MLW CEO Court Bauer recently spoke with Fightful about a wide range of pro-wrestling-related topics, including how he has a contingency plan when booking all MLW events in case something happens to one of his wrestlers. Highlights from the interview are below.
Says he has a contingency plan when booking shows in case a wrestler goes out with injury, COVID, or another reason:
Right off screen, I have a page and it’s called the Contingency Page. It’s for variables of, ‘Okay, if five or six of our matches need to be changed next week in Philly, this is what we’re going to do.’ It’s at least something to work off of so you can improvise. You just don’t know if someone’s going to test positive for COVID. They had it with The Von Erichs and it was in Dallas when they were chasing the tag titles. Couldn’t have been worse conditions. They said, ‘What should we do? Should we get on a plane?’ I said, ‘Look, we have a COVID Compliance Officer, check in with them. The decision is out of my hands. If you guys got COVID, take care of yourselves and stay at home. Isolate.’ You gotta prepare for those variable scenarios.
How MLW is prepared for things you can’t forsee:
“Then when you have a contingency sheet, if you have injuries come up or there’s talents—like in Dallas—that does something that’s egregious and you have to change a card for a matinee show, you have something to work off of. It may not be ideal, but it’s something to work off of, which you didn’t have two years ago before a pandemic. We’re prepared for things you can’t foresee. I think that’s good. Sure, you want absolute stability like we had in 2019, but you have to roll with the punches. I think every promoter’s learned someway or somehow to have to adapt on a very quick turnaround to different circumstances.”