Source: Daily Progress
Liz Flynn, director of marketing for the University of Virginia’s new John Paul Jones Arena, came to the job last summer directly from World Wrestling Entertainment. She worked for seven years in professional wrestling as WWE’s live event marketing manager, coordinating wrestling events at venues around the country and the world.
With WWE coming to Charlottesville on Monday, it seemed like a perfect time to chat with Flynn.
Q: What’s it like being on the other side of the equation, having wrestling come to you?
A: I’m excited. I’ve always liked it, of course, but I’m excited to see it in this venue. When I was there [with WWE] and we would come to a new market that had never seen it before, the crowd was always so excited. It’s just fun to watch, not only the show but the crowd, how they get into it.
Q: Why is professional wrestling is so popular?
A: Because it has a little bit of everything. It has the soap opera aspect to it, the athletic side … it’s very colorful. It’s also very funny. So it’s got little pieces of everything. What’s more, it comes to your hometown. There are a lot of television shows people watch, but you don’t necessarily see your favorite actor from “Lost†coming to Charlottesville. But if you’re a fan of “Monday Night Raw,†Triple-H is going to be here.
Q: What was it like to be on the inside of WWE?
A: It’s as exciting as you think it would be, but of course it’s also a lot of work. It’s really a 24-hour job, because WWE doesn’t have an off-season. So other than Christmas week there were always four to six shows every week. And a lot of that was international. I was fortunate enough to have the chance to do a lot of the international shows, so I got to see the world. And whether it was England or Germany or El Paso, Texas, it was always a chance to meet people. For me, it was always about meeting the people.
Q: Are you looking forward to seeing your former friends and colleagues?
A: I’ll be excited to see them on Monday. I’ve talked to some of them on a pretty constant basis as time has been getting closer here. … I want them really to love the building, and come back as often as they can get away with.
Q: Were you personally involved in getting WWE to bring Monday’s event to Charlottesville?
A: I’d like to say yes to that, but I think WWE is a smart organization, and when you do this kind of promoting not too many markets open up in the country. A building of [the arena’s] size doesn’t get built every day. So anybody that has a touring show wants to go to new markets. I won’t lie, I certainly called them up and said, “So when are you coming?†But I think they would have come here no matter what.
Q: Is Hulk Hogan definitely coming?
A: He is definitely coming. I know there were some things on WWE.com that said he was injured, which he is. But he did say he was coming to this show, along with “SummerSlam†the following Sunday.
Q: So what’s next? Any insights into what’s coming beyond what’s been announced?
A: I’d keep your eyes open. We should have an announcement to make about another event in the very near future. … All I can tell you is that it’ll be something different from the other shows that have already been announced – in my opinion, that is.
