Freddie Prinze Jr. is still working on starting up his own promotion and has an extensive update on its status.
On the latest episode of the Wrestling With Freddie Podcast, Prinze Jr. discussed where things stand with his wrestling promotion. Prinze Jr. spoke openly on how his meetings with Warner and Vice TV turned out.
“We went to Warner Discovery, which was like the worst meeting that I had out of all of them. They basically just wanted me to do a reality show by the end of the pitch and knew nothing about wrestling and didn’t seem to care for wrestling at all. So it was not a good meeting,” Freddie Prinze Jr. said. “I must have failed at some point in the pitch because they were not interested in what I was saying, I gave the same pitch to everyone else — it was the only place that didn’t work.
“I also pitched to — what was it? Vice? Yeah, Vice TV. And they wanted the show bad. But they were going under some business restructuring — trying to basically stay on the air — and they couldn’t afford the show at the end of the day. That was a place I really wanted to go because they have Dark Side of the Ring and I thought we could be a cool pairing with them. So I was disappointed there.”
Conversations with an unnamed streaming service
Prinze went on to talk about discussions with a streaming service who weren’t interested in his concept of a documentary show to kick off the promotion. Despite that, talks haven’t ended yet, so he didn’t reveal the name of the service.
“So I sit and I talk to this new company that wants to talk to me about wrestling and they’re not interested in the documentary at all,” Freddie Prinze Jr. said. “They want a professional wrestling promotion. This was like an hour and a half meeting. And they’re asking me all kinds of questions. ‘How would you compete? How would you do this? Do you want to compete or do you just want to exist? Do you want to be the highest-rated show?’ And they were like, ‘Please, be honest. We want you to be real with us.’
“So I’m answering all their questions and they’re real upfront on their finances, where they’re at, what they can afford, what they can pull off, and how they would pull it off. And it was unorthodox to me, but not to them. Because it was the first time I had ever heard of financing shows this way and doing things the way they were wanting to do it. But I try to stay open-minded, right? I want to have a promotion. So I’m listening, I’m listening. Then I start asking them questions for about 30 minutes, and they start explaining their philosophies, their business philosophies more and more clearly.”
Potentially partnering with an existing independent company
During the conversations with this streaming service it dawned on Prinze Jr. that he’s not going to be able to start a company from scratch and it was suggested that partnering with an independent company that already exists might be his best course of action.
“I come to the cold realization that I can’t start it from scratch,” Freddie Prinze Jr. admitted. “And it’s a humbling moment and it’s a sad moment. And then the dude that I’m talking to calls me up and he says, ‘Hey, what if we grab someone else and brought them in as a partner?’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He says, ‘What if you work within an existing brand?’ And he says, ‘Here’s some independent promotions that are looking for TV deals.’ They want to offer me the opportunity to tell my story and to present my promotion within the existence of another one. Sort of like how Ring of Honor exists with AEW.
“So I start sitting down and thinking about that and I start looking at the rosters of the places that they brought me and the infrastructure that each one already has or does not have. And I start weighing the pros and cons. I talk to my guys that are a part of my team and say, ‘Hey, these are the ones that I’m interested in, but what do you think?’ My main guy, my right-hand happened to like the exact same one that I liked for the exact same reasons that I liked it.”
Not accepting closed doors as an answer
While nothing is finalized, Freddie insists he’ll do everything in his power to make this work and become a reality.
“I am doing my damndest to make this work. I’m doing my damndest to make my dreams come true,” Freddie Prinze Jr. said. “I have not accepted a closed door, as much as they hurt. I keep finding other ones — or they find me. One way or the other. But you have to be ready when opportunity comes.” [H/T: F4WOnline]
READ MORE: Freddie Prinze Jr. Says Warner Discovery Passed On His Wrestling Promotion
What do you make of Freddie Prinze Jr.’s comments? Which independent wrestling promotion would you like to see him partner with to make his dreams a reality? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
