DAN MIRADE RESPONDS TO QUESTIONS ABOUT "NEW" MWF
Sunday, June 12th, 2011 * 11:49PM
Good evening. . .this is Dan Mirade wanting to reach out to our fans over the buzz generated over the change in leadership. We've always had an "open door policy" with the fans for the most part and felt it was only fair to have this open letter of sorts to you, instead of a regular Inside The MWF column.
In response to a variety of questions sent to us via email and social media in regards to President Cena stepping down as company president and what the exciting opportunities that presents to the "new" Millennium Wrestling Federation:
John Cena Sr. parting ways with the company as the MWF President wasn't something expected or planned upon. It happened quick with not a lot of wiggle room for negotiations - we had to act, quickly. It's already been stated that the door is open for him to return to the company in a different capacity as he has been with us since November 2005. The past few months have been tense for everyone, from the athletes to the office staff. . .our goal is to remain in Boston, not become a full time promotion in North Carolina. . .
Independent / regional wrestling has been devastated in eastern MA. Rightfully so, many non-die hard fans don't trust the independent wrestling bubble. . .unfortunately, despite giving 110% effort to present fans with the best, most interactive experience in New England for the best value possible, there are some reluctant that have been burned by a Mike Sparta-type trash / no-show nightmare, or ones that look like a Little League baseball game in a ring with "wrestlers" that look like they're doing a middle school parody of what a true professional wrestler, a true athlete should be. . .
Linda Mirade's surprise return likely had a lot to do with Cena's exit as they were not fond of each other before she departed in January 2010. Believe me, her and I don't have lovey-dovey conversations outside of the business aspect of things, but she's remains player in the organization due to our own personal situation. The "ex" in ex-fiance' is there for a reason. She's cut and dry when it comes to the roster and staff. What do you bring to the table?? What can you bring to the table?? She's not your typical wrestling person, she looks at the business side of it. That's not exactly a bad thing when you take the human aspect out of the equation. She doesn't have a personal attachment to any of our athletes. At her first event (ROAD TO THE GOLD 2003) I thought summary of the event / experience was dead on. . .
Will wrestlers depart the company?? Absolutely. Any professional wrestling roster is going to have turnover. The good news: In 2011, the fans favorites, the best athletes, are not going anywhere. It's basically time to go balls-to-the wall, 100MPH, in your face. We're not going to have a wide spread roster of 30 athletes in New England. . .it's going to be focused on the most important superstars that compete for us, that the fans have a vested interest in. The entire roster has to step up and deliver exciting matches that the fans are willing to pay to see, or they're likely not going to be on the roster. Tough choices have to be made, but I can't honestly think of anyone on the roster we want to sever ties with. What goes on in MWF South is a different matter (believe me). No matter what you think of JBL's Uprising, Paul Bearer's Trifecta of Terror, et al, they're quality athletes that are going to deliver an action packed match; this will be nothing like the 2005/2006 time period where we had so much "excess" left in our lap to get rid of that we had absolutely no use for and didn't want or need to begin with. . .we had someone in power that took care of his friends, which is typical wrestling - not the first or last time that will happen. Not a personal attack any of them, but we were stuck with so many guys from the "Moose Lodge Era/Error" that it took quite awhile to weed out even though the fans didn't want to see them. . . it wasn't an easy / pleasant position to be in as they're still human beings. We'd sit around the studios on Sunday nights and ask "can they bring anything to the table??"
Nothing against the hard working girls, but the Fabulous Women of Wrestling division is a thing of the past as well. Short of an Awesome Kong, there are few that can bring the type of intensity we're looking for. That's not to say you'll never see a womens match in the MWF again, but Cena's grand idea for this division in this company is over. What you see at an MWF South event in the Carolina's is different than up north. . .
One of the biggest issues for anyone and everyone on the roster is a simple one - keeping your word. Honesty, character and integrity. If you don't live up to your word, you're not going to be around the Millennium Wrestling Federation for very long. Again, going down the roster page, the only one that appears to be "out there" is the "Superstar of Sin" Scott Reed, but that's been more of a confusing, mental issue more than anything else. There have been times where I've been his biggest supporter; whether he stays or goes is largely up to him. J-Busta was the last "tough one" to get rid of. . . .he was just a regular, constant pain in the ass despite his in-ring success. His lies and stories caught up with him before SOUL SURVIVOR VII, and when Cena had the opportunity to cut the cord after JBL found no need for him, he was done, baby, done as Commissioner Von Johnson would say. For us to basically throw out one of our current champions like garbage should speak volumes. There are so many quality athletes who want to work their way to the top of the promotions, the guys I personally love to work with . . .Julian Starr, Matt Taven, Jay Freddie. . . guys like that, fresh faces that want to be at the top of the promotion and go to war with the Slyck's, Tommaso's, Dylan's, Todd's, Ortiz's, Fury's, Edwards', Milonas', Fuller's, etc., who are the face of the promotion.
As far as what superstars you're going to see, that decision is going to be fan driven. How many fans will be at MWF X live September 17th?? How many will financially support our efforts with VIP Package or ticket purchase?? The more fans, the more superstars, the more thrilling the experience. I would expect to see a cutback on the amount of TNA-type stars you'll see in the MWF. TNA continues to raise appearance fees on the majority of it's wrestlers to the point they're going to starve them out of work. It's a business, they're trying to make a profit off of their contracted talents. But some of the ways they've gone about things leave a lot to be desired, as there has been no increase in their ratings, live event crowds and PPV buys to justify their desired booking fee increases. I love the Abyss', the Sabin's, etc., but we're not going to overpay for them when TNA isn't making money with them. They invested a lot of money in WWE departures that haven't paid off financially for TNA. . .it's not our responsibility to make up that loss, nor should it be MWF fans responsibility in a sense by having to charge more for tickets if we're featuring some of these higher priced guys. Our fans voice is the most important voice. Who do you want to see?? Fresh WWE talent in the primes of their career?? WWE legends / Hall of Fame types?? What about outstanding independent wrestlers that haven't reached the national spotlight yet or competed at WrestleMania, but are working their way up the ladder of success in their careers to get to the dance, people like Kofi Kingston, Eddie Edwards, Velvet Sky, Fergal Devitt etc. that have wrestled here and moved on to major league promotions in the US and Japan. It's a difficult balance. . .our goal is to present events for you within reason. . .
Linda's got some tremendous, out-of-the-wrestling-box type ideas to try to bring greater success in this area. The MWF X 10th anniversary event is going to be a grand slam of a night with everything we have planned in and out of the ring. We need to get as many ticket buying fans as humanly possible to come to our events, and try to make as much income from them as humanly possible. That might sound a little "business like", but it's honest. In return, we're going to give you the best experience both an in-ring and out of the ring activities - the autograph / photo fanfest, auctions, raffles for cool items, etc. We've upgraded our free MWF TV section of the site, since we went to a higher quality in October, tell me how many bad half hour episodes you've seen?? On the flip side, tell me how many strong athletic competitions you've seen. Answer to that, in my mind, is plenty. So again, over the next year or so we're going to do everything we can to grow what we're doing, or we unfortunately say "the fans in North Carolina are going to support us, why continue to battle in the northeast??" When our general admission tickets are only a few dollars more than other wrestling shows, and you compare the rosters, never mind most of them not even featuring a nationally known superstar, it's just mind blowing and frustrating. The MWF fans that come out know what they're getting and love it - we have to figure out what do we have to do to get more of those fans involved in the process. . .
We love you guys. . .we need you guys to come to the events. As one of the "founding fathers" of the MWF in 2001, even though my role has changed, I've always stressed that the fans are the most important part of the team - if we don't have you, there's no game. . .
Let's make it happen!!
