Dragon Gate USA’s Gabe Sapolsky has posted a new blog over at The Heyman Hustle. In the blog, Sapolsky gives us a behind-the-scenes look at its previous iPPV, and predicts who will be the hottest wrestling stars of 2011. He also reveals what he felt was the one big negative aspect of the Rahway, NJ event, where he feels it went wrong and where he feels it went right. Below is an excerpt from the blog, which you can read in its entirety by CLICKING HERE.
"When I wrote MY PREVIOUS BLOG FOR THE HEYMAN HUSTLE, I had an adrenaline rush that kept me going through the entire weekend as Dragon Gate USA presented its final events of the year. One of those events, of course, was our first live Internet Pay Per View (iPPV) on GoFightLive.tv.
The weekend was filled with positives, but unfortunately we were hit with one big negative. Paul Heyman always taught me that it comes to booking talent, you have to accentuate the positives and hide the negatives. I’ll apply that rule to this blog and save the negative until just before the end.
Hope you enjoy that cliffhanger!
I had a blast producing our first live iPPV "Bushido: Code Of The Warrior" a week and a half ago. It was a roller coaster ride of emotions from start-to-finish. The very professional Top Rope Promotions did an excellent job setting us up with the kind of classic venue I love … a PAL Hall that had to be around 100 years old. The character of older buildings really captures me. If you gave this venue a coat of paint it would be the perfect wrestling building.
The day itself was hectic. There was a lot more to do than a typical show. There was a whole new set of equipment. There were live backstage promos. There was a more detailed script than usual,and more people had to know about it. There were even some ridiculous arguments. It could have been overwhelming, but I felt great. This was fun. This felt like something I should be doing.
The live broadcast began with a hot opening "Freestyle" match with Arik Cannon, Ricochet, Johnny Gargano and Chuck Taylor. Half of me was enjoying the action while the other half was thinking through all the cues and if everyone knew everything they needed to know. Then my biggest fear became a reality.
I heard someone say "the audio is off!"
Immediately, the stream became choppy. I knew what this meant. Those viewing at home would be taken out of the mindset of enjoying the show. They would be angry. We were now in a hole with them and would have to win them back. This wasn’t anyone’s fault, but that didn’t really matter, did it? We had a major problem, all because of a blown fuse."
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
