Catalyst Wrestling Proves Less Is More
Weekly episodes last under 30 minutes.
We recently did a roundtable praising the wrestling promotions that best handled the COVID-19 pandemic. Well, we missed one: Catalyst Wrestling.
In April 2020, the New York-based company rebranded from Capitol Wrestling to Catalyst Wrestling, having grown from a regional promotion to an internationally syndicated property airing on Fight Network’s U.K., U.S. and Canada platforms, as well as FITE and GaS Digital.
Since then, the promotion has blended “best of” episodes highlighting characters, rivalries and moments with original matches filmed on empty sets. The matches are hyped the week before and then built up with promos and montages. It’s been a winning formula during the pandemic with the best part being each episode runs under 30 minutes. Consider them palette cleansers amongst the gluttony of wrestling available in 2021.
“We wanted to bring back the territorial style of television,” says Matthew Ryan, executive producer and head of day-to-day operations at Catalyst Wrestling. “Our weekly 24 to 30-minute show focuses on the best talent from the Northeast to the Carolinas. A lot of the great talent you see now in AEW, MLW and Ring of Honor have walked through our doors.”
A jack of all trades, Ryan has been involved in the industry for 14 years, working for promotions such as Ring of Honor, House of Glory, Warriors of Wrestling and 2KW Pro. He’s handled commentary, writing, production, public relations, social media, you name it. He also worked as a manager under the moniker Matthew Ryan Shapiro. Believe it or not, the diehard never wanted to be a pro wrestler.
“Bobby Heenan, Andy Kaufman, Joey Styles, those guys are what spoke to me because I was a fat kid with a loudmouth,” Ryan says. “When you’re not a wrestler and you need to figure out your place in the industry, you need to experiment. You have to find which talents best suit you and whichever promotion you’re working for.”
In 2017, Ryan and a team of investors launched what has become Catalyst Wrestling, incorporating modern storytelling into the traditional DIY identity of independent wrestling. He and his co-creative director Ashe Samuels credit the pandemic with fueling their creativity, developing the concept of Si Dao, in which matches have been taking place on the island Antonio Inoki and Masa Saito had their Island Death Match in 1987.
It has been an innovative way to explain the lack of crowds over the past 18 months. “We tinkered with the idea of bringing back live crowds earlier this summer, but we wanted to be patient,” Ryan says. “The health and safety of our fans, as well as our talent and production staff, is the most important thing. We don’t want to do anything that would put someone in potential danger outside of the fact that it is a professional wrestling show.”
On Sept. 17, Catalyst Wrestling welcomes fans back with “Steal This Show,” a TV/iPPV taping from Cathedral Arts Live in Jersey City, NJ. Attendance will be capped at 85 people, and all are required to wear a mask and show proof of vaccination upon entry.
Although ticket sales and merchandise comprise a large part of the company’s business, Ryan says its vast television exposure has allowed for some great sponsors, including adult entertainment brand Sapphire. Before the TNT Championship was on Tony Khan’s vision board, “Colossal” Mike Law proudly wore the Sapphire Television Championship.
Recent episodes of Catalyst Wrestling that are worth going out of your way to see include #223 (The Rep vs. The Carter Group – 2-out-of-3-falls Doors Match), #221 (Catalyst Champion Colby Corino vs. Jordan Oliver – Ironman Match) and #220 (KC Navarro vs. Steve Gibki – I Quit match).
“It’s one of the best I Quit matches I’ve seen in quite some time,” Ryan says. “These guys took things back to the ‘80s in terms of intensity, anger and a blow off. A lot of credit goes to Homicide, our chief agent since 2019. He’s been a godsend.”
According to Ryan, plans are in place for the next three events to be in front of an audience, but that’s depending on if restrictions are enacted in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania due to the Delta variant.
“There’s so much untapped potential in Catalyst Wrestling that we’re only beginning to develop,” Ryan says. “Professional wrestling is all about great rivalries, great matchups and a way to tell stories. Catalyst Wrestling is a great opportunity for fans to have pint-sized wrestling every week and see these talented guys before they get on TV.”
Catalyst Wrestling Presents: Steal This Show takes place Sept. 17 at Cathedral Arts Live in Jersey City, NJ.
For tickets and more information, visit brownpapertickets.com.
Catch past episodes of Catalyst Wrestling on FITE TV.
Follow Catalyst Wrestling on Facebook – Twitter – Instagram
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