In a recent interview, PROGRESS Wrestling co-owner Martyn Best spoke with PWMania.com about a wide variety of topics, including recent backlash following an announced show in Dubai.
Best was asked about PROGRESS Wrestling’s upcoming supershow on Sunday, and whether or not he had any concerns following the planned show in Dubai. According to Best, since the company explained its reasoning to host a show in Dubai, and since having conversations with fans and wrestlers, he believes the backlash will be less now.
“I’m hoping that now we have had the opportunity to explain our reasons for going to Dubai, and we have had numerous personal conversations with fans and some wrestlers to help provide everyone with a better understanding of our aims, that the initial reaction is now calmer,” said Best. “The key concerns were that we were being funded by the Dubai government – which we’ve confirmed that we are not, this is an entirely commercial venture for us, and in fact is part of a longer term investment for us in building up a strong following in Dubai and supporting the wrestling community there.”
Best went on to acknowledge the numerous concerns about the LGBTQ+ community, and noted that the company has since reminded everyone of its policies on inclusiveness.
“There were some absolutely understandable concerns about the LGBTQ+ community both in Dubai and the current state of the law over there, and we had not highlighted and reminded everyone of our commitment to diversity and inclusion, which we hope has been demonstrated this year,” Best said.
Finally, Best specifically noted that the company doesn’t support what the laws and beliefs of Dubai are, and said that Progress has always been “widely inclusive,” and that the company was sorry it might have caused any concern about that.
“We did have many comments about us apparently supporting a state that does not support LGBTQ+ rights, and that is certainly a concern for us, and is certainly not the case that we support that situation,” said Best. “In PROGRESS terms we have always been widely inclusive, and our fans will know the range of wrestlers we have had this year – we very much support Women’s wrestling, our diverse range of backgrounds and wrestlers of color have been prominent, and we’ve had many wrestlers from the LGBTQ+ community on our card and building up some great matches and relationships with us – but we can truly understand why there were concerns in that area, and we’re sorry that we caused concern amongst our fans.”
Beyond that, however, he said that all the wrestlers that the company has spoken to and plan on attending the show are “behind what we are doing,” and also said that this show is part of larger plans the company has.
“All of our wrestlers we have spoken to, and all those coming with us to Dubai are totally behind what we are doing. We will have a number of interviews and reports with each of them, and much of the aims and subtlety of this situation will be looked at in deeper reflection. We have plans for other matches out there next year, with an even wider array of talent across all diversity. This is part of a longer term plan, and I’d only ask for patience with us, as our next shows will build upon this.
We could have decided to not go, just hammer our keyboard, and try to effect change from afar, but we have developed a good friendship with Shaheen, and we have had a number of wrestlers on our roster who had been over to Dubai this year and who had come back with really positive feedback. The local Dubai wrestling community is so excited at our visit, and they recognise that our support for their aims and efforts will really help them. This is not Formula One, golf, or football going to that area, and Dubai is by far the most progressive of the Arab states and we are massively focused on the support of grass roots wrestling, and trying to play some small part in helping to effect change. We hope that if any of our fans still have concerns that they know that Lee and I are there as we always are, visible and receptive to have any conversation with them.”
