Wrestling Reality rumbles on to national TV success

BY KIRK STARRATT

The Advertiser

NovaNewsNow.com

The concept for the show was conceived in Kings County and now, two-and-a-half years later, it has become a national TV success.

Wrestling Reality (WR), which started with pilot tapings in Kentville and Canning in 2005 before being picked up by The Fight Network, now airs coast-to-coast to an enthusiastic and growing audience.

The episodes were taped during a week-long, six-stop tour of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in the spring of 2007. The first taping was held at Kentville’s Centennial Arena.

Co-star and co-producer Rick Doyle of Kentville said he’s pleasantly surprised the show is doing so well. Those involved are getting tremendous feedback from across the country and around the world. He said people at The Fight Network are pleased and have licensed them for a second season.

Doyle said there has been a lot of media attention surrounding the show and he has noticed he has become more recognizable when he travels. He was in the airport in Toronto last month when someone recognized him as Trash Canyon. He even notices a few more people acknowledging him locally, but said, “I was kind of recognizable around here anyway.”

Fans are drawn to the show

He said wrestling fans are drawn to the show, but so are people from all walks of life who enjoy it simply for the entertainment value, which is indicated by the ever-growing list of supporters who have joined a Facebook site. Doyle said those involved are pleased because this is the sort of wide-ranging demographic they were hoping to reach. “It has exceeded our expectation on viewership,” he said. “It’s not only a show about wrestling, it’s a show about the personalities involved.”

Doyle said they weren’t expecting such mainstream media coverage, including newspapers, radio, TV and Internet. He and the other stars conducted several newspaper and Internet interviews before going to Toronto to complete a talk show circuit to promote WR in conjunction with the official launch Nov. 13.

They did five radio shows the first day they were in Toronto and five TV shows the second, including Off The Record on The Sports Network (TSN), Entertainment Tonight Canada, Toronto’s version of Breakfast Television and two shows on regional TV stations airing in Ontario.

Tremendous local support

Doyle said it feels tremendous to see the show enjoying so much success, and the people of Kings County have been supportive since day one. When his fellow wrestlers and members of the TV crew were here, they were amazed with the level of community spirit. “People around here tend to support their own and encourage them,” Doyle said, pointing out that he’s very proud of where he comes from.

The first season of Wrestling Reality, produced by Greg Hemmings of Hemmings House Pictures, is made up of six half-hour reality show episodes documenting life behind the scenes in the world of independent pro wrestling, six hour-long episodes with actual wrestling matches and a series of “shoot” or reality interviews with the wrestlers.

Season two will be shot likely in England in early April. Members of the WR roster will join up with All-Star Wrestling, the busiest pro wrestling organization in England.

Doyle said the organization runs at least one show every day of the year, if not two or three in various communities. The first season of the show will probably air in England just prior to the season two tapings. However, there are still details to work out.

Doyle said the show is set to air in nine countries by the end of this year. There could be a cross-country live tour with three to six stops, held in conjunction with The Fight Network, sometime in 2008.