply.

The final section of this weeks article focuses on the expansion of the Brawls. Some of the emails and my articles have speculated about a potential expansion of the number of shows. Could this happen? Yes. Can we announce anything right now? No.

I do not want to be in the position of a promoter who announces the world and delivers nothing. The terrain both nationally and regionally is littered with promoters who talk about massive events only to fold up and blow away. If I am good at just one thing, it is my ability to get things done. My role is to figure out where the potholes are and avoid them. I love the buzz we have going. There is a strong group of people who help fuel the buzz. People who understand the bigger picture and are not saddled by a limited view of the landscape. When the time comes you all will know. Until then, know that people are working behind the scenes very hard to put and keep Western New York on the wrestling map.

The final question has surrounded the countdown on the web page. What is ID? Why is it counting down? Until things are final I will need to just say that for the past three years a plan has been in place. While the plan has been modified and changed one component has not been. That component is I.D…. the event is Independents Day!