Wrestling Heritage

At the end of the second world war the men who were later to form Joint Promotions began building the foundations of the huge enterprise that was to dominate wrestling in the latter part of the twentieth century. These are the men that invested their time, and risked their money, in a decidedly risky business venture. That they did so with considerable success is without question, as is the fact that all their achievements were without the wisdom of the modern day business gurus who provide non-stop advice, at a price, to today’s entrepreneurs.

How would the promoters of yesteryear measure up to ten criteria used to measure modern day business success?  

Get yourself a vision.

That’s what the business guru tells us. Have a clear belief in what you are trying to achieve and a total belief in yourself. It is difficult to say retrospectively whether or not the post war promoters had a vision of their business, but the evidence suggests that they certainly did, though they would not have had the language of visionaries, and could not have foreseen the television boom.  Their vision was to create a mass market sporting entertainment that was inoffensive and would appeal to a family audience. They sought to produce a high quality product that was accepted as a legitimate sport, replacing disorder  with national organisation and discipline. Whether or not the Joint Promotion founders ever considered their goal in these terms we do not know, but their success suggested they might well have done so,

Be passionate about your idea

For those who came to follow the sport in the late sixties it is difficult to associate passion with men such as Norman Morrell and Jack Atherton. Passion, though, was certainly part of their nature when they were starting up their businesses in a testing post war climate. The combination of a zeal for commercial success and love of the sport were the fundamentals for success.  They were all men with successful amateur careers, a love for professional wrestling and an abhorrence of the state into which the business had declined during the 1930s. By clearly acknowledging their wrestling credentials on their programmes these men aligned themselves personally to any criticism of the professional wrestling business and fiercely rebuked such critics.  When Lisners and Branch exposed them in the News of The World they aggressively and publicly challenged the accusations, and when Athol Oakeley criticised the modern style they took legal action to acquire a public apology.  Their passion for bringing real change extended to creating a new identity for wrestling by changing the rules of the sport to attract a new audience.

Change Your Image

The post war promoters didn’t consider an image change for the sport as a choice; they knew it was a necessity. The sport had fallen into disrepute during the previous fifteen years. Following the war some councils refused to licence wrestling tournaments. If professional wrestling was to achieve mass market appeal then a new image was essential. A new set of rules was written to establish credibility in the sport. The rules, written in 1946 by a Committee that included Norman Morrell, one of the promoters, played an immeasurable part in changing the image of professional wrestling.

Watch Out for the Competition

Joint Promotions always had strong competition. Paul Lincoln, Jackie Pallo, Brian Dixon and a host of smaller competitors, particularly in the North and Midlands, all led significant challenges at one time or another. Each challenge was rebuffed with vigour, and until Dixon’s onslaught in their weakened twilight years, with success. Joint Promotions were ruthless in the way they contracted wrestlers to work exclusively for themselves, leaving competitors to work largely with novices and those who were past their best.   

Know Your Market

The post war promoters wisely identified low income families as their target customers.  The revision of the rules gave promoters the opportunity to mirror boxing by presenting occasional tournaments featuring highly paid workers. They may well have been tempted, but chose to avoid this option. Prices were kept low and shows presented on a frequent basis which enabled low paid workers to attend. A night at the wrestling could be had for little more than the price of a couple of pints. Consequently, wrestlers remained low paid and had to work most nights of the week to make a living. This economic foundation meant shows could be held weekly or fortnightly, generating a wrestling night habit amongst hundreds of thousands of followers. The advent of televised wrestling brought the sport to the notice of a more economically diverse audience. Even the Queen and her mother were said to be amongst the television fans. Joint Promotions, and some independents, responded by ensuring shows were occasions where fans of all classes, all ages and both sexes could attend and feel comfortable.     

First impression counts.

The business experts say that we must strive for accuracy and quality the first time around. Joint Promotions did not have the benefit of such experts, but they did make sure that first impressions were positive. Quality posters advertised their tournaments, there were frequent reminders of the origins of the Mountevans rules and the authority these suggested, MCs wore dinner jackets, officials had an air of authority, and the ring and layout of the hall were always of a high standard. Anyone doubting the importance of  such features has obviously never attended a show of one of the less reliable independent promoters.

Be innovative.

Entrepreneurs know that they should not be rigid in their ways of thinking in their quest to improve their best products and services. This may well have been the Achilles heel of Joint Promotions. The first fifteen years of Joint Promotions, the years of growth, were indeed years of innovation. The new rules of 1946, formation of Joint Promotions in 1952, shortly followed by Mountevans champions, televised wrestling in 1955, the ascendancy of the lighter weights, the introduction of tag wrestling, the importation of overseas stars, the constant arrival of new wrestlers; Joint Promotions could never be accused of lacking innovation. The long list of innovation began to slow down in the mid sixties. Joint promotions were wrong-footed by an independent promoter called Paul Lincoln. Here was a man who outshone them in terms of vision, passion, innovation, and image. The constant improvement seen in Joint Promotions over the previous years began to slow, and by the early 1970s the business was looking stale and vulnerable.

Be Consistent

There was some variation between shows, such as the use of ten minute rounds and varied use of catchweight bouts, but by and large each Joint Promotions show had a consistent look and feel. Anyone going along to the wrestling would know more or less what they were going to see. The wrestlers, officials, publicity, and championships were all controlled by Joint Promotions and nothing was left to chance.

Good reputation.