The Truth About the Pro Wrestling Business

[brianban110]

this made me sad mostly because the way this guy said wasn't insulting but true

[ferox965]

i used to watch this and calgary stampede on TSN. loved it.

[Marvo301]

In the mean time, and in between times, that's it for another edition of Stampede Wrestling!

[Camman010]

He didn't say that many of the promoters and wrestlers are gay and if new wrestlers don't put out they don't work..

[NanaimoMXer]

I grew up watching Stampede. Ed Whalen was 50% of the entertainment!!! Great commentator.

[slapcompany]

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[bobyard123]

he a dream killer isnt he ;lol

[scottboa]

In addition to all of the reasons that Ed explained, I'll give another reason why it is a hard life. Duke Myers, a star with Stampede Wrestling in the 1980's, did not make much money. He lived in a mobile-home park. I used to deliver the Edmonton Sun to him.

[SuperPlayboyprince]

did any of the people he mentioned in the letters become wrestlers?

[aaroniuseeman]

IN THE MEANTIME AND IN BETWEEN TIME, THAT'S ALL FOLKS..man i miss this guy

[cenachief11]

I DONT CARE HOW MANY TIMES I WRESTLE A WEEK, I DONT CARE IF I MIGHT GET INJURED, I WANT TO BE A WRESTLER BECAUSE OF THE SCREAMING FANS, FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP BELTS, FOR THE AUTOGRAPH SIGNINGS, FOR THE KIDS THAT WANNA BE LIKE YOU WHEN THEY GROW UP. BECAUSE OF YOUR BIGGEST FANS, THE FAN REACTION WHEN YOU RETURN, TO HEADLINE WRESTLEMANIA!!!

[rampage0073979]

@cenachief11 MA MANS

[tcw4ever123]

MAYBE $50 bucks a night? I know promoters that want you to work for free.

[Gdayguy36]

Hogan spent most of that 5 million dollars on crack.

[MrOldschool416]

@Gdayguy36 what the hell are u talking about $5 million dollers lol omg get ur facts straight hogan made $100.000000.0000 in case u cant read that says a hundred million dollers in his life time and it wasnt crack it was cocaine pot alcohol steroids and everything else u must have herd jake the snake roberts name insteed of hogans name wow what a loser u are if ur gunna post something make sure YOUR FACTS ARE REAL AND TRUE ALL THE WAY.......

[streitco]

@MrOldschool416 do you have any idea how old this clip is ! Ed died before hogan ever made a good dollar.

[landrykkb]

@streitco Ed Whalen died in 2001,long after Hulk Hogan made his millions in this business.

[Thumper17]

@MrOldschool416 One hundred million would look like this.

100,000,000 You had way too many zeroes. Also, Whalen is the man, telling it like it is.

[Pitner]

He was fired the next day. Ha.

[bigpapapapa]

some promoters can also molest you...was Hogan really making 3 to 5 million a year even back then? Wow!!!

[TheFatalFX]

Ed Whalen is a bad ass!

[wabankik]

it was Great Having pro Wrestling Plus on TSN during the '80's,prior I could only find out news about memphis/WWC Carribean/AWA south/Stampede/WCCW/Global/Flo­rida Championsip/Georgia/the Maratimes/Japan & The UWF from magazines.Ed Whalen is a commentary Legend!

[Jericholic129]

the only thing about this is that it was clearly made a while back

[redroversk]

Wish i'd seen this before I tried my hand at wrestling.

Pay attention kids, a lot of those indy promoters are pedophiles that prey on youngsters.

[landrykkb]

$50.00 a night would probably sound good to Terry Bollea right about now.He's broke and it serves him right for believing his own publicity even long after his prime.

[postalmeter]

@landrykkb

It was either $50/night in the ring or on a street-corner.

[landrykkb]

Jason must have been 10 years old.

[McMahon4Prez]

IT'S STILL REAL TO ME DAMMIT!!

[NForcerSA]

I see there were 3 people who disliked the truth! Good riddens to bad rubbish! To the other 50 who liked the truth, kudos to you!

[DeepSouthWrestling1]

Although he's making sense here, Whalen was the worst announcer the biz has ever known... he cut heels off mid-promo, refused to sell angles and even demanded the cameras be turned off when he disapproved of something... I have no idea what Stu was thinking by hiring this turd, but he truly did things no announcer should do. I can't take his word at anything because he couldn't do his job properly... probably a big reason why Stampede was never a big territory... nice wig, though...

[max200]

Where's this guy now to explain this to the young people of america about MMA.

[landrykkb]

@max200 Exactly,because now all the youngsters are on the MMA bandwagon on account of the UFC explosion.

[buttercremehonda]

You tell 'em Ed. R.I.P.

[nwawrestlinglegends]

Obviously this creep was one of those 50-dollar-a-night guys!

[hoochdini]

R.I.P. Ed, you were the best!

[landrykkb]

What most of you may not realize is that Pro Wrestling Plus aired on TSN back when it was still a Pay TV channel and when the pro wrestling business had still been territorial for the most part,even though WWE & WCW were both international even then.

[camelchute99]

ed whalen was the best wrestling announcer ever, he coined the phrases "malfunction at the junction", and " look out nelly"

[dudeman555ify]

as honest as u can be good

[MisterMielke]

Malfunction at the junction!!!!

[landrykkb]

Most wrestlers on the indpendent circuit would be lucky if they were making $50.00 a night because i know some making as little as $10.00 a night.

[jeffrey7854]

@landrykkb dude as little as 10.00 a night ??

i have to work almost 2 weeks for that

[kisser83]

I agree with getting an education first. i'm glad I put my wrestling training off for 5 years and came back with a bachelor's degree in journalism. The wrestling business is no doubt unique. One reason, maybe your degree can help you get a gimmick and after your wrestling career is over, you can still be your gimmick with that degree.

[landrykkb]

A lot of naive kids still think the wrestling business is all glamour 22 years later.This aired in '88.

[donovan1971]

Rainy Saturday afternoons with Canadian wrestling. Ah, my youth.

[InsaneGoonRules]

There are no jobs F an education!

[Pistoldtown]

Whalen shined at times, but tried way too hard to get himself over, sometimes at the expense of the talent. Tisk tisk.

[okrabay]

Very true. Demolition Smash or barry darsow now works at a copy shop. And prime time brian lee now works at Sonic as a fry cook. Many others are now driving cabs.

[landrykkb]

@okrabay Then again,it's no worse than what most people in society do for a living.

[bearpaw72]

@okrabay

That's what happens when you get loaded, give $500.00 tips to every waitress in a 2-or-3-star restaurant every night, and pay $1000.00 for a chocolate bar every time you go to 7-Eleven or Mac's.

[landrykkb]

@bearpaw72 Yeah,there were a lot of wrestlers who were foolish like that when they had money and would take it all back in a minute if they could.

[wwetnasux]

@landrykkb cough Ric Flair cough, LOL. But that's not wrestling's fault. Not the businesses fault that he married a bunch of gold digging harlots

[landrykkb]

@wwetnasux No,because that would be Ric Flair's fault all by himself.

[landrykkb]

@okrabay Even both of them are doing great compared to many others.

[Chargerchad]

brilliant advice

[karkovice10]

I used to watch this show a lot when I was younger, and I've never heard truer words coming out of that man's mouth! Wrestling IS a hard life to lead!

[Srd1126]

@karkovice10 what isn't?

[RSXemperor]

What Whalen is trying to basically say is its best to get a college degree because you may need something as a backup. Look at all these guys from the 80's and 90's who were huge stars that are still wrestling in front of 50 people in a high school gym because they didn't save their money. You can love the wrestling business but it may not love you back. This should be showed to every young wrestler that thinks the business is easy yet they don't know about the politics and BS behind the scenes.

[landrykkb]

@RSXemperor But most of those 80's and 90's wrestling stars went broke & still wrestle for peanuts a night because they were victims of that carnival-like lifestyle that pro wrestling tends to claim,even their lives in a lot of cases during the past 10 years or so,especially.

[mrdestructo74]

Greatest announcer ever !!!! He made stampede wrestling and Calgary flames broadcasts !!!!

[bburl]

Ed had such a great on air personality. He was sooo likable and genuine. I don't know if he would have made it today though, as he wasn't slick or particularly good looking.

[AuntusDixus]

To the person who talked about not needing a college education - nearly ALL the wrestling greats were well educated. When they retired, many were in need, and used their education to have a real job. Go to school and then do what you want with your life, but do not kid yourself about not needing an education! If an injury sidelines you permanently, better learn where the soup kitchens are.....

[kisser83]

@landrykkb

Exactly. I still wonder about my future.

[landrykkb]

@kisser83 I hope you do pursue it and much success should you make the big time.Just so long as you're willing to pay your dues.

[fgtrdes]

Nothing like seeing that good old Ed Whalen!!!! How bout some Flames games!!!!!!

[Reyasful]

Merry Christmas... ED...

[skillingfretz]

good old ed whalen.. he spoke the truth way before the movie the wrestler came out. just loved that man

[TheKrottyKid]

This is awesome, what year did this come out?

[lilvin69]

u dont need a college education u need to get trained in a wrestling academy im going to swa soon

[jwp570]

@lilvin69 Too bad....you seem like you'd make a great English scholar.

[GaolisVideoLog]

@lilvin69 You said "u dont need a college education". Still believe in that? Think about it this way: How many people do you see on TV doing this? Remember, "professional wrestling" is only popular in North America; NOWHERE ELSE. Now, how many people do you think are applying for a job like that? Put question 1 into relation with question 2 & you'll see the point. What I mean is: WHAT are the chances of you NOT getting on TV and what is your financial outlook doing when this but NOT being on TV?

[lilvin69]

@GaolisVideoLog its actauly bigger in japan and its big in asian countrys its big in africa for some reason huge in third world countrys its huge in india

i dont know where ur getting ur facts

[GaolisVideoLog]

@lilvin69 If you got to my channel you'll see where I am from. If you'd then know where I roam around and what languages I speak you'd know how I acquire this info.

[superkyle2001]

This reminds me of that old lady who talks about sex.

[ScottHanson2008]

Really great video, thanks.