AS I SEE IT
Bob Magee
Pro Wrestling: Between the Sheets
PWBTS.com
In the 2024 giving season, wrestling fans were far and away
more generous than at any other time in the 10 years that
I've been doing these lists of US and Canadian promotions
that helped their communities for the Holidays.
In those events, promotions asked fans to do one small thing
that meant the world to someone they'd never meet: one can
of soup that meant someone was fed for a meal....one box of
rice that meant a family was fed for a week or more.... one
warm coat that meant an older person wouldn't shiver
uncontrollably when they walk to the market or a doctor's
appointment... one toy that meant that a child was allowed a
moment of innocence and joy instead of fear and deprivation.
One "small thing" that was anything but small.
These promotions held events and gave back to their
community; collecting canned and non-perishable food and
warm clothing, doing fundraisers for homeless or domestic
violence shelters or animal welfare groups, or those with
medical needs...and lots of Toys for Tots drives.
They did it through wrestling shows, Comic-Cons, playing
video games,10-day marathons sitting on top of a trailer,
bowling parties, online trivia contests, chicken BBQ's,
portrait sittings, Twitch streams, and a dozen other means.
Fans in 31 states and provinces gave and gave and
gave at 170 charity shows/events/efforts that took
place to help their communities for the Holidays.
From that list, a final figure for the season comes to
369,707.70 in cash donations, 18,081 pounds
(that's OVER NINE TONS) of canned and non-perishable
food, 26,843 toys; at least 60 winter jackets, at
least 70 pairs of socks and underwear, 250 backpacks, "bags
full of winter clothes" and "tons of school supplies", 40
blankets, 8 pairs of gloves, a dozen pair of wool socks, 4
knit hats, over 200assorted "personal care items"; as
well as animal blankets, cat litter, indoor dry/wet food,
cat/dog toys, and unscented baby wipes for animal rescue
groups.
Some have asked why I make such an issue of doing this each
year.
I was once jokingly said to me online years back (as I was
promoting one of the Toys for Tots collections at a CZW Cage
of Death)..."I want your gimmick". I guess what he actually
meant by "my gimmick" is that I seem to be such an online
cheerleader for such events during the fall and the Holiday
season.
So why do I do it?
Why? Because real live people are hungry....real live people
are cold....real live people have cancer....real live people
fear for their live; and because it's important to remember
that there are hundreds of men and women that do the work in
each city and town where these events happen whose work
needs to be celebrated.
Why do they do it?
More than a few of those promoting or working on these shows
have been in need themselves at times...and know how
important these events can be, and what a toy, a can of
food, or a warm coat can do in solving a need...and bringing
hope.
As a result, these people (and the thousands of fans and
others that contribute) believe less in simply being
"nice"...being passive.. doing no harm; and instead choose
to be kind.
Being kind is a verb. Being kind requires action.
It bears repeating that many of these indie promotions that
held these events are the ones ridiculed as being "outlaw
mud shows", as being unworthy of the time of mainstream
media, are promotions who have issues with venues because
they aren't "real wrestling", or because their product style
is viewed by cheerleader mommies, or Moms for Liberty types,
or even famous wrestling podcasters, as undesirable. Next
time someone screams "mud show", or dismisses an indie show
as undesirable, ask them when THEY raised nearly
$400,000 for charities, collected nearly nine
tons of food for the hungry, or gave 27,000
children a Holiday season.
One of the issues that indies face is that new management of
venues too often declare these independent promotions
unsuitable for children and demand that scheduled shows be
pulled out of "their" venue, or just decide they no longer
want wrestling shows there (even if there's a signed and
binding contract).... leaving indie promotions without the
resources to sue for breach of contract to suddenly have to
find a new venue. At least two of the promotions that held
Holiday charity events in the past weren't able to hold this
year for that reason.
So why do I make such a big deal about it? To make a point
each year to show how these very same promotions are, in
fact, major assets to their communities and to those they
help.
So here are a few more thoughts on promoting your Holiday
charity events for NEXT season, which will also work for
your shows in general...
What are some of the things that the most successful efforts
had in common?
1) A major commitment to whatever charitable effort the
promotion chooses. This means more than a last-minute
decision to do a benefit show. This means planning ahead of
time...making sure that fans know well in advance. Making
sure that every social media post, every press release,
every promo on a TV show (cable or streaming) mentions it.
2) The most successful efforts see promotions worked
together with local businesses and groups. Revolt
Ministries/Stuff The Bus Toy Drive, Cojo's Toy World, and
United Wrestling Coalition's annual Toys for Tots show
involved networking with area businesses and community
organizations. Promotions can use these business and
community organizations to help in publicizing their event,
and to ask them to contributing to toy/food/financial
collections themselves.
Boxes for Toys for Tots (local Marine Corps Reserve groups
often can provide upon request) or for other groups, and
canned/non-perishable food donation boxes can also be
located at these businesses and organizations as well as at
wrestling shows, as well as at the sites these organizations
run shows helping to publicize events.
3) Promotions should partner, when possible, with
established charitable organizations that have good
reputations in their local area. Fans will then know that
donations will be used effectively, which may increase
giving at these events. Most important, promotions should
work with agencies that serve the needs of their local
communities (or that involve a cause that they personally
believe in/are committed to).
4) PUBLICIZE, PUBLICIZE, PUBLICIZE. Promoters don’t exactly
need to attend the Wharton School of Business to know that
the most important thing, no matter whether you promote
wrestling shows or sell cars… rule one is to plug, plug,
plug. If a hopefully useful mark like yours truly who runs a
small wrestling website, and posts on social media, is ready
to help you do so, use us…you’ve lost nothing, spent
nothing…and quite possibly gained a lot. So, use us to help
promote your own company's events digitally. Yes, USE US.
Even in 2025, there were promoters so into carny (or all
encompassing) bullshit who have ignored my requests for
information. One actually blocked me on social media. I've
been told by the promoters in the past that “they can do it
by themselves”. I wonder if those promoters who bragged
about helping a charity and have little or nothing to show
for it... should consider going to that charity and tell
them they only got a smaller number of toys, cans of food,
or winter jackets… all because their promoter decided he
could “do it all by himself".
Back to promoting...
Do what I suggested above along with the usual (and
necessary) grunt work. Yes, you do have to do these
things...and no, you can't do the other extreme of bad
promoting, aka "just putting it online" or on social media.
You have to get up posters, hand out flyers, as well as get
sponsors to defer the cost of your show, and help sell
tickets for you (and maybe even help collect/donate to your
designated charity) … all of which are necessary no matter
what kind of fan base you have. See if the charity
themselves can help...they'll have credibility to a
different audience that you might and may have inroads to
the media you may not.
Let local mainstream (and wrestling) media know the event is
taking place and who the event benefits...using newspapers,
television, radio, and other forms of media...and again,
that it's a charitable effort. Have the charity help here as
well.
If your local newspaper/media source is a smaller weekly or
daily, send it to whoever runs a section for community
events. Even if that newspaper usually won't run plugs or
report on your shows (but only reports on WWE, if that),
they'll usually make an exception for events benefiting
charitable efforts during the year...and especially during
the Holidays.
Use social media to let fans and the public know the event
is happening. Every form of social media.Continually. Make
sure your talent and staff are doing the same...as far ahead
of the event as you can. Make fans (and talent) feel like
it's a yearly obligation to attend and contribute if this is
a show you've done yearly.
Whatever digital, social, and other media you're
using...PLEASE use intelligible English. Use spell check.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE use spell check, and ask someone to
check it for at least basic grammar and spelling mistakes
before you send it out. While you need to push your show…
stop sending or posting or tweeting info sent in all caps
and with a dozen asterisks and exclamation points.
Tell fans WHEN your upcoming charity show is…far enough in
advance to let them make plans, so they don’t go to someone
else’s show instead or just stay home...not the week before.
Your competitor might beat you to the punch and to the
dollar...and the opportunity for a charitable donation if
you don't.
Tell them WHERE your shows are, and how to get to the shows
on all social media and websites. Mass transit directions
and connections help if you run in a city or region where
mass transit exists. If not, give decent driving directions
to your shows. It isn't a fan's job to find your show, it's
your job to make it as easy as possible for someone to give
you (and your charity) money or toys/food/etc.. Something as
simple as a fan not being able to find a location for a show
can cost a promoter (and charity) dearly.
When you do these things...tell fans WHO is on the show and
WHY they should care about a match (yes, explain storylines
briefly), so fans feel there’s a reason to come to see the
show. The one and only booking related thing I'll say here:
as a rule.... if you list a "major surprise" for your show
(and aren't eventually naming him or her), to bring in
fans... DON'T. It's been overdone so much it borders on the
ridiculous. It puts no asses in seats, no cans of food in a
hungry person's kitchen, no toys in a child's hands, no coat
on a 70-year-old grandmother.
Again, make sure the benefiting organization is publicizing
the event on their social media, regular media and other
resources available to them (don't assume that they are).
Use social media to spread the reach. Use Twitter and
Bluesky and Instagram and TikTok in a hundred different ways
5) Get local merchants/individual sponsors to help you
publicize (and if possible, defer any costs incurred), to
ensure maximum dollars, contributions, and resources go to
your organization of choice. There are many options, from
old school window posters to websites and social media.
6) Offer admission discounts for donations. Offer a discount
on ticket prices to fans for donating a toy, canned/non-
perishable food, or whatever your charity is seeking.
7) Finally, if you're a fan and you have a preferred charity
that you'd like to see your favorite indie promotion act on
behalf of, now is the time to start asking then. Yes, it
means you'll likely be doing some work yourself. But as I
said above, there is simply being "nice"... a passive
act...doing no harm; and instead, choosing to be "kind"...
something that requires action. In the years to come, we may
well have to be the change we seek.
If you'd like to contact me, you can do so at my
bobmagee1@hotmail.com account or to through Facebook
Messenger at https://www.facebook.com/bob.magee.180, direct
message me at https://twitter.com/BobMage70323520, or
contact me at BlueSky at
https://bsky.app/profile/bobmagee940.bsky.social
Until next time...
