In a new episode of him actor Freddie Prinze Jr. gave an update on his plans to start a wrestling promotion and the current state of affairs.
Prinze shared that he had several meetings regarding the project, citing Warner Bros. Discovery and Vice TV as two places he met with. The meeting with WBD did not go well. The Vice meeting went well, but Vice TV couldn't afford the show.
“We went to Warner Discovery, which was the worst meeting I've ever had. They basically just wanted me to do a reality show at the end of the pitch and they knew nothing about wrestling and didn't seem interested in wrestling at all,” Prinze said. “So it wasn’t a good meeting. I must have failed at some point in the pitch because they weren't interested in what I was saying. I made the same suggestion to everyone else – it was the only place that didn't work.
“I pitched too – what was that? Vice? Yes, Vice TV. And they really wanted the show, but they were in the middle of restructuring their business – basically trying to stay on the air – and at the end of the day they couldn't afford the show. That was a place I really wanted to go to because they have Dark Side of the Ring and I thought we could be a cool couple with them. So I was disappointed.”
Prinze said there were a few other places where meetings were going well, but he didn't appeal to people high on the totem pole who could get his idea heard by top decision makers.
The original concept Prinze had was a show where the first six episodes would be a documentary about him trying to put his new promotion together. The next two episodes would be two-hour specials from the promotion. But Prinze met with a new streaming company that wasn't interested in the documentary and instead just wanted a pro wrestling promotion. Prinze has not yet announced the name of the streaming company as they are still working together to bring this project to fruition.
“So I'm sitting there talking to this new company that wants to talk to me about wrestling, but they have no interest in the documentary at all. They want a professional wrestling promotion,” he said. “It was like an hour and a half meeting. And they ask me all sorts of questions. “How would you compete?” How would you do that? Do you want to compete? Do you just want to exist? Want to be the top rated show? Do you want to be second highest?' And they said, 'Please be honest.' We want you to be real with us.' So I answer all their questions and they are very open about their finances, where they are, what they can afford, what they can do and how they would do it. And it was unorthodox for me, but not for her. Because it was the first time I heard about funding shows that way and doing things the way they wanted. But I'm trying to keep an open mind, right? I want to be promoted. So I listen, I listen. Then I start asking them questions for about 30 minutes and they start to explain their philosophy, their business philosophy, more and more clearly.”
While Prinze was trying to get this show off the ground, he realized that it's “borderline impossible” to start something new in Hollywood right now. The streaming company came up with the idea of moving forward with this project by having Prinze partner with an existing independent promotion. They identified the promotion they wanted to work with and had a really good meeting with them.
“I come to the cold realization that I can’t start from scratch,” Prinze said. “And it's a humbling moment and it's a sad moment. And then the guy I'm talking to calls me and says, “Hey, what if we grabbed someone else and got them as a partner?” I said, “What do you mean?” He goes, “What what if you were working within an existing brand?” And he says, “Here are some independent advertisers looking for TV deals.” They want to offer me the opportunity to tell my story and promote myself within the framework of the existence of one to present to others. Kind of like how Ring of Honor exists with AEW.
“So I start to sit down and think about it, and I start looking at the lists of places they brought me and the infrastructure that everyone already has or doesn't have. And I start weighing the pros and cons. I talk to my people who are part of my team and say, “Hey, these are the ones I'm interested in, but what do you think?” My main guy, my right hand man, happened to like the exact same thing that I liked and for exactly the same reasons I liked it.”
Prinze believes things will move forward, but the matter is not yet a done deal. Lawyers will get involved, people still have things to think about, and it's possible that their plans will fail. If the project comes to fruition, part of Prinze's idea is for him to help find talent that needs a fresh coat of paint, needs a fresh start, is young and needs work, or is veterans with no current history.
Even though there is still a long way to go, Prinze is determined to make his dreams come true. He encouraged everyone in the audience to continue pursuing their dreams.
“I'm doing my best to make this work. I am doing my best to make my dreams come true,” he said. “I didn’t accept a locked door, no matter how much it hurt. I always find others – or they find me. Either way. But you have to be ready when the opportunity presents itself.”
Prinze is a long-time wrestling fan and former WWE writer. He recently hosted the first three seasons of WWE Rivals on A&E.
