For the last 15 years, I've worked to build and solidify MCW as a brand and a reliable and enjoyable entertainment destination for family friendly, yet hard hitting professional wrestling in the City of Brantford. I've seen triumphs and I've made more mistakes than I care to admit, but those mistakes have provided me with some epic opportunities to lean and to get better along the way.

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Year one, to be 100% honest, I really had no idea what I was doing and I relied heavily on those with more experience. I spent a good portion of my time talking to mentors, and soaking things up like a sponge. The following years, while they've had their challenges, I'm happy to report that it has become easier and my planning and organization when putting together a show has become far more efficient.

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The difference between when we first started and today are like night and day. The stresses that  I dealt with at the beginning are still there, but the reason BEHIND my stress is far different. When I was building MCW, most of my stress came from realizing I had neglected to do, or had forgotten to do something. Or it would come from doing something, but doing it the wrong way. Or, it would surface from not dealing with situations in the best manner possible. Or not knowing how to go through booking a talent in the right way. Or the best way. 

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Stress was evident in venue booking as well. While the booking process seemed easy enough, the majority of my issues would then be dealing with the person in charge of said venue.

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I am sure that MCW is not the only promotion with venue related issues. I'm also sure that several promotions can relate to those in charge either A) Not understanding or appreciating what we can bring them. Or B) becoming upset over the most minute of things.

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A good example of this would be when booking shows at a legion. I can't count the amount of times I would speak to a treasurer or a bartender or a janitor at these establishments regarding having our event advertised on their marquees only to hear "Oh, we have music that night, or oh, we have our weekly meat raffle that needs advertisement".

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And while music and meat raffles are great, it became like pulling teeth trying to explain to their staff that professional wrestling is special. It is a novelty that isn't always in town and that they would be wise to advertise it front and center on their marquee.

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Another surprising thing I would run into is a staff member taking an issue with what talent would sell. Or our wanting to sell pizza or other types of food, for fear that we would take away from their money making options. Once again this would come up in conversation and conflict more often than it certainly should have.

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At one point, it cost a venue our business due to an argument over a $6.00 bag of candy. Let me ask you, if you are receiving several hundreds of dollars throughout the year per event, would you be upset over someone selling $6.00 worth of candy? Another shining example of people that just don't understand business.

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Throughout the years, I've been extremely fortunate to learn from some of the absolute best in the scene, and I will be forever grateful for that. In that time we have amassed what I would consider to be the GREATEST roster, and we continue to showcase new talent whenever possible and we try to listen to fan feedback to bring in different stars in different areas of the province and even from different countries.

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I have also learned so much about how important it is to have both talent and staff that is reliable and that truly appreciate the vision of MCW. 

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During my time as a promoter (Something that I love but have kept very close to the vest as far as me being the man behind it all) I've also learned that sometimes you need to make some hard decisions. Again, I've been so very fortunate in having some great people to reach out to when making those decisions. Sometimes those decisions involve taking the company in a different direction, or needing to ask someone to step aside in order to upgrade a certain area of a show. Those conversations can be very difficult to have, but I have come to realize that to really elevate, sometimes, they are necessary.

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Promoting while amazingly rewarding and enjoyable to do also has it's challenges. From putting up posters (which is actually my least favorite thing to do) to handing out flyers, to ensuring that we have all the necessary equipment, from music equipment, to camera equipment to a working laptop to something as simple as a proper extension cord to ensure a spotlight comes on. It's the smallest of details that are the most important.

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It's also about ensuring all matches are set for a show, it's about last minute changes if something comes up and someone can't make it. It's about having extra backup options on hand for just such occasions. It's about contacting your talent roster to make sure that they bring their music and then organizing that music onto your laptop and making sure it all works before the bell rings. These are the things when I first started back in 2010 that I wouldn't be thinking about because most of the time, I had NO IDEA that I would need to be thinking about these things until I had no other choice but to deal with them.

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Then there's the other side of promotion like making sure that your sponsors are happy and well represented. Ensuring that you have enough content going up on company pages and youtube videos etc. etc. It's again timing that content so you always have something new and fresh. It's about creative meetings and thinking of different cool segments and videos that you can do when you are in between shows. Perhaps most important of all, and this is something that I had to drill into someone's head, is that absolutely no one cares about a match that happened 2 to 3 months ago, regardless of how epic said match is. So to put that match up on youtube at that time? Mostly will result in a meh, it's FINALLY up. That type of reaction is a disservice to not only your talent but to your fans, and as a company is not a good look, nor something to be proud of.

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Yes, we did need to have this addressed and now, thankfully, it is no longer a problem. 

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All of the above is to once again highlight RELIABILITY. If you don't have reliable talent and music, and camera crew and ring crew etc. you are simply shooting yourself in the foot.

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To stay on that trend, reliability also comes down to your sponsors as well. Sponsors are one of the most important aspects of a show. So while ensuring that you do right by your sponsor is important, it is also equally as important to make sure that your sponsors truly support and understand their roles. If for whatever reason it is determined that a sponsor is just not a good fit, it is better to cut ties than to move forward. This is yet another difficult thing that as a promoter, I've had to learn, and it came as a surprise simply because a sponsor neglected to honor their first booking and instead chose to conduct their business in a way that does not align with the practices of MCW, and that's okay because it once again provided an opportunity to learn and grow.

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Now, it's all about onwards and upwards. Directing our focus to ensure that we elevate in all aspects from matches to equipment. I have a list now of new goals to upgrade and address several different things before our next event in November and I am excited to get to work with our roster and our staff that are now in place and in it for the long haul.

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What we have now is what I consider to be the MCW Family, and I wouldn't have it any other way!

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This gives a little glimpse into the inner workings of promoting, and perhaps an interesting read into part of this business that very few truly understand.

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In the coming weeks and months on this site, keep on the lookout because we will be having some guest columnists in this section to provide their insight and some stories and experiences that I think you'll find extremely enjoyable!

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I hope that this hits you all in the external occipital protuberance (Gorilla Monsoon would be proud!) 

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-Too Magnificent Nicky Martin