Freddie Prinze Jr. has had some setbacks.
In recent years, Freddie Prinze Jr. has been trying to start his own wrestling promotion. He has previously commented on having talks with networks, but he has yet to land a deal.
Speaking on his Wrestling with Freddie podcast, Freddie Prinze Jr. looked back on the past year and noted that he had met with multiple companies about his planned wrestling promotion.
“I went through some frigging ups and downs wrestling-wise. I’ve been trying to start my own federation for a long time, my own promotion. It started off, this reality company came and pitched this docuseries to me of me trying to pull this off, with the final episode being sort of what we call a backdoor pilot, so the last episode would become the first episode of the new promotion. So that was kind of the hope and goal for it. I had some Vice, who couldn’t afford it, and they’re restructuring their finances and their entire company. They admittedly said, ‘We don’t know anything about wrestling, but we like the business, and we want to be business.’ They tried to make it work but couldn’t. Warner [Bros. Discovery] wanted me to be way more established and only focused on the reality portion of the pitch. They just wanted a reality show, which I wasn’t interested in. The things they pitched, they’re like, ‘It needs more people working against you.’ I was like, no, I’m actually trying to pull this off. I don’t want to have people working against me. I’ll have enough of that already. All they wanted was fake, created drama, which is such horseshit. That’s why reality TV sucks. None of it’s real. So that was a pass on my side," Prinze Jr. said.
Prinze Jr. went on to recall how he talked to NBCUniversal, but they wanted something more established. He explained that he shifted his approach and, after talking with his business partner, he started looking for well-known promotions he could work with.
"We talked to [NBC Universal] because I knew they’d be losing Monday Night Raw, even back then, because we know shit even though we can’t talk about it on the podcast. They were similarly wanting something more established, and again, I was brand-new. I wasn’t coming in with somebody’s promotion. That became the speed bump that I hit time and time and time again. Until the point where I spoke to my partners at the place where I have basically a distribution deal, although not in writing, but the two of us, my partner, who is the steaming service, and myself, are now to the point where we’re actively looking for other well-known promotions that I can then come in creatively and help direct and build culture and present to a mainstream TV audience, help them get on track. It wouldn’t be my idea, and I’m not trying to change someone’s brand. Let’s just make up a wrestling company’s name. Let’s say we acquired ICW. There’s probably actually an ICW, so if there is, I’m sorry, I’m not trying to blow you up. I would then go in and acquire their contracts, their brand, their ring, their content, their everything, although the content on low-budget stuff isn’t really presentable for TV, so those libraries don’t have the value that these guys hope that they have, just because the quality won’t match. I would then go in there, bring them in, and instead of calling them what I was gonna call my promotion, because that’s disrespectful to just take their shit and change it, I would just maintain their name, and I would become their head of creative and help sort of reguide and focus and do what I did well in WWE into their promotion, and then make that our promotion. So that’s where I’m at now. That’s the most information I can give," Prinze Jr. said.
Prinze Jr. then detailed how there was one promotion he liked, and he thought they were a good fit, but they could not reach a deal. He reiterated that he was actively looking for brands who are seeking a television deal.
"That’s been a freaking challenge, too. I’ve already tried with one that I was really passionate about, really liked their roster, loved a handful of their wrestlers, it just fit so well with what I was trying to do, and we just couldn’t freaking make a deal work. It wasn’t their fault, it wasn’t our fault, it’s just sometimes you can’t come up with the right numbers that everybody feels comfortable with, and that’s what a negotiation is. It’s hard for me to talk about stuff because I don’t want to go, ‘I got it.’ Because you never have it until both sides have signed in ink or blood, and it’s on paper, and you’re moving forward and ready to rock and roll. Even then, sometimes shit falls apart. But that’s when I’m comfortable talking about it, when contracts are signed. So the most recent one that I’ve been working on fell apart. We’re actively looking for more brands out there that are looking for a TV deal. We’ll investigate all of them. Some of them don’t bring enough to the table for my partner and I to bring out investment to. Some of them want more of an investment than I’m willing and my partner are willing to bring to the table. So it’s a challenge, man. It’s been hard as hell. It’s been so hard, it’s made me doubt myself to the point where I’m like, maybe this isn’t the right move. Maybe I’m not meant to do this. You almost want to give up on yourself sometimes, and then take a moment, realize that’s just how I’m feeling right now. I didn’t feel like that 10 minutes ago, and I probably won’t feel like that 10 minutes from now. Usually, you’re right. Whatever it takes, that feeling eventually subsides, and something stronger takes its place, and you get reinspired and reinvigorated," Prinze Jr. said.
Prinze Jr. also admitted that the deal falling through with one promotion was frustrating, but he bounced back and focused on looking for other promotions who were receptive to what they were pitching. He stated that he was still on the hunt.
"I was doing the ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ sequel when I got the news the deal I thought was for sure gonna happen fell apart, and I was so pissed, but I was working with all these young people who were so hungry that it made me hungry. I fed off their energy, and I shook that bullshit off as quickly as I could, and it did not take long. I called my partner, I was like, let’s reach out to everybody else and see who’s receptive to what we bring to the table and try to get it going. That was the outlook that they took as well. For them, it’s more business than passion for wrestling. For me, it’s passion of wrestling and then the business. But yeah, I’m still on the road. It’s not easy, and I’m not giving up. But yeah, I am further back than I was two weeks ago, so I’m out there searching and hunting and trying to find the right deal. As soon as I do, I’ll let all you guys know," Prinze Jr. said.
Prinze Jr. previously said that he had unsuccessful talks with Warner Bros. Discovery and Vice TV in November. Check out his comments here.
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