Let me be clear. Howard T. Brody was not
"forced out" of the presidency of PWO. Howard worked hard - perhaps too hard. And it cost him personally and professionally. His book
"Swimming With Piranhas" was appropriately titled. Had it not been for Howard, Dennis Coralluzzo and Steve Rickard, the brand would have remained in mothballs. It was an intensely rough time for Brody for a variety of reasons; none that need to be written about herein.
It is always easy for someone who has no stake in the game to criticize. Booking the champion was not a requirement to remain a member. The cost of that booking and the perceived box office appeal were important factors. Steve Corino was nearby to my area (New Jersey). Great worker and draw that he is, we didn't have to fund an airplane ride and a room for Steve.
Adam Pearce is also a top shelf worker and has significant turnstile draw. But for those of us on the opposite side of the USA, just his round trip airfare from California and two nights in a hotel came to more than 35% of the entire show cost if not more.
The title of this thread is apropos; albeit it in a spin-off of sorts. PWO happened upon a potential gold mine the day we began an association with TNA. It had amazing possibilities. It carried nothing that even remotely resembled a burden. However, true to form, we (as Joe Pesci said in "Casino")
"f***ed it all up." Predictably, TNA ended the relationship. A few in PWO were happy. It was and remains my opinion that PWO shot itself in the chest with a howitzer.
Given the circumstances and the unquestionable stupidity, I would have cut PWO loose too had I been a TNA bigwig.
PWO had deteriorated into a mess. Mistrust, paranoia and backroom chicanery ruled the roost - - no one's hands were spotless in this regard. The Annual Shows stopped - for the good since some were textbook examples of a
"cluster f***."In 2005, I and the former member in the State of Virginia collaborated to flesh-out an idea that I had on my mind over the preceding 10 months. We agreed that the existing protocol of a President, VP, Board of Directors, etc. was, in honesty, a cast of cartoon characters (the offices, not the people serving in them; in most cases). PWO needed one person at its' helm; a person empowered to make decisions as needed without seeking the blessing of a majority beforehand.
Hence, the Executive Director concept was hatched and adopted
unanimously at the following day's Annual Meeting.
Finally, I speak to the mistaken conclusion that some PWO members did not promote. What does
"promote" mean? Does it mean, as it was used in PWO days, that the actual member had to be a vested principal in or so much as attend the actual show? Or did it mean that the member only had to have the required number of shows take place under the organization's brand annually within their territory?
The answer is the latter. A few challenges were made as to whether or not some had fulfilled this requirement. Every challenge was set aside as having zero basis-in-fact. Branded shows were, in fact, promoted within territorial boundaries and that's all that mattered. If you own a fast food franchise, do you, yourself, have to work behind the counter? Of course not.
PWO offered its' members a liability insurance policy for use by the member and their associates/affiliates. Especially in States with an insurance requirement, this tangible benefit took an enormous money cost off the back of the promoter. And while I know the legitimacy of that policy was challenged, the challenge was never addressed in a court of law and, to my knowledge, no claim was ever made.
None of this is foreign to this perhaps-cursed three-letter acronym. Research into the pre-PWO days will yield the result that the brand was always a maze of insanity. Promoters battled and even sabotaged one another. When Vince, Jr. decided to
"rule the world" it was an easy coup. The idiots were so entrenched in arguing that it was child's play. A house divided cannot - and did not - stand.
The workers will move on. As they should, they will dress and wrestle for anyone who will pay their fee. Loyalty is heartwarming. But when it becomes a detriment, you have to exit like a gentleman/woman and move forward in pursuit of your dream.
I want to go on record. PWO had a fascinating way of doing business (if you can benevolently call it that). After a number of years, it became entertaining. An annual love fest at the Annual Meeting and then the backstabbing resumed once everyone board their planes homeward. There were many
"Ralph Kramden" moments. One guy had an international television deal on the cusp, another saw action figures and video games and yet another an energy drink that would have made us modern era Yogi Berras hyping YooHoo.
Other than TNA, nothing ever got off (if it were ever on) the drawing board.
Now? It's all just memories.
And so it goes . . .