THE TWO SHEDS INTERVIEW by Julian Radbourne
E-mail: twosheds316@aol.com
Website: www.twoshedsreview.com
John Chapman is one of the newer names on the British wrestling scene. The owner of Chapman Promotions, John promoted his first show earlier this year, and recently, he signed an exclusive deal with the American Wrestling Association to become an AWA affiliate promotion here in Britain. I had the opportunity to catch up with John for this exclusive interview.
Julian Radbourne (JR): John, thanks for taking the time out of your schedule for this interview. Let’s start with some background information, where you’re from, that sort of thing.
John Chapman (JC): Well, I live in leafy Hertfordshire, and have been residing here all my life. My real job is a computer engineer and I’ve been doing it 12 years now – in fact it’s the only job I’ve ever done. I really enjoy it, and it allows me to meet lots of different people and go different places. On top of that I’m a single parent of my two and a half year old daughter Lucy, so I’m a pretty busy person.
JR: When did your interest in professional wrestling begin, and who were your favourites back then?
JC: My interest began back in 1991 when I was 14. One of my friends at school got Sky (back then on the old “squarials”), and was picking up WWF. We all went round his house to watch it, and from that point on I was hooked. My initial favourite was the Ultimate Warrior, but then me and my friends started smartening up, and then Ric Flair entered the WWF and won the Rumble – there was such a buzz at school the next day about that. I also remember taping the NWA wrestling at 4am on Saturday mornings, and was surprised to see people such as the Mean Mark Callaway, and then showing everyone what the Undertaker really looked like. We really enjoyed the comedy characters of the day, one of my favourites was the Mountie – he was really funny but he could wrestle. The Warrior-Undertaker-Jake Roberts skits were hilarious, and even this week when I went to a wedding, someone remarked “Is there a snake in that box”….the storylines were goofy, but that made them memorable. We loved impersonating all the wrestlers of the time, real good fun. In fact we had allot fun comparing everyday people in the street to wrestlers. A lot of “nerds” at my school got called Jameson (remember him) back then too. A lot of people don’t like that era of wrestling, but as far as entertainment goes, it certainly entertained me. I also attended a few British shows when my interest took off, and in 1991 I saw the Giant Haystacks at Bournemouth.
JR: When did you decide that you wanted to be a part of the wrestling business?
JC: I started training to be a wrestler in 2001 with Hammerlock and was there for a couple of years on and off. My closest friend in the wrestling business then was Segun Carter, who took me under his wing, but has now retired. I then started a family and devoted most of my time to my family and my job. Well without going into too much information, I became single and suddenly decided I could do more things I wanted. I really wanted to be involved in wrestling again as I had been watching it for so many years, but despite my training I realized realistically my strengths lie mostly behind the scenes. I can still go in the ring if need be though, and I had my little comedy spot in the Rumble at my last event.
JR: Why did you decide to form your own company, Chapman Promotions?
JC: I had trained with Hammerlock a few years back, I knew what really went on behind the scenes, and used to witness Jon Ryan, Andre Bakers right hand man, putting the show together. When me and my Ex split up, I started watching “The Apprentice”, and I really enjoyed watching their challenge of putting tasks together. That’s what inspired me to start running shows. I needed a new challenge.
JR: You held your first show in Ware this past May. How hard was it setting up that first show?
JC: What a lot of people don’t realize is there is a huge amount of logistics that go into running a show – lighting, music, seating, etc let alone actually booking the matches and writing the show. As it was the first time it was pretty hard making the transition from an engineer to a promoter, and on top of that a lot of the people helping were my friends, and no disrespect to them, some didn’t know anything about wrestling.
JR: How nervous were you that first night?
JC: My family was there, and anytime someone’s family is watching extra pressure is on. On top of that, I had to have faith in people I didn’t really know – I mean, as far as a lot of the wrestlers go, some didn’t know me, and nothing was signed, so in theory they didn’t have to turn up – that was a scary thought. At one point I thought the ring wasn’t going to turn up. Nevertheless they did turn up and everyone got paid. That’s the weird thing about independent wrestling – some of the bigger UK names make a decent living from UK wrestling, yet it is hard to get someone to sign a contract to say they will be there – its all done on trust. That’s just the way the independent wrestling business is. I would never allow that to happen in the IT industry, but this is wrestling, the strangest business in the world.
JR: How do you think the show went?
JC: The attendance was poor, that was the only let down. Then again we was expecting that, being our first show. As far as the matches went they were great, and I was chuffed the people in the ring performed well.
JR: You returned to Ware for your second show last month. However, the show made the headlines for all the wrong reasons, when some fans tried to get into the ring during the rumble match. What exactly happened that night?
JC: I take responsibility for that because at the end of the day the buck stops at me. I had hired the venues own staff to be “bouncers”, which in hindsight was a mistake, as they didn’t know anything about wrestling, so they didn’t know what was part of the show and what wasn’t. At one point I got in the ring to wrestle in my shirt and tie, and I think that confused them even more – when the fan got in the ring the security just stood there watching. It was a shame, but luckily it was a during a very brief period in the rumble, and the fan just ran in and ran out. Regardless, the fan was lucky none of the wrestlers decide to take matters into their own hands. It could have been a lot worse – the wrestlers were very professional in the way they handled the situation. I would suggest that incident be a lesson to all up and coming promoters, especially if you allow alcohol ringside (we possess a drinks license), as we do when we run shows at the Drill hall.
JR: What measures are you taking to make sure that something like this doesn’t happen at future shows?
JC: It’s inevitable there will be some mistakes at first. This is a learning curve. The first thing I did was to apologize to the wrestlers and the fans. I now have security that has an understanding of the business. I am considering putting security barriers up at the next show; however I like to present my shows with an old school flavour, so I don’t necessarily want those barriers there.
JR: A few weeks ago Chapman Promotions signed an agreement with the American Wrestling Association, to become AWA-UK. How did this agreement come about?
JC: We needed a name, and at the price the AWA were offering to use their names and logo’s, I thought why not. Lots of people know who the AWA are, so it stands out. I get so muddled up with all these UK promotions names, it’s just a blur. On top of that the AWA’s philosophy fits ours – old school wrestling, but with entertaining angles. Some other UK promotions had made enquiries, but we persuaded Dale Gagne to give us the contract for the whole of the UK based on our philosophy, which is to promote first class wrestling with entertaining angles for the whole family.
JR: How will this agreement benefit your company, and British wrestling as a whole?
JC: The intention was to give us an identity. There are some really great UK promotions at the moment and if my promotion can help spark interest I the British public coming to wrestling shows, I’ll be happy.
JR: I recently interviewed AWA World Champion Steve Corino, who told me that despite the downturn of the AWA’s fortunes in recent years, he still regards the AWA World title as one of the most prestigious in professional wrestling. Is this an opinion you agree with?
JC: I took the AWA name because of the name recognition. All credit to Steve, he is legitimately defending the title worldwide left right and centre, so he has most certainly helped make the title a true world title. There is no point calling something “World title” if it’s not defended worldwide. I like a challenge and I’m happy to try and help put the AWA name back on the map. The AWA is a throwback to the old days, where-by territories share the same world champion. The AWA is very territorial based in the USA, and the AWA is growing all the time. The idea is to also try to create a working partnership between territories.
JR: Your next show, your first under the AWA-UK banner, takes place in Ware this coming November, with Corino defending his AWA title against British star Darren Burridge. From top to bottom, it looks like a pretty strong line-up. Do you think this will be your strongest show yet?
JC: I certainly hope so. I’m happy to say we have the AWA World champion on our first AWA show. Financially, it will be our most expensive, and we have just booked two more top independent talents for the show, Joe Legend and Jonny Storm, so at £5 a ticket I certainly hope the fans appreciate the value for money.
JR: There seems to be new wrestling promotions opening up here in Britain on an almost weekly basis. How hard is it to compete against these new promoters?
JC: I do this for fun, not for money, and if it works out for everyone involved then great. I’m not here to step on anyone’s toes – the wrestling shows do not pay to feed my family. Most wrestling promoters are fans and should realize teamwork is the key – some promoters have come to me and suggested we go half’s on flying in talent. So far I have done business with Alex Shane and Oric Willliams.
JR: Looking at the big picture, what’s your overall opinion of the British wrestling scene as it currently stands, and if you thought anything was wrong with it, how would you go about changing it?
JC: It’s a really good time to be a wrestling fan in the UK, as there are so many independent shows, and a lot of foreign talent is being flown in for these shows. On top of that we have our own wrestling channel, and we have seen the re-birth of independent British supershows at large arenas. On top of all that the WWE is coming over here regularly. I wouldn’t say there is too much wrong with it, and every promoter has there own philosophy on what should be on a show. Some I agree with, some I don’t. As far as personal choice goes, the fans are pretty spoiled at the moment. I see no reason why more UK wrestling is not on TV. The only thing I don’t like is when I hear of wrestlers getting stiffed on pay, or working for free or no expenses. If a promoter can’t even pay £5 expenses to someone then don’t even bother.
JR: Where do you see yourself, and your promotion, in five-to-ten year’s time?
JC: I’m having a blast doing the shows and I’m really enjoying it. Next year we go monthly with the shows. Assuming my IT business carries on well, I’m happy to carry on funding the shows. I hope we’re still putting shows on in five years time.
JR: John, I’m afraid time is against up, so let’s start to wrap things up with some information on where fans can see AWA-UK shows in the upcoming weeks and months?
JC: Our next show is Sunday 13th November, 4pm at Wodson Park, Wadesmill Road, Ware, Hertfordshire, SG12 OUQ. Tickets are £5 per seat. Next year, we go monthly, the fist Saturday of every month after the football. Please check www.AWAunitedkingdom.com for details.
JR: Anything else you’d like to plug while we’re here?
JC: www.twoshedsreview.com. Did you say the cheque is in the post?!?!?
JR: John, it’s been a pleasure talking to you. The best of luck with your career, and I hope to see a lot more of AWA-UK in the future.
JC: Thanks, I look forward to reading more of your interviews in the future.
