An Introduction to Navigating the Digital Landscape for Pro Wrestling

Originally published on Substack and reprinted here. Yes, I now have a Substack page specifically for, as mentioned below, "Stories about the intersection of social media and pro wrestling." 

Those pieces will be reprinted here because, although I may neglect this poor thing, I can't bring myself to abandon it.

Introduce Yourself, right on!

 

Welp, that’s what I’m here to do.

 

My name is Michael Melchor. Believe it or not, I’m doing school work as I write this. Sort of.

 

Most current and pertinent to this space, I am in the final semester of my Master’s degree at Indiana University. My thesis is a creative one detailing the book that will be born from it.

 

The title of the book? Social Media Is a Work: Navigating the Digital Landscape for Pro Wrestling. I am building a guide for independent professional wrestlers on the best ways to create and utilize digital platforms. In doing so, I can help independent professional wrestlers build the foundation to attract a following to carry through their pro wrestling careers. The guide is meant for those willing to turn pro wrestling into their career, as the information herein is intended to help pro wrestling performers and social media influencers alike grow their digital platform and convert that into a steady business.

 

I understand that seems a very specific niche to target. But I also believe others using social media to further their brand can also benefit from this, as they will be able to understand the concept of selling an engaging persona by using social media and marketing. With pro wrestling being a unique realm in entertainment that employs charisma and creative storytelling, the traits needed to succeed in pro wrestling can translate to a wider audience online.

 

 

So, Why Me?

 

I can see people asking who am I to do this? What qualifies me to be the expert on this specific intersection?

 

How is Started vs How it Ended, in Logo form

I worked as Digital Media Manager for Ohio Valley Wrestling (yes, that OVW) from November of 2019 to November of 2022. During this time, I managed all of the company’s social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube) as well as its website. That meant planning and scheduling content, creating graphics, scheduling and posting, working with Al Snow and the creative team at OVW to ensure characterization and stories were kept consistent while simultaneously promoting live events and driving tickets sales via online promotion.

 

In May of 2022, I also began my tenure as Digital Media Manager at Grindhouse Pro Wrestling, a separate company based in Jeffersonville, Indiana. I currently serve in that role, doing everything listed above only at a different company. And, instead of Al Snow, the people I work with to ensure characterization and stories are kept consistent while simultaneously promoting live events and driving tickets sales via online promotion are owner 2 Tuff Tony (TNA, JCW) and Head Trainer/Booker “Reverend” Ronnie Roberts (OVW, Netflix’s “Wrestlers” series). The “Social Media and Marketing Seminar” that I conducted for Grindhouse Pro Wrestling in 2022 was gathered, organized, and presented as an instructional course rather than telling a story. The origins of this project can be traced back to that.

 

There are several other companies I have worked for, largely in social media and digital media capacities. I started filming shows and working on video in Orlando, FL in 2012. I spent almost three years with Frank Goodman’s Pro Wrestling Xtreme, which reverted back to the name of his new York promotion USA Pro Wrestling. I served as a Social media Consultant for CHIKARA in 2019 until the company folded in 2020. My primary responsibility was working a younger crew of talent learning about pro wrestling outside of the ring. I served that same role for Camp Leapfrog from late 2020 (after CHIKARA had folded) until Spring of 2021 (when Leapfrog also sadly folded).

 

In early 2023, I was also Head of production for New Wave Pro (where I filmed, directed and edited their live events for IWTV and other outlets)  until – you might start noticing a pattern, and I swear I’m not the cause – it also went on indefinite hiatus in 2023.

And then there is the academic aspect. The combination of social media and pro wrestling, from a business and (specifically) marketing standpoint, has been the primary focus of my Master’s in Interdisciplinary Studies since I began that track in Fall of 2020. The amount of research done on both topics and where they meet leave me cross-eyed two-to-three times per week.

 

To that end, I have also done academic presentations on the subject. One of the most notable ones was done for the IU Southeast Student Conference and built around a narrative thread. “How Social Media Led to the Creation of Another National Pro Wrestling Company” told a story of the creation of All Elite Wrestling and how the use of digital platforms largely made it possible.

 

 

So What Can You Expect Here?

 

The short answer: Stories about the intersection of social media and pro wrestling, and how can affect the other and vice versa. SPOILER ALERT: That starts tomorrow with an analysis of Karrion Killer Kross and the disconnect between the digital landscape and the real world.

 

The longer answer: Various things may occupy this space. It could well be a place wherein I document the process of creating this guide. It could be short missives of pro wrestling stories with a digital component or angle to them. Anything from advice to analysis to documentation containing the intersection of pro wrestling and digital media.

 

It’s honestly tough to say because even I’m not 100% sure. I’m basically here to work out ideas, conduct research and gather ideas and thoughts for the thesis and (ultimately) the book. But I can say with certainty that whatever is published here will, in some way, shape or form, stick to the topic of the intersection of pro wrestling and digital media.

 

There will certainly be exclusive / standalone pieces like the aforementioned Karrion Killer Kross analysis. There may be some short thoughts. Informal survey questions (not to be used as academic data but more for ideas). Brief (or long) missives on current related stories. We’ll find out together.

 

Thank you for reading and (if you so choose) embarking on this process and journey with me. As Lash LeRoux* would have said in late-90s / early-00s WCW, “Laissez les bon temps rouler!”

 

*Fun fact: I once dated his brother’s ex-wife. Does that count as experience toward this project?