Pro Wrestling Journalism, Media And Coverage

In this edition of The Wrestling Estate, we discuss pro wrestling journalism, media and coverage.

Where do you get your wrestling news?

David Gibb: I just use my Twitter feed and Google. I don’t have a single go-to source anymore.

John Corrigan: David Gibb’s twitter. He’s also the one that broke the news to me about Colin West.

Chad Gelfand: The best way to consume news is to get it from multiple sources, but there are certainly more reputable sites than others. I’ve been a subscriber to PW Torch and The Wrestling Observer at various times, so I trust them. Fightful, PW Net, Post Wrestling and PW Insider also all have reputations for doing good journalism. I’ll also throw our hat in the ring as well, as we pride ourselves on doing responsible journalism.

Steven Jackson: I get the majority of my news through social media, but I mainly frequent GERWECK.NET, which is a fantastic source for up-to-date wrestling news. I have a lot of respect for Steve, and he has been a standard bearer for online wrestling journalism.

Juan Bautista: I get it from Cultaholic and WhatCulture. They have good videos of what’s going on. I’ll also get news on Twitter whether it’s from Dave Meltzer, Sean Ross Sapp or others.

Jack Goodwillie: Way, way, wayyy back in the day, I was a frequent visitor of NODQ.com (shoutout Aaron Rift and Jeff Meachem). Later, I moved to WrestleZone for a number of years, but these days r/SquaredCircle is my best friend when it comes to wrestling news. Nothing seems to fall through the cracks and the platform does a good job of aggregating from all sources, whether it’s Meltzer, Keller, Satin, Sapp, Chris Van Vliet interviews and even Twitter. Without Reddit, the magnitude of #SpeakingOut probably wouldn’t have reached the necessary heights it did.

Have you ever bought wrestling magazines?

Gibb: I recently began buying Monthly Puroresu to support our colleague Steven Jackson. It’s awesome to hold physical wrestling media in 2021, and the art and infographics are very well done.

Corrigan: I was obsessed. I remember getting my first Pro Wrestling Illustrated in an Easter basket in 2000 and then collecting those glorious magazines for the next five years. At one point, I also had a subscription to WWE Magazine, Raw Magazine and/or SmackDown Magazine. Wrestling magazines were the greatest influence on me becoming a writer/journalist.

Gelfand: I used to love getting my monthly WWE Magazine subscription and the occasional Pro Wrestling Illustrated from the grocery store. PWI introduced me to independent wrestling and expanded my universe.

Jackson: I occasionally bought Powerslam Magazine before it dissolved and sometimes PWI. However, I have begun buying a new wrestling magazine all about puroresu entitled Monthly Puroresu. If you haven’t heard of it, definitely check it out!

Bautista: Other than WWE Magazine, no. Although that may change soon, as there are some new magazines producing great content such as Inside the Ropes and Monthly Puroresu.

Goodwillie: My first experience with wrestling magazines came when a friend of my mom’s brought over all of the wrestling magazines she had collected over the years. This included WWF’s and WCW’s publications, as well as PWI – my favorite. For the young fan that I was, seeing guys like Bret Hart, Sid Justice, Ultimate Warrior and The Dangerous Alliance on some of these covers made for a very informative reading experience, although I haven’t gotten the bug to collect magazines myself. However, the PWI Top 500 is mandatory reading for every wrestling fan to this day.

What are your thoughts on Dave Meltzer?

Gibb: Dave has shared links on the Observer site to articles I’ve written here on The Wrestling Estate and we’re both from the Bay Area, so obviously I think very highly of him. With that said, I have him muted on Twitter because I couldn’t take his “dunk on every single tweet no matter what” deal two or three years ago.

Corrigan: He’s a pioneer deserving of any wrestling writer’s respect. I disagree with most of his opinions, but I have tremendous admiration for his longevity and credibility, especially when it comes to obituaries. I also appreciate whenever he shares our stories because that’s the biggest rub we can get.

Gelfand: As a historian, he’s a wealth of knowledge. When it comes to social issues that arise in wrestling, he’s very hit and miss. Dave’s big problem is there are some things in pro wrestling pertaining to gender and race that are blind spots to him, and he doesn’t have the range necessary to speak in-depth on those topics, so he should defer to others.

Jackson: Dave is an encyclopedia of wrestling and combat sports knowledge. His writing is excellent and I really respect his longevity in the sports journalism world. However, the whole “star rating” thing has become a joke. I used to be way too invested in them and a bit smarky, whereas now I have pulled myself away from the ratings system and enjoy wrestling for wrestling.

Bautista: As I said before on things we have taken for granted, Dave Meltzer has a good understanding of what’s going on with ratings, ticket sales and other key factors. Sure, he can get carried away with his opinions at times, but he’s good at what he does.

Goodwillie: Dave is great. I really enjoy his insight and believe there is value in it. But remember, it was Al Snow who called Dave “the single greatest worker in the history of the wrestling business.” As a writer and reporter, it doesn’t get much better than Dave. He’s about as detailed of a writer as you’ll find in any field and asks great questions. However, there is a part of me that believes he knows the value Japanese wrestling and AEW have brought to his business and steers into it with wacky six-star ratings. It’s ridiculous to be sure, but having said that, it’s just one man’s opinion and it’d be a fool’s errand to put more stock in that than it warrants. Still, the man’s love affair with Young Bucks matches looms large for me.

Do you think the majority of wrestling journalists are afraid that their reporting will prevent them from access to shows, wrestlers, etc.?

Gibb: I mean, the idea of being confronted by someone about something you’ve written/said on a podcast in front of a small crowd at an independent show or a convention is pretty intimidating, right? I certainly hope to continue to avoid that. With that said, there are true investigative journalists out there who are unintimidated – to their credit – and keep the business in check while I do cool interviews with wrestlers I like and whose profile I would like to help raise in my own small way.

Corrigan: Maybe not the majority, but there are definitely wrestling journalists whose biases are clearly established. I try to avoid that as much as possible. For example, even though I had become chummy with Synergy Pro Wrestling, I still offered criticism when warranted. I’d do the same with ECWA, UWA Elite and any other promotion we have a strong relationship with.

Gelfand: There are definitely some that are only in wrestling journalism for the access it brings them. I don’t think it’s the majority of wrestling journalists, but there are some who revel in being the center of the conversation themselves and not who or what they’re covering.

Jackson: I actually don’t know. But, at the end of the day, all journalism should be there to inform and educate, not to dish the dirt on things which are “controversial.” Wrestling journalists should follow this example as well and if they don’t, then they need to accept the consequences.

Bautista: They shouldn’t be. If that is the case, then the integrity of journalism is affected because they are just trying to keep up appearances.

Goodwillie: Perhaps. Let’s face it, wrestlers can be very thin-skinned people, but so can journalists. Same goes for pretty much anyone. I guess it also depends on rank. I don’t believe the Meltzers, Satins and Sapps of the world are worried about offending wrestlers, because at the end of the day, their platform is so large it’s really more of a detriment to the talent if they don’t want to talk to them. For smaller wrestling writers, maybe some who focus more on local coverage, maybe it’s more prevalent, but it’s not something that’s really stuck out like a sore thumb.

What in pro wrestling would you like to see more coverage of?

Gibb: I’d like to see a two-track split where there’s both hard facts/industry trade journalism and old school Weston/Apter infotainment building/reinforcing characters and storylines.

Corrigan: Pro wrestling history, specifically before 1985. I had such a tough time trying to find matches, wrestlers and events from the ‘70s for our Top 100 Matches of the Past 50 Years list. I know Mike Mooneyham, Brian Solomon and Scott Teal keep those legends’ memories alive, but I wish more folks did, or at least I could become aware of other historians who do.

Gelfand: As an industry, we could all do a better job with covering women and Black wrestlers. There’s definitely been an improvement in coverage of these areas recently with the rise of more women and minorities involved in wrestling journalism, but there’s more we could do to highlight. It’s important to get those different perspectives for the continued growth of the industry.

Jackson: Definitely the Scandinavian, Australian and New Zealand wrestling scene. There are great things happening in these countries and they deserve so much more attention and coverage than they currently get.

Bautista: Independents and other major companies. MLW isn’t getting as much attention as it deserves. The independent scene also needs to have more coverage because that’s where the future of the industry comes from.

Goodwillie: When it comes to pro wrestling journalism, the bases are pretty well covered. There’s great coverage on all the top promotions, top stars, backstage politics, video games, spoiler talk and opinion pieces. However, I don’t think you can really have enough coverage of the local scene; the wrestling that goes largely unseen by many. If you’re a young writer, this is a great place to start. Developing a rapport with up-and-coming promotions and talent is a great way to get your foot in the door if you want to make a living out of this. Our humble little website does a great job of giving shine to such talent and promotions, as well as offering a cornucopia of miscellaneous content. Chances are, if you’re reading this, you’ve come to the right place and will find something that piques your interest on the righthand side of your screen.