Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Metro Pro Lives, Joins New Sanctioning Body

Marquez
Photo via Google Plus
United Wrestling TV

Metro Pro Wrestling, which had gone on indefinite hiatus after losing its television deal locally, will be returning to active duty as part of a new sanctioning body called United Wrestling TV. Joining the Kansas City promotion will be Championship Wrestling from Hollywood, New York Wrestling Connection, River City Wrestling (San Antonio), Traditional Championship Wrestling (Arkansas), Ultra Championship Wrestling (Utah), Championship Wrestling from Arizona, New England Championship Wrestling, Future Stars of Wrestling (Reno), and the West Coast Wrestling Connection (Oregon). The body will not require any fees for status. The only requirement is that each member promotion has a television show. For those who don't have a program currently, founder David Marquez will work to get them local airtime.

The federation's formation seems to be a not-so-secret response to the National Wrestling Alliance. Marquez was instrumental in removing CWFH from the oldest governing body over stupid politics, which to my knowledge, was more the machinations of people within the Alliance grabbing for power. They pissed off a lot of people, including Adam Pearce and Colt Cabana, who left the Ten Pounds of Gold laying in the middle of the ring in Australia rather than claim it at the end of their Seven Levels of Hate. While I'm not too quick to take arms against the NWA - they still have some pretty nifty wrestlers working underneath its umbrella - competition, even on the independent level, is generally a good thing.

Marquez's group making television the centerpiece of its alliance is brilliant, though. Any initiative looking to put more wrestling content out for mass consumption (and my assumption is that this alliance will distribute the local content centrally through an online hub) is a fine one. I've heard rumblings about a touring Champion, which would tie the venture together pretty neatly. Either way, this news is still pretty new. The best part about the announcement is that Metro Pro will indeed live on, and it will join a bunch of other promotions of varying levels of exposure in a neat idea that has been overdue, in my mind.