The Katz Files – Arnie Katz
Jason Deadrich Talks ChickFight!
The Kingfish Arnie Katz brings you the highlights of a major interview with Jason Deadrich, owner and founder of the all-female wrestling promotion ChickFight.
Jason Deadrich Talks ChickFight!
Jason Deadrich, owner of the fast-growing ChickFight promotion, gave an exclusive interview to HEW Entertainment internet radio show.
Here are the major points he made during this illuminating session.
Jason Deadrich explained that ChickFight is an all-female wrestling promotion that started back in 2004 in the US and then expanded in the UK. At first, it ran female wrestling tournaments in conjunction with other promotions. Now, ChickFight is fully launched as an independent promotion, including a weekly television show and live cards.
Deadrich has an extensive background in the wrestling business. He has worked in the business for about 14 years, the last four with ChickFight. “I first got involved in wrestling when I went to Roland Alexander’s training school,” he recalled. When wrestling turned out to be the hardest physical task he’d ever attempted, Jason decided to continue his association with pro wrestling in an outside-the-ring position.
“People said the first show wouldn’t draw,” Deadrich remarked ruefully, “and they were right. We drew about 100 people.” The second show drew 150, but one of them was David Meltzer, who wrote a highly favorable report in which he called one of the tournament matches the best women’s contest he’d ever seen.. “That gave is a great amount of publicity and inspired us!”
The live cards are structured as TV tapings, Deadrich said, because ChickFight has a one-hour show that airs in many US markets as well as five foreign countries.
Asked how ChickFight corrals such big names as Jazz and Roxxi Laveaux, Jason observed that, “It gets easier as you go along. In the early days of a promotion, you have to prove credibility to both the fans and the wrestlers. Once the wrestlers start appearing on your shows and they see the product and take pride in it, it becomes a little easier.”
He said that Jazz had appeared on ChickFight 5 and gotten to the finals of the tournament and that Roxxi Laveaux had wrestled (as Nikki Roxx) in the very first ChickFight tournament, way back in
Deadrich said that ChickFight has released DVD’s – ChickFight 1-9 – that present all the tournaments. The latest DVD title, ChickFight 9.5, features a star-studded TV taping. Deadrich added that all DVD titles can be purchased at ChickFight.TV.
In addition, ChickFight has struck a deal with Big Vision Entertainment. ChickFight now offers a boxed set through Big Vision called Gold Rush with complete footage of tournaments four, five and six. The boxed set is available at leading retail outlets.
ChickFight also sells tickets to its events at ChickFight.TV. “We just try to be as accessible as possible,” he stated. “We try to leverage the Internet as much as possible.” He pointed out that you can buy individual matches as downloads on ChickFight.TV. He added that the file format makes it possible to burn the match onto a disk for permanent storage.
“I always try to produce what I would consume,” Deadrich stated. “If I buy something online, I want to be able to put it on DVD, a phone or my iPod.” Jason admitted that he has all the ChickFight matches on his phone so he can watch them during plane flights.
The ChickFight owner reveals that the promotion is looking at TV networks like MTV. He recalled that they have done wrestling in the past. “We’re always looking for new opportunities.”
Jason talked about the May 4 TV taping in the UK. Cheerleader Melissa was there, making her only UK appearance. “If you didn’t see it live, you can download matches at ChickFight.TV.”
Deadrich identified Japan as a good source of talent for ChickFight. He mentioned Awesome Kong and several other big Japanese names. “We always like bring in international flavor,” he noted. “I just like to show off the best possible product.”
“The United Kingdom has a ton of wrestling history, but it doesn’t have a lot of female wrestling history,” Deadrich stated. He prayed Sweet Saraya, an English wrestler, for her talent. “Without a doubt there’s talent there, but it hasn’t been exposed yet.”
Asked what female wrestler he would most like to have wrestle for ChickFight, the affable owner said: “That’s a tough one. We’ve used over 50 female wrestlers on our shows. The list of those we haven’t used is getting smaller and smaller. We’ve been really fortunate to get just about all the female wrestlers we’ve wanted. We keep our eyes peeled.”
“We’ve done some inter-gender matches and we are tied very closely to APW,” he said. Deadrich asserted that sometimes the women outclass the men.
Commenting on the demographics, Deadrich admitted that he didn’t pre-plan. He did shows and saw who came to them. “We do about a 1:1 ratio of males to females in attendance. They love to see strong females who are empowered. It’s not just a Diva-type show.”
The next move for ChickFight is a series of shows in England scheduled for the rest of 2008. “We’re going to continue to do TV tapings in England and then we’ll return to the West Coast for a couple more TV tapings before the end of the year.”
Another big item on the horizon is a show in conjunction with the Cauliflower Alley Reunion week in Las Vegas.
Deadrich conceded that it’s tough to make a buck in independent wrestling, but he also cited achievements including the TV show, the line of DVDs and the fact that ChickFight’s brand name is getting out there and becoming well known. “When you have someone like Cheerleader Melissa out there spreading the word, it inspires you.”
He revealed that ChickFight is building a core of wrestlers including Melissa, Daizee Haze, Awesome Kong and others.
He said that, for now, ChickFight doesn’t plan to institute a title. Jason believes to do so would be premature at this point, though it is something to consider as the promotion expands.
Deadrich is proud of the company’s pay-off schedule. “We make sure that we pay them well, because we want them to return.”
He admitted that the goal is to make the promotion reach the heights. Deadrich said that there’s a lot of men’s wrestling, but not as much in the women’s wrestling field. “The possibilities are endless.”
“I’m not a big believer in over-the-top, crazy stuff. I let the matches speak for themselves,” he commented, with reference to ChickFight storylines. He mentioned that “King of the Indies” was a template for what ChickFight does. “It’s all about the wrestlers on our show.” He said that he is not interested in writing a soap opera.
He extended wishes for prosperity to those who promote the sexy aspects, but he is insistent that ChickFight is a breed apart. “That is not our product,” he adamantly maintained.
ChickFight now is partnered with FSM (formerly Fighting Spirit Magazine), which Jason called “one of the best wrestling publications.” But if any of the ChickFight women have aspirations of appearing in Playboy, Jason stated that it was “strictly up to them. I don’t do that. I don’t dictate what our wrestlers do on their personal time.”
If he had to pick a champion right now, it would be Cheerleader Melissa. . “She has been fantastic for us,” he stated.
He said that he grew up in an era when female wrestling was treated as a novelty, like the midgets, but he also watched Japanese promotions, which treat women’s wrestling seriously. When he started to look for opponents for APW’s female performers, he discovered that there are a lot of skilled women competitors. “There’s a lot of talent, but it’s spread out,” he said. ChickFight has brought many of the best together for it’s all-female events.
He feels that, thanks to ChickFight and Shimmer, perceptions about female wrestling are changing in the United States. Deadrich believes that it’s good for the fans and good for the business. He feels that some young female wrestlers might tune in the Diva wrestling and be turned off to the whole idea.
Jason feels that good product like ChickFight, Shimmer and the TNA Knockout division inspire. “I believe that each and every woman in the Knockout division share our vision. That’s why we have shared a lot of that talent.” He mentioned Awesome Kong, Traci Brooks, Peyton Banks and other top names.
“She’s always been real, real cool to work with,” said Jason of Traci Brooks. “She’s very high on my list of women.” He declined to mention those at the lower end of that list.
The locker room is pretty much the same, Deadrich claims. He said that there are cliques and politics in both. “The only difference is the gender.”
“We are fine-tuning the deal,” he said of pay per view. “We’ve been pretty lucky when we take our product to the networks and advertising buyers. They are always intrigued. It’s unique, different.”
Jason Deadrich doesn’t disparage other female-centered produces like Girls Gone Wild, but he is firm in his conviction that there are enough talented women out there to make a strong and competitive female wrestling promotion that isn’t just sexy.
“We’re drawing an average of 500 fans per show,” Jason said. He sees 300 as the industry average, so anything more shows real progress. Deadrich pointed to Pro Wrestling Revolution as an indy promotion on the rise, with crowds of 1,500 or more.
Looking to the future, the ChickFight chief likened it to a roller coasts ride. Right now, he said. ChickFight is slowly ascending and he hopes to see it take off. “It’s a fun ride,” he declared. “I know it’s going to be wild and crazy. I hope the roller coaster doesn’t throw me off.”
Jason Deadrich ended with a plea for constructive feedback. “That’s how we’ll grow.”
– Arnie Katz
Prowrestlingdaily.com
(5/16/08)
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