Wrestling FAQ

[Vanhalen 0]

Alright, I cant answer all the pm's sorry, cos it would take forever, so heres a little FAQ, that might help out.

 

How do I view The Wrestling Channel on digital satellite?

 

Go to channel 432 on your digibox. You do not need to subscribe to any Sky packages or have a viewing card.

 

Will it be on cable or Freeview?

 

The channel is negotiating with Telewest to appear at some point. Negotiations are apparently serious, but with nothing confirmed.

 

There are no firm negotiations with NTL, but polite letters to NTL requesting the channel will not hurt. A petition is at:

 

http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?TWC2004

 

Because there is room for so few channels on Freeview, it is virtually certain The Wrestling Channel will never be carried.

 

When does it broadcast?

 

From 10am to 3am every day. New programming debuts between 9pm and midnight, and all shows are repeated at various other times throughout the week. The channel carries infomercials from 7am-10am and is off-air from 3am-7am.

 

(Since launching, the channel is on a temporary schedule until every show has aired at least once, allowing repeats to then follow. The full regular timetable will be in operation from Sunday 21 March.

 

A full schedule is at www.thewrestlingchannel.tv/schedule.html

 

What is on, at what time, and when is it from?

 

TNA Xplosion(New episodes debut each Monday, 9pm)

 

The preview show (shown on local TV in the US). Shown on six month delay, so each week’s Xplosion sets up the TNA International show on Wednesday. Contains highlight’s of the previous week’s TNA International show, promos for the upcoming show, and a few short matches (usually squashes).

 

CMLL (Monday, 10pm)

 

The one hour show produced for Galavision (Mexico/US Spanish language channel). First two weeks will be from early January. The show will then jump to mid-March, putting us about five weeks behind the original taping (and actually a few weeks ahead of the US broadcast).

 

Noah (Monday, 11pm)

 

First three weeks will be TV shows from various points in 2001/2002. From then we get the current TV show as up to date as tape delivery allows. Last word was that it'll be the two hour show from Japanese satellite TV (which shows most of a full event), split into two parts. However, this would mean we end up slipping further behind each week, so it may suggest Noah could expand to two hours if it goes down well.

 

Ring of Honor (Tuesday, 9pm)

 

Events from late 2003 chopped into one hour shows.

 

Shoot interview (Tuesday, 10pm)

 

RF Video releases, minus the bonus matches. Edited to fit a 2 hour slot or split over two weeks.

 

TNA International (Wednesday, 9pm)

 

Special edition of the US PPV shown on six month delay (due to the company’s agreement with PPV firms). All ‘sales pitch’ segments and US references are removed, plus any expendable filler, to cut the show to a 90 minute timeslot (plus adverts). The show is edited by TNA, not the Wrestling Channel.

 

The first airing was missing the main event due to a mistake by The Wrestling Channel. This will not be standard practice.

 

New Japan (Wednesday, 11pm)

 

First two to three weeks are from spring/summer 2003 (taken from the ‘Ultimate Crush’ Tokyo Dome show and the Super Junior tournament.. From then we get the current Japanese network TV show as up to date as tape delivery allows.

 

FWA (Thursday, 9pm)

 

British promotion. The first five weeks or so will be either Seasons Beatings matches (December 2003) or profiles of particular wrestlers. After this, brand new shows created specifically for the channel will begin. (It’s not yet confirmed, but the booking of a monthly date in Morecambe suggests this may be the taping location).

 

CZW (Thursday, 10pm)

 

Classic Memphis (Thursday, 11pm)

 

Show specifically created by Jerry Lawler and co for the channel. 26 weeks are already done with more to follow if the show is a success.

 

3PW (Friday, 9pm)

 

World of Sport (two shows: Friday, 10pm and Saturday, 10pm)

 

Each show will feature matches of a particular wrestler, show a one-night tournament, cover a series of matches between a pair of wrestlers, or have a theme (masked men, Hart family etc). 40 episodes (20 weeks) are already set with more to follow if the show is a success.

 

New Japan classics (Friday 11pm)

 

Taken from the Samurai TV (Japanese sports channel) show of the same name. The library covers matches from the 70s through 90s.

 

Major League Wrestling (Saturday, 9pm)

 

Weekly TV shows from the company’s archive (the group is not currently producing TV).

 

GAEA (Saturday, 11pm)

 

Biggest Japanese womens group. First four weeks are from 2001ish. From then we get regular TV shows on about 6 months delay.

 

Supercard Sunday (Sunday, 9pm)

 

A full show, with MLW Reload, ROH Second Anniversary and CZW Best of the Best 3 scheduled in early weeks. If a show is too long for the 3 hour timeslot, the ‘worst’ matches will be edited off.

 

Will other shows be added?

 

The channel is in talks with various channels, and OVW and UCW are among the possible shows to be added later. UWF/Mid South, Florida (mid 80s) and Mid-Atlantic (early 80s) are available to be picked up by the channel if the existing classic shows do well, but there are no agreements in place.

 

WWE, WCW, ECW and Stampede are all definite no-nos.

 

Will shows be censored?

 

Anything after the watershed (8.30pm for satellite) should be uncut. Before the watershed there will be edits to meet ITC regulation. Cuts should be of a similar extent and nature to the daytime WWE shows on Sky. This will most likely include man on woman violence, graphic blood and weapon shots.

 

The editing will not be as severe as on Friendly TV's second series of tests - these were deliberately overly-censored because of complaints when a CZW death match went out uncut at 8am on the first test run!

 

Why are there problems with the picture/sound?

 

The main sound problems (disparity in volume between adverts and shows, problems with synching to picture) are technical teething issues which the channel is addressing.

 

Dark pictures are caused because the channel has to ‘filter’ out overly bright images to avoid problems with photosensitive epilepsy. At the moment they are erring on the side of caution, though hopefully a better balance will be found.

 

Several of the clips in the preview packages are taken from VHS because the original broadcast tapes had not arrived in time. The show broadcasts should be of better quality, though CZW appears to be suspect on this issue (picture, not wrestling!)

 

If your picture is freezing or breaking up REPEATEDLY, you may have a signal problem. (Solution to follow!)

 

Why is there no English commentary on Japanese/Mexican shows?

 

A) It would be difficult to find an experienced broadcaster with the suitable knowledge who is available to work.

 

B) The audio on the shows comes in a single track, so adding English commentary would either mean faint Japanese commentary in the background, or completely axing the soundtrack, including crowd noise.

 

Mo Chatra will be providing brief voiceovers at the start of shows to identify the wrestlers.

 

What the hell is going on in CMLL?!?!

 

Lucha (Mexican wrestling) is often offputting to new viewer. Here’s a quick guide:

 

 Most matches are best of three falls (primera caida =first fall, segnuda caida = second fall, terceda caida = third fall), six-man tags (trios matches). A ‘una caida’ match is one fall only. CMLL TV often joins the opening match in progress (usually at the start of the final fall).

 

 To win a fall you must beat either the team captain (usually the last man introduced on the team) or both his partners. In a 2 vs 2 tag match you must beat both partners. In theory, a defeated man cannot take part again until the fall is complete, though falls usually come quick enough that the isn’t an issue.

 

 There is no need to tag – when you leave the ring, your partner can come in immediately.

 

 A tag match or singles match is usually only for a title, or to settle a feud with a mask vs mask (mascara contra mascara), hair vs hair (cabellera contra cabellera) or the relevant combination.

 

 There are two referees. One usually favours the technicos (babyfaces/heroes) and one favours the rudos (heels/villains).

 

 ‘Fouls’ are low blows, earning an instant DQ. (Sneaky heels will often fake a low blow). You also get DQed for removing an opponent’s mask (also fakeable by heels) or executing a piledriver. The martinete (tombstone piledriver) is the ultimate illegal move and usually sees the victim out of action for several weeks.

 

 The matches mentioned in a banner at the bottom of the screen at the beginning of the show are usually for house shows (arena events).

 

 Momentos Estrellas is the ‘highlight reel’ section of the show.

 

 After beating a champion in a trios match, a wrestler will often challenge him (or his team) to a title match. They don’t always accept, so you’ll have to either learn Spanish or wait and see!

 

 Lucha looks ‘wrong’ to most first-time viewers because the wrestlers work on the right side of the body instead of the left, and circle around the ring in the opposite direction to normal. It takes time to get used to this (like driving abroad). Wrestlers also bump (fall) in a different way as the rings are notoriously hard), so they prefer to roll rather than land flat.

 

How does the station operate financially?

 

Aside from transmission costs, the programming costs are relatively low as almost all the shows are bought-in tapes. The promotions can charge less for these as they are secondary rights (the original US/Japanese broadcasts will have usually covered the production costs).

 

The channel’s income comes from:

 

 advertising sales;

 merchandising (DVD and t-shirt sales will follow); and

 premium rate phone lines for competitions.

 

The channel has tentative plans for four live wrestling shows a year (2 in Ireland, 2 in UK) based around featured wrestlers from the channel. However, there are no firm plans made public yet.

 

Why isn't the station listed on Tivo or Digiguide?

 

Because the first week is a test schedule, the regular listings provided obviously did not match what was being broadcast (other than the 9pm-12pm slot). Once the channel has been providing accurate listings consitently for a couple of weeks, Tivo is likely to include the channel's listings.

 

Digiguide is presumably in the same situation, though I don't know for sure.

 

Where can I find out more?

 

www.thewrestlingchannel.tv is the official site. It includes a forum similar in setup to UKFF. Poster 'Herbie747' is Sean Herbert, the main man at the channel.