PROGRESS Wrestling Co-Owner Explains Why Promotion Is Leaving WWE Network

In an interview with PWMania, PROGRESS Wrestling co-owner Martyn Best spoke about the end of the promotion on the WWE Network. The announcement that PROGRESS was leaving was made last week. Here are highlights:

On what caused a change in the PROGRESS-WWE relationship: “In very pure terms, our contract with WWE had been completed, so in that sense, nothing caused a change – just a straightforward completion of that contract. Of course, I’m not so naive not to be aware that there are wider matters at play, and I’d say there are two perspectives. Huge respect for WWE, and they are clearly facing some change. While I’m curious and watch with interest, I’m not going to be so rash as to speculate how the next few months will play out. For us, a contract ended, but not the relationship. I can guess that not having indie content on the network may make any future discussions of whatever digital media review has been referred to a little simpler. From the perspective of Lee and I, we now have a fresh set of options ahead of us. That WWE contract was agreed over six years ago by people no longer associated with the company, and the digital media landscape has changed dramatically, as has the wrestling scene, so we have some exciting opportunities ahead of us.”

On if WWE ever had any control of PROGRESS: “The company has never been controlled by WWE. There has been no direct creative input, no restrictions, and mainly the opportunity for PROGRESS to be seen on a wider platform than it had six years ago. It’s been a pretty positive relationship, and we’ve enjoyed meeting many of the people who make WWE what it is. There were of course, contractual guidelines around the timing of the release of our shows, and we will now be able to let our fans see them a little sooner than before – so, for example, our show on Sunday (Chapter 148: Start Spreading the News) will be aired next Saturday, which is a week earlier than would have been the case.”

On where fans can find PROGRESS evens now: “We will still be able to be found, and in fact quicker than previously, as I said, and you only need to go to our own platform, DemandPROGRESS. This also hosts our previous chapters and other content, which is where future shows can be accessed for now. It’s also very capable of hosting other promotions, and this could be one route we’ll also explore. We are, of course, assessing whether this will give us the most flexible platform for all of our fans, and with new content providers and streaming platforms who have arrived on the scene in the last six years, we’re having some interesting discussions at the moment, as you can imagine. With over 170 shows in the past 11 years and hundreds of hours of classic content, a lot of interest has been raised.”