John: It was, what became known as hard-core TV but was originally the main TV show a list from late 1996 to 1997 (syndicated show). A couple of years later, maybe 2000 was when we started to get a lot of DVD’s commercially released here. Actually a lot more were released here in Britain than were released in the States. Pretty much every one of the ECW arena and pay-per-view shows was available here.
Eric: At the time, were the pay-per-view is available in London?
John: They were only available for tape traders, but weren’t actually aired on television here.
Eric: I was curious about the European wrestling scene as far as what is popular there. Is there a major European promotion there or is it all just the Japanese, Mexican, and American promotions running their programs?
John: We have the WWE touring over here. About three or four times a year now. They're starting to fall a little bit off in popularity, a few of the show's not selling out, but still a lot stronger than the United States. We do have an independent scene here, but there is no major player running a full-time schedule here. You couldn't make as much money as a wrestler in England, as compared to a few working for the WWE or someone like that. There is no one near in that league, but you can get a lot of work, and it is possible to work five or six times a week here.
Eric: Is there any Japanese or Mexican wrestling out there?
John: We've never had any Japanese promotions run over here. A few Japanese stars have come over in recent years as part of super shows run by The Wrestling Channel out here. It was the first 24 hour wrestling channel in the world. It is on satellite television without any charge here. We’ve got Ring of Honor, TNA, NOAH and quite a few other promotions from around the world that are quite popular over here.
Eric: Wow, I wish we had a channel like that out here.
John: They just signed a deal with TNA, which at the moment is about 5 weeks behind, to show it one week after it airs in the U.S.A. (note: due to my delay in posting this, they are currently a week behind). We also get the TNA PPV’s on the channel for free.
Eric: I was just about to ask you about TNA for my final question. Is there anything else you’d like to let my readers know?
John: If you’re going to be buying the book online, it’s well worth checking out my website, www.turninghtetables.co.uk. There is a link on there that will take you to prices and delivery times for all the online retailers. You can see where you can get it the fastest and the cheapest as the price tends to vary from site to site.
