RIPTIDE Wrestling | A Promotion For Everyone
There's more wrestling available right now than ever before, but one promotion that's certainly making waves is RIPTIDE Wrestling!
The Brighton-based promotion are already innovators of the business - whether it be from simply promoting equality alongside, and via, their product, or having a hairdresser backstage ready to get their talent looking in prime condition for the second they walk through that curtain!
"That curtain", we should say, is normally located in venues that look nothing like the kind of place you'd expect to see a wrestling show - from the scenic outdoors, to the graffiti-laden basketball court.
But how has this upstart company, having only been around for two years, managed to so extremely break free from a mould that's been set in patriarchal stone for generations?
Well, they came at it from a whole other direction.
Why Brighton?
The picturesque Brighton has been known for many things over the years but - sorry, Brighton - wrestling isn't one of them. That is until now. And there's no better place for RIPTIDE to call home!
Having struggled to convince his friends to travel to wrestling shows he knew they would love, singer-songwriter Josh Bevan decided to bring wrestling to his home of Brighton, launching RIPTIDE in 2017 alongside fellow vocalist Tom West.
With their vast experience of the music industry coupled with a love of wrestling, and with an abundance of ambition, they're using that cocktail to completely change the game.
RIPTIDE is a promotion that cares deeply about the performers, and - as Josh told me - the care they give the stars we watch in the ring is mirrored right back at them through an incredible show!
"Performers do not create within a vacuum. RIPTIDE understands the need to provide adequate information and concern for its talent, as well as food and water. These provisions allow the performers to execute their best work. Performers will always make the best of a bad environment, but we believe you get a better product if they don’t have to."
The RIPTIDE team opened up about the different options the promotion provides, and the incredible collaborations the promotion embarked upon to get everyone involved!
"RIPTIDE’s branding is different and fresh by design. RIPTIDE beer's collabs with Bison Beer, the fashionable merchandise, vegan food options and Brett Jones’ colourful cartoon posters are all things to assist fans to convince their friends to buy a ticket. Once through the door, the wrestling sells itself."
What is RIPTIDE Wrestling?
Sure, I've told you all about the promotion but, as a viewer, what can you expect?
Well, it's almost impossible to define. I could try by saying, "Lucha Underground meets Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club all wrapped up in rainbow-patterned wrapping paper," but that still doesn't do RIPTIDE justice.
Stars like PAC, Chuck Mambo, Jack Sexmith, Jordynne Grace, Candice LeRae, Walter, Matt Riddle, Will Ospreay, Zack Sabre Jr, and Pete Dunne have all graced the RIPTIDE shores with their talent - and the gritty setting and larger-than-life characters are brought to life for the fans not lucky enough to be in attendance via some incredibly cinematic presentation!
That, too, is a collaboration that only further encompasses the importance of the location, as the Brighton-based Wild Stag Studios gives on-demand viewers the best seat in the house, bringing wrestling to your screen in a way you've never seen before, and in glorious HD!
Josh Bevan told us how their background in the music industry has shown them how unique presentation can be one of the best vehicles to translate the atmosphere of an incredible live show to the people at home.
"Our experience in, and contacts from the music industry have allowed us to explore how modern videography methods can best represent the exhilarating live wrestling experience."
"Our unique presentation is not an arbitrary USP for the sake of being different, but the product of an approach - 'Does wrestling have to presented in this way in 2019? If not, can it be better?'"
A safe space
Now, the word "safe" isn't what most people want to hear about when we talk wrestling, but it is incredibly important - and not just when we talk about the people in the ring!
Tom West, RIPTIDE's writer, told us about just how the promotion further encourages everyone to attend - particularly encouraging women to come along to shows, and ensuring that they'll be able to enjoy the show in a completely safe space.
"We always aim to be very clear about what constitutes unacceptable behaviour at our shows. Our attitude has been influenced by schemes like Safe Gigs For Women, and through years of frustrating inaction at music venues."
RIPTIDE also promotes a zero-tolerance policy towards racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism, and transphobia - and, as the team told us, they are actively opening their doors to EVERYONE!
"Wrestling has been a male-dominated industry and fandom for a long time. RIPTIDE has been learning and evolving its product and marketing in hopes to make it more accessible for people who would love the combat theatre of wrestling, but haven’t glanced twice at wrestling before. This doesn’t mean the wrestling is 'watered down!'"
In short, RIPTIDE is wrestling as it should be - accessible for absolutely everyone on the planet. If you like wrestling, that's a bonus, but so long as you have an open mind - RIPTIDE is ready to drag you into the current, and sweep you away to a completely different world of entertainment.
You can check out RIPTIDE Wrestling on Twitter here, or check out their roster and catch every show on demand here.
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