Interview with PBW owner Ross Watson
Published Wednesday, 15th February 2012
The PBW webteam recently had the chance to talk with PBW owner Ross Watson. Clearly there are somne big plans underway to take PBW to the next level once again.
Q – Hi Ross, thanks for allowing us this interview
A – Hi guys, no problem at all it’s my pleasure
Q – We have just gave the PBW site a makeover which includes a whole new look. What are your thoughts on the new site ?
A – I am really pleased with the new site as a whole. I remember being young and going on the WWE and the sites of British companies, I would spend hours reading through the profiles on the roster page etc haha. When I told my web designer (Your Fight Site) what I was looking for I explained that I wanted an eye catching homepage with graphics as well as news stories. I also asked for direct links to our Facebook and Youtube pages on the site homepage. Throughout 2012 the site will continue to be updated weekly to provide our fans of all ages with all the latest news, upcoming shows and match announcements.
Q – 2011 was a strong year for PBW. How do you feel it went overall and is there anything you want to do differently in 2012?
A – Yeah 2011 has been our best year from a business prospective since 2007 which is a great feeling as we all know the state of the economy just now. I was fully aware at the start of the year that it would be a tough year if we wanted to continue to draw good crowds. The general public are really reluctant to spend their hard earned cash just now and I don’t blame them with so many job cuts happening on an almost daily basis. With this in mind right from the very first show of 2011 I doubled my order of posters and flyers for every show. I should mention here that the students from The Scottish Pro Wrestling Academy were invaluable in helping me get these posters and flyers out there month after month and I honestly appreciate their help and support so much. Overall I am really pleased with 2011. I would have liked to have run more shows but I got married in August and then my honeymoon not long after so I had to focus a lot of my time on that to keep Kimberly happy haha. As you can see though I plan on making up for lost time right from the start of 2012 with 3 new venues added to our growing list. If everything comes to plan there will be 15-20 shows in 2012 as opposed to the normal 10-12.
Q- Sounds great to us. Speaking of shows what was your favourite PBW show of 2011 and why ?
A – I liked them all. All joking aside I did enjoy them all but there were two that stood out for me. Maximum Impact 2011 I thought was our strongest Impact yet. The matches were all fantastic and I just thought from a wrestling standpoint that show could compete with anything, anywhere in the world. It was also great to see Andy Wild take on a world class wrestler such as Prince Devitt and more than hold his own. On the same show Stevie Xavier pulled of a star making performance when he outlasted 5 of Britain’s finest cruiserweight wrestlers to become King Of Cruisers 2011. The fact that Xavier badly injured his shoulder during the match and still managed to finish the match with a spectacular 450 splash from the top just shows how badly he wanted it. I am very proud of both him and Wild. Another show that I really enjoyed was our June show in Dumbarton. We had not one but two British legends on the show in the form of TNA star Doug Williams and World Of Sport star Johnny Saint. It was great to be able to attract two wrestlers of their reputation to PBW and even better to have them there on the same night. That show was also our first sell out in Dumbarton which made things even better.
Q- 2011 has also been a great year for the PBW wrestlers especially the likes of Lionheart, Noam Dar, James Scott and Andy Wild. How do you feel about your stars wrestling for the biggest companies in the world? Does it worry you that they may get signed to a contact in America or Japan and not be able to perform on your shows anymore ?
A – I couldn’t be happier for the lads. Lionheart wrestling for WWE and TNA in less than a year is fantastic. I give Lionheart a lot of credit for where he has got today. It angers me when I hear folk and workers moaning about politics and how it’s always Lionheart. Fact, he works hard in the gym, has the best of gear, has great charisma and wrestling ability and finally when other folk are sitting moaning to each other over a few beers he is sitting in his house sending out his CV, calling promoters trying to get his name out. There is a big difference between politics and wanting to better yourself as a performer by gaining as much experience as possible. Rant over ha.
It’s also been a great year for the other 3 mentioned with Scott doing his first tour of Japan with the Zero 1 promotion, Dar making his second Dragon Gate appearance this time for Dragon Gate UK and finally Wild making his debut for CZW in the infamous ‘ECW Arena’.
Also let’s not forget just how many of our stars travel the length of the UK on a weekly basis competing in places such as Newcastle, Preston, West Bromwich, Manchester plus many more.
I don’t worry about any of my guys leaving for a bigger stage as that’s why they all do it. Much like Drew (Galloway) in 2007 if someone gets a shot at America, I will be the first to congratulate them and once they leave PBW will continue onwards. Don’t get me wrong if I lost all 4 of the names mentioned above at the same time I would probably be a wee bit concerned. That’s when I would look to elevate other wrestlers and create new stars for the company.
Q- PBW has seen a few new faces arrive throughout 2011. Have you been happy with their performances?
A – Yes without a doubt. Jack Jester for example has been wrestling for a number of years now but as I have told him myself his ‘gimmick’ just didn’t do it for me for a number of years. It wasn’t till early last year I took another look and realised that we were onto something here. He went from being a wee boy with a rosey red face and long hair to this intense, scary looking man that the kids and older fans just love to hate. He is charismatic and a solid performer in the ring and I am very happy to have him on board. Another two who have really impressed me are Joe Coffey and Scott Maverick. Both have not been wrestling very long in fact Maverick was trained by myself and Colin McKay and only made his debut in March 2011 I am sure it was. I think these two and Jester will all play a big part in PBW through 2012 and hopefully we can get some outside talent in to really test Coffey and Maverick.
Q- Well we might as well ask at one point. What are the chances of Kid Fite appearing at the Magnum Centre or Vikingar Centre in 2012 ?
A – haha I knew you would ask this. Never say never but the chances are slim as I really believe if I want to promote the best shows I can promote I need to be on the floor taking care of things and not worrying about a match. Saying that the venue manager in Inverness has been asking me to wrestle on one of our shows up there so we will see. Kid Fite vs. BT Gunn. Sharpshooter, ring the bell haha.
Q – 2011 saw PBW open up its second training school under the Scottish Pro Wrestling Academy banner. How is that going and is there any plans to open up more schools?
A- 2011 was a big year for our training system with us moving our classes to Barrhead Sports Centre. The move though has been a success with all our students making the move with us and a whole bunch of new students joining the school. TJ Rage who was one of the original SPWA trainees 5 years ago has also just opened SPWA – Airdrie at the Airdrie Leisure Centre. Training there is going well and it’s just a case of us trying to get the numbers up for TJ through 2012. I am sure though when we return to the Airdrie Town Hall this year we can raise some awareness.
I would love to open up more schools perhaps one in the Fife area and one in Ayrshire but for now we will focus on building up the new school in Airdrie.
Q – Is there any students we should watch out for in 2012?
A – Scott Maverick is the latest student to break through onto main shows for not just PBW but for a number of companies all over the UK and even for Danish Pro Wrestling. I expect he will continue to breakout during 2012. Also we have JD Bravo and Saqib Ali who will be getting the opportunity to impress on more shows and both making a positive impression last year.
Q – Glasgow based Insane Championship Wrestling book a number of the SPWA students and give them experience working in an over 18 show environment. How do you feel about this ?
A – I think it’s fantastic, ICW have had a great year and it’s great to see so many of our guys on their roster. I always say to the students that you need to be able to entertain any crowd and working for ICW is great experience for them. It can be an intimidating crowd at ICW so it’s great to see the younger students such as Chris Rampage and Davey Blaze really come into their own there and work the crowd perfectly. I should also take this opportunity to thank British Championship Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Elite, Complete Revolution Wrestling, Phoenix Pro Wrestling, North East Wrestling Society, Preston City Wrestling and Danish Pro Wrestling for giving our guys the opportunities they did during 2011.
Q – What do you think of the ICW TV deal ?
A – I think it’s great for everyone involved. ICW have built up a great following and are a very story driven product which works really well for them. Fans can attend the shows then watch the Monday Night Braw show and catch all the backstage interviews as well as a repeat of all the action. Now it’s even better as they will be able to watch the shows back on Sky TV. I have wrestled all over Europe and not to knock on other countries but I believe that the Scottish wrestling scene is the strongest in Europe especially when you consider the size of the country. I think the TV deal will open Scottish wrestling in general to a whole new fan base and will only create more work for the boys as promoters from down south will be able to watch them on TV. Once again I tip my hat to you Mark Dallas.
Q – Finally is there any message you would like to give to the PBW fans?
A- Firstly thank you for your continued support. Hopefully we are past the worst of this recession and we can begin to really expand now. We need all your help. Tell your friends and family about us, bring them to shows and link them to our facebook page. We will continue to book the very best wrestlers available in Europe and will work around the clock to make PBW and British wrestling in general big something we can all be proud of.
Q- Thanks for your time Ross
A – Thanks guys
