Freddie Prinze Jr. is serious about starting up a wrestling company in California and he's got big plans.
Freddie Prinze Jr. loves pro wrestling and he's no stranger to the inner workings of a successful promotion as well. In addition to his fandom stemming back to his childhood, Freddie has two stints as a WWE writer under his belt. Now, the Scooby-Doo actor is opening up about his plans to start a California-based promotion, hopefully within 18 months, and his desire to make have the eventual program and performers associated with the Screen Actors Guild.
On the latest episode of his podcast, Wrestling With Freddie, Prinze said he's already saved up enough money to execute a three-year plan and his ultimate goal is to have a full-time home in Los Angeles.
"I started watching other shows, older shows, old Ring of Honor. I started listening to Jim Cornette and his philosophies on wrestling. I started listening to other promoters and people in the business and their philosophies on wrestling," Prinze said. "I started watching what other wrestlers were trying to do. I started asking everyone I knew in the business questions. Then I started looking at arenas, locally here and what it will cost to rent them. Then as I saw what my opportunities would be in this business [movies], as there would be more of them after I did the Netflix one. I started saying, 'Well, I can accelerate the plan. Or I could keep the plan as it is, do a couple more of these and own the space. Which I believe right now is the plan that I'm going to execute. I already have a commercial realtor that I know and love. She's already looking at properties for me. I would love to have a full-time home for this. The plan was originally a two-year plan. Now, I should have the money for a three-year plan meaning it doesn't have to make money for three years before I'm like, 'Yo man, I gotta go do another damn movie.' I have to be in Scooby part seven or some crap like that to keep this floating.
"So, I started looking for properties. Then, social media did what social media does, which is like a feeding frenzy, right. It's like bait in the water," he continued. "There's a lot of wrestling Instagram pages and websites out there that do dirt sheets and wrestling news and things like that. They need content, so they picked up on this and put it out. All of a sudden, all these indie wrestlers, indie refs, and indie musicians who have done wrestling stuff, all started reaching out. Before I get into this, let me say something. Whether you were being real with me, or whether you were trying to troll and crap on me, thank you. Some of you wrote some stuff that was like — you took the time to not only say, 'Hey, man, I would love to come and be a part. But here's some wrestlers that I respect and I think you would, too, and for you to take the time to do that — and it's not just one cat that did that, that's the most beautiful part of the wrestling community to me. I love that. That's what acting used to be."
Additionally, Freddie says that he has already begun purchasing lighting equipment in order to properly film shows because he says, while he eventually wants to be on television, he understands getting a television deal is not easy
"I plan on having this thing up and running in 18 months. That's my plan," he said. "There's a way for me to get it done sooner. But it requires me going to Australia for three months and leaving my family. So I'm not a big fan of of of doing that. Regardless of how kind and respectful the studio is. Unless I was in a position where I had to, I love being a dad. It's the reason I walked away from the business in the first place. However, there are moments where I'm like, 'You know what, they could come from the summer. You know, we could get it done, and then I can get these cats in the ring.'
"I don't know how long I want the show to be yet," he continued. "I think I want a two-hour show, at least in the beginning. I doubt I'll have a TV contract right away. It's very difficult to maintain ownership and get a TV deal at the beginning like that. If you're established they can come in and license you or buy a portion of you but you'll still be in control. So if I started off as live shows, and I film it by the way, if you want to know if I'm serious I already purchased a used light kit that was an arena kit used. Even used, these mugs is expensive, but I want this to look legit. So it's literally sitting in my storage unit. I think I want to start it as a two-hour show. I want my storylines based in reality, I want to give the women and the men equal time on the roster. Then the goal is to bring the show to television. I want it to be a SAG show and what that means is I want it to be a union show, which would mean each and every single one of my wrestlers would be a member of the Screen Actors Guild, and be entitled to all the insurance and medical benefits and retirement plans that that entails."
Furthermore, Freddie Prinze Jr. says he doesn't have a name for the promotion yet. He would consider West Coast Wrestling but there was already a WCW and he won't call it the “Frederation.” Overall, Freddie says it's not a dream, it's a plan and it will be a reality. That reality, however, also includes having the proper infrastructure in place, including a Booker because while he's excited about writing and connecting with talent, he cannot book.
"It's not a dream. It's a plan, and it will be a reality," he said. "My only thing is, how quickly can I pull it off, and at what sacrifice? I've said this before wrestling requires 100% of you to do it right, regardless of what side of the camera you're on. It is one of the reasons I wouldn't go back to WWE, I couldn't give them 100% can't travel all over. But if I had a local show in Los Angeles, an office that I could go to every day, and I would have a booker because I cannot book to save my life. I can really write, I can connect with people, and nd I can pull good performances out of people when their bosses didn't think that performance was within them before. I know I can do that because I've seen it happen. I know what my strengths are, and I damn well know what I suck at. I was told what I suck at enough. So yeah, so that's that's the plan. I hope you guys support it. I hope you dig it. If you don't, you can be just as vocal because like I said that stuff motivates me too."
In the past, Freddie has said that he has spoken with TV networks about his ideas. Learn more here.
We will continue to have more on the future of Freddie Prinze Jr’s wrestling promotion as more news is available.
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