Mainstream advertisers HATE wrestling. The King of Sports is a murky world full of death, drug abuse, sexual rivalry, dishonesty and men pretending to be undertakers. Ironically, a podcast about any one of those topics would immediately find sponsorship, but as soon as you introduce spandex to the mix, advertisers look the other way. That’s something you only discover when you’ve spent two years of your life doing a podcast about wrestling.

Wrestle Me! has always done decent numbers – we topped the iTunes Sports chart, GQ celebrated us, our live shows always sell out and our merchandise flies out the door. But Pete and I have never made any money from the podcast, largely because sophisticated advertisers place us in a similar category to podcasts about cock-fighting or dogging. They don’t want their precious products placed in our foul and disgusting wrestling-loving mouths.

After two years of producing weekly shows for a dedicated following and zero requests to voice anything for a bank, we decided the time was right to start a Patreon. Of course, the timing couldn’t have been any more wrong – it launched in the first week of an international pandemic, so people understandably had more on their minds than listening to us laughing at obscure wrestling from 30 years ago.

We made the decision to keep the regular weekly podcast free. We didn’t want to force people’s hands and wallets: if you didn’t sign up, you still got the usual show. I know, it’s basically like something Jesus would do if he had a podcast. But if you wanted another full-length show every week, then you could become one of our Pat Pattreonsons (it’s a pathetic pun on the long-retired grappler Pat Patterson, who happens to be one of the openly gay wrestlers in American history.)

Starting a Patreon is the ultimate test of whether people actually like your podcast enough to pay for it (let’s face it, Twitter praise is the equivalent of smiling sadly when you walk past a homeless man). Like stage-diving at a concert, Patreons end in one of two ways – either (a) people stretch their hands out, catch you and you ride a wave of communal enjoyment and love and joy, or (b) you jump, everyone quickly takes two steps back, and you land face-first on a hard floor, breaking your jaw in two, before the bouncers drag you out because you won’t stop screaming.

Happily, we didn’t break our jaws. On the first day, people signed up in their hundreds. By the second month, the number of Pat Patreonssons was even bigger than the month before and it grows day by day. While people enjoyed the extra shows, a lot of our listeners just wanted to show their support for a show they’d enjoyed since it started. And for us, it means the show’s future is now secure.

One of the reasons it’s succeeded is because Pete and I wanted our subscribers to feel they get more than we’d promised. We regularly chuck out surprise episodes, have a monthly newsletter (which is an actual magazine full of all-new stuff), and build proper relationships with our listeners. Everyone with a Patreon reels this line out, but we wanted to make it feel like a club. Our upcoming Patreon shows cover an event requested by the Patreonsons – the future of Wrestle Me! is being dictated by them as much as us.

The success of the Patreon means Wrestle Me! isn’t going to suddenly die any time soon. In that respect, we couldn’t be less like most of the wrestlers we love. Wrestle Me, Pod Bible!

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The post The Financial Side of a Wrestling Podcast // Wrestle Me appeared first on POD BIBLE.

The stress the comes with being the face of one of the most successful independent wrestling companies in the world aside, Matt was also taking on the challenge of making a beloved wrestling podcast his own. “Obviously there was a little pressure given how successful Jim’s run was, but I always wanted to take it in another direction,” Matt told me via email. “I knew I was less ‘known’ in comparison, but I wanted to use that to my advantage and put the content first.”

Even though Matt was new to podcasting, with only a few episodes briefly hosting a podcast previously under his belt, he brings with him three key advantages: he’s been in the U.K. wrestling scene for over a decade, he’s an experienced professional presenter and wrestling commentator, and he has the Distraction Pieces Network behind him. “We’ve got a little group chat which is lovely as we’ve all gotten to know each other a little better. It also helps motivate me when I listen to other people’s work.” The network is full of experienced podcasters covering a variety of topics, helmed by Distraction Pieces podcast host Scroobius Pip, himself a wrestling fan. “When Jim decided to round up his time on Tuesday Night Jaw, Matt was the natural replacement,” Pip told me. “His experience within and outlook on the wrestling world makes him a perfect fit.”

Smallman had created a recognizable group of episode categories that fans grew to love and anticipate. List episodes featured top tens, Round Table episodes showcased a panel of guests, Q&A’s answered a mailbag of listener queries, and TNJ Meets were interviews with industry insiders. Matt’s first episode as host after Smallman’s departure was his own take on TNJ Meets, chatting with referee Chris Sharpe about his career and life as an American now living in the U.K. full-time. “I had a game plan of a slow transition from the old style and concepts into the content I wanted to produce,” explained Richards, “things like Bryan vs Goliath and now The Anatomy Of.”

One of Richards’ first steps outside of the tried-and-true episode formats included breaking down two of his favourite matches, followed by a three-part series covering a best-of-five between Bryan Danielson and Takeshi Morishima. “Although the production is pretty rough, the ‘Bryan vs Goliath’ series was the start of what I wanted the podcast to be going forward,” he began. “’You Get Out As Much As You Put In’ then continued it further as I wanted to make episodes for people in the business as well, whether that be wrestlers, production or promoters.”

The “You Get Out…” episode he mentions was full of advice for those just starting out in, or already a part of, the wrestling industry, signifying another change as the host works “towards more stand alone episodes, episodes that aren’t reactive to what’s happening but rather their own thing that can hopefully still be relevant when people find them in the archive later,” he described. “Having people enjoy that type of episode, give feedback on it or find it later on is really cool.”

Now, with the new “Anatomy Of…” episodes, Richards’ is blending both the fan and insider perspective by breaking down more of wrestling itself, the visual and storytelling aspects we can all enjoy. This series even comes with new artwork, which Richards shares is inspired by “Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History and how each series has its own identity,” and provided by Shoto Design. The true selling point, though, is that the series and the podcast as a whole provide Matt with an opportunity to tap into what he truly loves about wrestling as an industry and an art form, which is evident to every listener. “The addition of his special mini documentary episodes have been a revelation for me as a listener, and his new “Anatomy of…” shows see Matt taking it up a level again,” shared Pip. 

“When Jim started Tuesday Night Jaw, he always wanted it to be a positive representation of wrestling and I feel exactly the same way,” the current host expresses. “I want people to discover wrestlers or matches they might have never seen. I want people to hopefully find some value in any advice I give whether a wrestler or not. Basically I want people to think ‘I know it’s a pretty weird thing to like but it’s also pretty cool that I’m not the only one that likes it!’”

Matt Richards is the ring announcer for PROGRESS Wrestling and hosts the Tuesday Night Jaw podcast, which is part of the Distraction Pieces Network. He can be found preening over Football Manager on Twitter @mrichardshost

Jordan Rizzieri/The Lady J is a podcast host, writer, and wrestling fan currently based in the suburbs of New York City, and the Online Editor for the Pod Bible blog. You can listen to her I Never Told You What I Do For A Living podcast, or follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

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