Last February I posted an article suggesting that the top heel in your wrestling promotion is not one of your own guys, but the guy running the rival promotion in your hometown. You can read what I had to say about that if you click here.
Last week, at the IWA Mid-South 20th anniversary show, Tracy Smothers won the IWA Mid-South Championship with the owner of former IWA Mid-South rival D1W Rick Brady in his corner. Following the match, Smothers declared that the IWA title was no more, renaming the belt the D1W championship.
The IWA Mid-South fans were livid. This was their night, their celebration. They were shocked that the owner of a dead promotion would come into their house and steal their title. Smothers and Brady were chased out of the building by angry fans and wrestlers, some wielding chairs.
I am not about to suggest that this angle was inspired by my post. I am not a promoter, nor do I aspire to be, and I certainly don’t have the gift for booking that Ian Rotten does. But the results of last Thursday’s invasion bears out what I wrote down seven months ago.
This week, Smothers will square off with Rotten for the title, and the local buzz for this match is huge with fans of IWA Mid-South and D1W. To quote one fan on Facebook: “I want to kick The Rick in the face!”
Food for thought for all of you regional promoters who have a heated rivalry with the guy across town.