Is Conrad Thompson Becoming A Wrestling Promoter?
Conrad Thompson might be running a one-night-only Jim Crockett Promotions show featuring Ric Flair's final match, but that doesn't mean he sees himself as a wrestling promoter.
Thompson recently spoke with Wrestling Inc. Managing Editor Nick Hausman on "The Wrestling Inc. Daily" about the upcoming Starrcast V event, which is taking place during WWE SummerSlam weekend. This will see the popular podcast host run his first official wrestling event as part of the festivities.
"The plan is that there's not just going to be one wrestling show next to Starrcast, there will be others," Thompson revealed. "One of the caveats, when I was doing things for Cody and the Young Bucks with Starrcast, was, 'No other wrestling, what we are doing has to be paramount.' Well, I don't have that partnership anymore, so because I don't have that understanding anymore, there's going to be a lot of wrestling there that weekend, and I hope fans can make plans to come see us. Because this will be a one-stop-shop, you'll get to see wrestling every night or every day."
Thompson is well respected in the business for his AdFreeShows website, which provides a plethora of wrestling podcasts. These connections have come in handy when it comes to promoting an actual show, but Thompson doesn't necessarily see himself as a promoter.
"I think just the function of me being involved with putting together the Jim Crockett Promotions card, a lot of people are going to paint me as that, but in my mind's eye, the card sort of writes itself," he said. "Obviously, we're leaning heavily on Mr. Crockett and a few other folks who know a thing or two about wrestling — Double J comes to mind. Anyway, I don't think you have to worry about me being a wrestling promoter, I'm not starting my own promotion."
The Starrcast V event will involve wrestling matches, live podcasts, panels with the likes of Bret Hart and Johnny Gargano, and the Roast Of Ric Flair, just to name a few of the things Thompson has lined up. As a result, he's a busy man, which might be why at one point during the interview, he raised his right hand and solemnly swore he had "no plans to promote."
"You have no idea the stress and pressure it is to deal with all of these delicate personalities for dozens of individuals," Thompson said. "By the way, I'm doing, I don't even know how many podcasts, but it's a lot, and now I'm doing a convention again. And now there's a big roast that is going to be on regular PPV. Like, the Roast Of Ric Flair, yeah it's on FITE, but it's on traditional PPV too, with celebrities that I have to cater to.
"And then there's two days of the convention, and then a wrestling show, and oh by the way, I still do mortgages, that's my full-time job. So, there's no chance that I have the bandwidth, or capacity, or whatever the buzzword is, I just don't have the time. It's a nice idea, it's fun, but I'm one and done. I'm too fat for all this stress, baby!"
One person Thompson has a history of working with is Cody Rhodes, who helped push the original Starrcast event alongside All In in 2018. Starrcast has seen AEW talent show up in the past, but as of right now, there aren't any current WWE Superstars set to appear at Starrcast V.
"If Cody wants to stop by, Cody's going to stop by. Nobody gets to tell Cody what to do," Thompson said. "He's probably going to be on 'SmackDown' if I had to guess, I know that he's a 'Raw' guy, but it's the go-home edition, so it wouldn't surprise me to see him on 'SmackDown' on Friday night. Well, that's in Atlanta. I'll be in Nashville with Starrcast. And then on Saturday, I'd imagine he'd be in that stadium doing something, if I were guessing, so I think his dance card is pretty full."
If you use any quotes from this article please credit The Wrestling Inc. Daily with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
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