Journal
I’m starting a wrestling website in August
Hello folks. I haven’t had a lot of wrestling website content this month or last.
I didn’t do a preview for Double or Nothing which was my first to not do in a while (I was also camping/kayaking) but again, this isn’t another situation of ADHD messing me up and leaving me a puddle of myself unable to concentration. I’ve had my focus and concentration on something else.
In August, all of my wrestling content will be moving to a new wrestling website.
I am designing the website so it’s taking a lot of my time and focus. Every day off I have these days is a balance between getting as much sun as I can get and working on the website.
As we get closer to August I will drop a launch date.
I’ve had folks in the past ask me why I don’t write for a branded website. I have thought about it. I used to write for Last Word on Sports and launched their wrestling department. I’m sure I could always go back. There’s also folks like Social Suplex who I would be happy to do something with one of these days.
The reason is this. I’ve always wanted to run my own project. Writing on the blog has been my stepping stone to that. My domain, I pay for the hosting, my website, I put in the work to edit the WordPress template, the work is all on me.
It will be primarily writing editorials, previews, reviews, and news. I will be slowly adding audio and video content as well. The goal is for there to be new content every day of the week.
The goal is to do this full time eventually.
Will There Be a Paywall?
I am against paywalls. Let me explain why. If I was running a website primarily about news then I would have an incentive to make you pay to see that news. A lot of those websites get by on being trusted for news and that’s how they get subscribers. I do not plan to sell news. I plan to sell opinion.
In selling opinion if I paywall it you just won’t see it. Anything I say that’s interesting one person can just copy and paste to Reddit. More importantly, opinions are better free and public to be shared.
All of the writing on my website will be free to view.
I will have a subscription service but it will be less about keeping people out and more about keeping people informed. It will be about paying me to answer questions and extra content beyond what everyone gets every day. Again, more details in July.
Just know now this will not be a, “To read more subscribe” website.
What wrestling exactly?
The primary focus will be All Elite Wrestling.
I have been covering All Elite Wrestling on this blog since 2019. It’s where I have a lot of knowledge and it’s why I have almost 2,000 followers on Twitter. I will cover other wrestling related news or shows if I find it to be interesting or important but the primary focus will be AEW.
I will not cover WWE. Did it once before and I wish to never do it again. Having to cover WWE back when I was an editor for Last Word on Sports almost killed my love of pro wrestling. I don’t care if I’m leaving an audience out. There’s a thousand websites covering WWE. Someone else can write about them. I plan to write primarily about AEW.
I know the current climate people feel that only negative stories about AEW sell. We’ve seen the YouTube thumbnails. People constantly say they feel like there’s no voice for All Elite Wrestling fans. I’ll tell you right now. I’m not a rah rah cheerleader or a fan. I’m a critic.
You’re going to see me discuss All Elite Wrestling and break things down. I won’t love or hate everything. Spending the past five years covering AEW based on my opinion won’t change with this. If I lose subscribers over saying something people disagree with that’s a part of the game.
I don’t have an ulterior agenda. I’m not pushing a comedy career or trying to keep a spot at a fake press conference. I write editorials with how I feel in the moment.
So if you want to read about AEW without wondering if the writer is afraid to make someone at WWE mad? I’m your man.
Any More Details on the wrestling website?
I would say I’m around 30-40% complete on the website. Once I feel I’m closer to 60-75% I plan to release a video and soft launch.
On the blog I’ve focused primarily on editorial and pay per view previews. These will continue and editorial will be important and weekly.
I will be reviewing AEW matches every day. This includes recent matches and matches from the past. Every match will have a rating but no overall rating.
The website has a theme and it’s based on a defunct gaming magazine I used to read in the 90s. It’s still near and dear to my heart. If you’ve seen my Twitter cover photo you should have an idea of what I’m talking about. It will be very much a tribute to that gaming magazine in the first few months before I slowly build it to its own design.
I’ll do news but it will be selective.
I plan to have a weekly audio update.
I will also be releasing a newsletter every week with a recap of the past week on the website and a look to the next week.
Will you still write on the blog?
Yes, but not about pro wrestling. Once the website launches, all wrestling goes there. The blog will be kept for the Sweatdown and personal blog entries.
Where can I get more updates on the wrestling website?
Stay tuned here or on my Twitter @AaronWrotkowski as I promise to provide more details as more progress is made on the website. The sooner I’m ready to launch the earlier in August I launch.
Thank you for reading and thank you to everyone who has supported my writing in the past, present, and future.