Operating under the advice of governmental advice in the UK, Fight Club: PRO has postponed its highly anticipated Dream Tag Team Invitational from April 10th-12th to June 19th-21st.
Fortunately not looking at a total cancellation, FCP announced their plans to move the fourth annual tournament, which this year had already booked Amazing Red & Low Ki, The North (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander), Jigsaw & Mike Quackenbush, Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven & Tyler Bate) and Orange Cassidy. In a statement released on Twitter on Tuesday, FCP explained the change:
“With the global situation surrounding COVID-19 escalating and restrictions/containment measures increasing on a daily basis we have been monitoring the situation and liaising with other parties who are involved in hosting what is our biggest weekend of the year. DTTI 2020 is hereby officially ‘POSTPONED’ and is being rescheduled to take place 19th-21st June 2020. (These dates are subject to ongoing review with Government advice).
The recent developments are having huge implications on ourselves as a promotion, the fighters, you the fan, and all of our families. Having already seen some of our closest friends greatly effected by this global pandemic we have been lifted by the positive that has subsequently been generated by the wrestling community. We often talk about being ‘a family’ and it is times like these when we truly need each other the most.”
🚨DTTI ‘20 – UPDATE🚨 pic.twitter.com/aU7RL0UZES
— Fight Club: PRO (@Fightclubpro) March 17, 2020
FCP went on to explain their process for refunds for the Dream Tag Team Invitational, by noting that all tickets and meet-and-greets will be carried over to the new date and that to thank fans for sticking by them, they were looking “into arranging some additional rewards.” For those unable to make the new date or who are strapped financially and need their money back, FCP will grant refunds to anyone who asks.
“Fight Club: PRO is committed to bringing fans the best Independent Wrestling there is,” the tweet continued. “We thank each and every one of you for your trust and support and we ask that you all stay safe and look out for one another during these difficult times.”
Difficult times is the right way to put it. Indie wrestling has been hit and hit hard due to the coronavirus threat and how it has paralyzed the world. Not immune to the shutdowns, major companies like NWA, MLW and ROH have all announced suspending live events for a time. WWE and AEW, fortunate enough to have the benefit of home venues, will continue to hold live events in front of no fans. For WWE, this includes WrestleMania 36. GCW recently postponed its Collective and WrestleCon was forced to cancel its WrestleMania Week extravaganza. Not to mention the other indies who needed to cancel their ‘Mania shows as well as promotions in the UK, Australia, Japan and more, that have been forced to postpone or cancel events for several months.
The fact that @WillOspreay organized this on a whim and @WrestleTalk_TV backed it is insane. THANK YOU.
The stream had over 100k individual views and raised ~£10k.
Thank you to the fans for supporting us.
You have no idea how much this meant.#NoFansMonday
— Charles Max Barsky (@TheProductDS) March 16, 2020
Now, more than ever, indie wrestling needs support. Already stepping up for the cause, Will Ospreay and WrestleTalk held an empty arena show that raised over $12,000. Black Label Pro has already raised over $3,600 toward supporting the wrestlers on their “Empty House” show, streaming live on IWTV on March 28th and Freelance Wrestling with Pro Wrestling Tees is hosting “Warehouse Wars” coming up on March 21st that will also be streamed on IWTV and held in front of no crowd.
Stay tuned to Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.
