Do Meltzer, Keller, Scherer, etc. have day jobs?

[Guest TDinDC1112]

In the early 80's he helped with some booking of Japanese talent.

[Guest Loss]

He also did research for them, but has never worked a full time job in the company. Meltzer has quoted Vince in the Observer, though. Vince has something to gain by talking to him. If the information is going to get out anyway, why let the wrestlers tell their side of the story? Be sure that Meltzer gets the company line first.

[Guest Markingout]

He also did research for them, but has never worked a full time job in the company. Meltzer has quoted Vince in the Observer, though. Vince has something to gain by talking to him. If the information is going to get out anyway, why let the wrestlers tell their side of the story? Be sure that Meltzer gets the company line first.

He might of done that,but I always thought when he was with the WWF,he was some how linked with the creative team.

[Guest Doyo]

The only way to make a living as a wrestling writer is to have a print newsletter with enough

subscribers or to have a website with a pay area and a lot of advertisements.

 

Here is a little history on how some ended up being able to do this:

Meltzer started the Observer Newsletter in 1982 while in college. Over the years he

was able to build up the subscriber base through word of mouth, advertising in the

wrestling magazines that would allow it and media appearances (Donahue show, etc.).

He also did a column for the short lived National, which was a sports newspaper that

came out nationwide. I first learned about him around 1991 by chance when I caught

him on a radio show on New York's WFAN, which is the biggest sports radio station

in the world. Compared to the wrestling magazines that were aimed at 5th graders, it was

shocking for me to say the least to hear his insider talk. He gave out his address and said

he would send out four free issues to anyone who sent him their name and address.

 

I've always heard his subscriber number is around 7,000-15,000. He probably has near

1,000 alone from people that are or have been in the industry. People such as Burt Reynolds

and Billy Idol are supposedly subscribers. When you do any math, keep in mind that he has to

pay for postage and supplies. He has said that his phone bill is over $1,000 a month and his

cable bill must be pretty high if he pays for all those ppvs. But, yeah he must make a good living out of it.

 

I've never heard of him working for WWE in any way and he definately wasn't involved in

booking. Kip Frye, who was in charge of WCW in early 1990s, is the only one I know of that

Meltzer has said called him for a lot of advice. I highly doubt he speaks to Vince that often

with all of Meltzer's reporting on the steroid scandal and his constant bashing of the WWE

booking. Vince is a multimillionaire with a busy schedule. Meltzer is a fly on his radar screen,

though wrestlers have claimed to see the Observer on Vince's desk.

 

I believe Keller started his newsletter in the late 80s and built up his subscriber base in similar

ways and he makes a living off it.

 

Scherer built a reputation for himself by being one of the first people to put wrestling news and

results on the internet through RSPW starting around 1992. About 1995 he started a print

newsletter. Then around 1997 when Ryder started 1wrestling.com he brought on Scherer as

news guy. I'm not sure about now, but at least back when the internet advertising market paid

better, Ryder was able to pay Scherer enough to make a living off of it. He probably still does

because of people paying for their premium area and the ton of ads.

 

Alvarez started his print newsletter around 1995 and used to post on RSPW to promote it. I've heard

at first it was very amateurish, but then it got better and picked up a following. And ever since Meltzer

took him as his sidekick, I'd guess he has enough subscribers to make a living off it.

 

Meltzer and Keller avoided the internet at first but eventually realized that they had no choice but to

maintain a presence. To compete with all the free news on the internet, Meltzer (i'm not sure

about Keller) decided to increase the page count and each issue is like a mini-book. It would

be pretty much impossible for him to devote much time to any other job.

 

As for wrestlers taking the risk of being sources- They probably think that it will help them get

better press and star ratings. Maybe they also get free subscriptions and whatnot. There are

also people like Jim Cornette and Paul Heyman who just like to talk about wrestling with whoever

hour after hour.

Edited January 2, 2004 by Doyo