Promoting the places you work is a valuable part of a pro wrestler’s toolkit. That’s one thing Impact Wrestling star “All Ego” Ethan Page and Cageside Seats’ Brent Brookhouse talked about this week on the Bitter Boys Club.
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Here’s a highlight that generated from a discussion about Impact announcing Page’s two year contract he signed a few months back:
Page: My interpretation is that they were like, “Hey, we got a lot of good press announcing we’d signed Josh Alexander. So maybe we should announce all the people who signed extensions with us.” That’s why they announced Sami signed a contract, Fallah Bahh signed a contract and I signed a contract too.
It’s smart. You want to tell your fans, “Yo, we see value in these guys. We’re keeping them around.”
Brookhouse: Plus there are a million wrestling news sites that will pick up each one as a story and you stay in the news cycle.
Page: Exactly. They probably saw the social media numbers and were like, “Wait, he’s not the only one under contract. We should talk about all of our people.” I’m happy to talk about it, I’m happy to announce it, and that fan trying to roast me for promoting a place that pays my mortgage … kiss my ass. I’ve always been that guy. That’s the way I’m wired. I could get a job at Toys R Us tomorrow as a VP in Canada and I’d promote that more than anywhere else.
Dude I get that ur signed with them but hop off that dick. U never did the same 4 Evolve. Won’t B long until u tweet ur departure from them. @RealJeffCobb could wrestle a broomstick and it would be better than any of ur matches. Beyond Criminal that he wasn’t on all in an u were.
— Jesus Gutierrez (@RichfieldGod) March 5, 2019
That’s. My. Job. I. Work. There. I. Am. An. Employee.
But people forget that when it comes to wrestlers. They just assume because I show up and wrestle between the ropes that that’s my job. But I disagree. I always disagree. I think we have to be held accountable for more than just our (performance in the ring).
Brent: There are a lot of jobs that don’t include things like that. But as a media member, when I wrote for Bloody Elbow, I was pushing everything they did. Then when I moved on to MMAjunkie, I wasn’t promoting the place I used to work, I was promoting the place I work now. Through the entire FloSlam thing, even when I knew FloSlam was doomed, I was trying to get people in the door because that was my job. There are certain jobs -- wrestling, media, a lot of places where your job is to build up what you’re doing right now.
I mean, sure, you’re 4-10 in Impact, but you’re still plugging it.
Page: Wait, you know my record?
Brent: Cagematch knows your record.
Page: 4-10?! That’s so bad!