Why SM1 Is Changing Wrestling

The Importance of Rudis’s Super Match 1

Live events are an awesome thing for the sport of wrestling. It gives the fans, athletes, and streaming companies all mutual benefit from the situation. The more money streaming into the wrestling community’s hands, the faster the sport will grow. We can compare these events to the way boxing works. A promoter lines up a card full of ideal matchups, while also providing an arena, live audience, and some form of streaming service along with that. In the past, we have seen a majority of these events be held by FloWrestling. Now, as the sport continues to grow and Flo continues to be money hungry, other companies such as Rokfin, Rudis, etc. step up and provide quality live events. Flo did host the “Bout At The Ballpark” event but we all saw how that turned out. The last point I will make before getting into the juice of this article is the downfall of multiple companies hosting these live events. A lot of people can't afford to pay subscriptions to three different wrestling platforms, so these companies need to find a way to make these live events affordable and without having to purchase a subscription. But anyways here are the THREE biggest benefits to what Super Match 1 is providing wrestling.

1. The Amount Of Depth This Card Promised and Provided- This might be the deepest/longest card I have seen to date. Yeah, back when Rokfin was hosting a bunch of cards they would get their quantity, but the quality was just not there. What Rudis did that I liked was picking up the top guys/girls at each age level. Because of nationals and all the NCAA guys being preoccupied, Rudis decided to drop down and pick up some top high school prospects to compete in this event. That takes your viewership from just people interested in the top guys competing to now having many average viewers that know about these high school studs (because maybe they are from that viewers state) so they will tune in, and more than likely watch the entire card. From the start, if Rudis promised us a match then we got it. There was not any kind of event that took place during the buildup that hurt the viewer's experience. My top 5 matches on this card are Cox/Snyder, Bruntil/Miracle, Green/Retherford, Ringer/IMAR, Oliver/Pantaleo.

2. The Setup of The Event Past The Stream Experience- Watching the press conference last night you could tell that the athletes enjoyed the way the arena was set up. You can tell it was professional and provided more than just an experience for the online viewer. One thing I noticed was the use of drapes, which plays a major role in making the setup “pop”. I also liked how they gave everyone an opportunity to answer multiple questions at the press conference, THIS PRESS CONFERENCE WAS 100X better than bout at the ballpark. Another thing they did well was the use of Jordan Burroughs as one of their main marketers. No offense to any wrestling commentators, but when you put JB on the mic he will draw a lot of eyes and ears. I also think Jordan provides a better perspective on both what questions to ask, and how to commentate matches. Lastly, I thought they did an amazing job marketing the event through the use of film making. I think this was their biggest driver in making the event, as well as having Cox and Snyder banter to make a storyline.

3. The Combo of NCAA’s and Super Match 1- I wish I could be there, but im stuck at home as a couch viewer this weekend. In my opinion, this is the best weekend of wrestling that has taken place in a long time. Not only do we get the opportunity to watch the college guys go at it, but we get some of the best men and women competitors in the world going at it tonight. I think it’s also important for these wrestlers who want to continue to compete after college to witness. The more guys we can get to do that, the faster the sport will grow. The last thing I will add to this point is the amount of community it will bring to the wrestling community. I wish I could be there to meet new people and experience great wrestling alongside some of the biggest fans, but I am happy that it will bring everyone together before the big show starts tomorrow!

So in other words, Rudis you killed it! (other than the livestream cost) Flo, you got some catchin up to do!