The show will go on, at least for one more event as IMPACT Wrestling star Ethan Page has found a way to still host a live wrestling event online this afternoon.
Page spoke with Wrestlezone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard ahead of this afternoon’s stream on his YouTube channel. “Ethan Page’s Body Guy Extravaganza” was originally scheduled to take place today in Tampa as part of WrestleCon, but the ongoing coronavirus pandemic put a halt to those plans and it has the wrestling world waiting to see when things might bounce back.
Page says this situation definitely put things into perspective for him but it’s still a financial strain on him and the entire professional wrestling world. Wrestling talent is used to getting attention, and now they’re adjusting to being at home and finding new ways to not only engage with fans, but provide for their respective families. He noted that he would have made $5,000 for his respective WrestleMania weekend bookings before he even sold any merchandise and while he remains grateful for the extra time at home with his family, the financial issue has been crippling.
If there are any positives right now, people in a position to help out have stepped up to the plate all over the world, including seeing the professional wrestling world taking care of their own. IMPACT Wrestling is still paying talent despite needing to cancel their March and April events, which included today’s originally scheduled ‘TNA: There’s No Place Like Home’ event in Tampa and Lockdown in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
“Scott D’Amore fought for the guys on the roster and realized that it wasn’t our fault that these shows got canceled. We were—not expecting, but planning for the money coming in and he made sure to take care of us. I’m very grateful for Scott, and especially Ed [Nordholm] and Len [Asper] at Anthem.”
“I did a live Q&A and raffled off some action figures and just chatting with fans and made $250. For me and my family, that’s a week and a half of groceries. For them to be able to say ‘Here’s for this week, don’t stress…’ Just the collective of everybody, that’s the real heartwarming part,” Page said. “People might not even give money but just appreciating something I’ve put up on YouTube during this crazy time… like I said, all wrestlers want attention.” [laughs]
One other takeaway is that IMPACT—along with NWA and MLW—still has new content waiting to air due to their taping schedules. Public opinion has been divided on companies like WWE and AEW continuing to run shows during the pandemic, asking if it’s worth risking the health of performers even when every precaution is taken and in the name of entertaining fans. Page estimates IMPACT having two or three weeks of content left to air from their most recent television tapings and he doesn’t know what the company will do next.
“I don’t envy anyone on the writing team. Josh Alexander and I are stuck in Canada, so we can’t even cross the border until all of this clears. I suggested I vlog something for me and Josh, whether it’s us going to beat someone up—Cody Deaner lives in Canada, [Cousin] Jake Something is American, they can’t even meet up together—but I honestly don’t know. Everyone that has a company, this is why I’ve been trying to be as understanding as possible. Nobody knows what’s going on, so for us to blame someone that has no control over what’s happening,” Page said, “we all just need to be nice to each other and try and help each other out. We’ll get through it and it will end, everything will get back to normal—hopefully, eventually—we just have to get through this crap right now.”
The current situation could last another twelve weeks based on current estimates, which would mean IMPACT has ten weeks of TV to fill before things (hopefully) get back to normal. Page says the shows IMPACT has left does provide a head start for the writers and producers to figure out what’s next, but the content will run out sooner than later. He says he exhausted all of the live wrestling content he had for his blog this week but predicts today’s “Extravaganza” will be the most talked-about thing in his career so far.
The biggest announcement in pro wrestling this week!
Please.
Watch this very important video.
Tag your fav dirt sheet/news site/writer/influencer.We have a limited amount of time to make this as MASSIVE as possible!
YOUR TICKET:https://t.co/gLulgXxR4G#BodyGuyExtravaganza pic.twitter.com/4Pc27rcOBz
— “All Ego” Ethan Page (@OfficialEGO) March 31, 2020
Only being confirmed as still taking place days ago, the Body Guy Extravaganza has a lot of people asking what we’ll actually see on the event later today. Page says anyone on the show swore they’d keep things a secret and people will be very happy with the final product.
Due to how crazy and uncertain things are right now, Page took the financial burden of this event on himself and the show will air for free. He wanted to make sure anyone can watch it live or on archive, and enjoys keeping people on their toes until it finally airs.
“My favorite comments about this entire event being announced are ‘I have no idea how he’s doing it,’ ‘I have no idea what he’s even doing but he’s creative, so screw it, let’s just see what happens.’ That’s what I want, I want people going into this saying ‘I’m intrigued and I hate how vague he is but I really want to see what happens.’ That, to me, is so exciting,” Page said. “I had talent swear to secrecy but I promise you people are performing. Everyone on the show will be performing at 3 o’clock EST today on my YouTube page. I promise you’ll love it.”
“With as crazy as things are right now and with something people are already questioning, I had to make sure whatever we put out was absolutely free, easily accessible to any fan whether they’re at home or at work. It’s a link, everyone has a cell phone. The minute it’s finished the event will be available on replay on my YouTube channel, so the people that have to work, the minute they get home they’re able to watch. I promise you this will be the most talked-about show on WrestleMania weekend—mostly because it’s the only one.” [laughs]
If fans want to show their support to the show, Page or his colleagues, he encouraged people to buy merchandise on the wrestlers’ Pro Wrestling Tees pages. YouTube does support virtual tipping in the form of ‘super likes’ but it’s easier to reach a wrestler directly by buying items from their respective stores. Fans can also subscribe to his channel to help out and watch new vlogs, which shine a positive light on IMPACT and independent wrestling around the world.
The live stream starts at 3 pm EST at this link; check out the full interview below:
