Former WWE Star Interested In Signing With TV Wrestling Company: ‘I Think I’m A TV Guy’

WWE

A former WWE Tag Team Champion has confirmed that they would be interested in pursuing a new television contract.

Released, alongside the whole Wyatt Sicks faction in April of this year, Joe Gacy has been reborn as Joseph Sawyer on the independent wrestling scene, but sees a return to TV in his future.

Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Sawyer reflected on what he has to offer as a star and how it fits in with televised professional wrestling.

Asked whether he’d sign a deal with a company already on television product, Sawyer responded:

“I would love to, given the opportunity. I think I’m excited to dip my toes back into indie wrestling. But for me, I mean, I think I’m a TV guy.

“I want to be in a TV wrestling company, that’s how I see it. I just learned so much being with WWE that it’s kind of ingrained in me now.

“I was there for six years, so now they twisted my brain into seeing wrestling differently than I used to.”

Sawyer would reflect on his journey to being television ready, revealing that he didn’t realize how much went into the production, saying:

“When I first got in, I was like, ‘Oh, maybe I’ll spend some time at the PC and get put right on (TV).’ I had a little bit of a rude awakening, not realizing how much went into producing a TV match, hitting times, hitting break spots, all kinds of different things like that, and I like to think I got pretty decent at it.

“I think I’m at a point where I would love to marry the TV style with the indie style. I feel like there was a time in NXT that was prominent, but now I feel like they’ve done away with it a little bit, so now I’m hoping to have an opportunity to go somewhere and kind of do that and be able to show a little bit more of what I can do.”

Speaking on the subject of the release of Wyatt Sicks, Sawyer would reveal that the faction was “surprised” by the decision.

The Challenge Of Being Television Ready

With many independent wrestling companies sharing their product online, be it on YouTube or one of the many subscription-based VOD platforms, it’s easy to assume that many stars who deliver top-notch promos and quality matches are television ready.

The truth, for many, is that this is far from the case, with Sawyer giving an indication of two key time-based aspects that play key parts in what WWE, AEW and TNA Wrestling have to tackle on a regular basis. On independent shows, matches overrun, promos go a bit too long, and the interval suddenly doubles in length because there are in-ring photos to take and every other person wants one, leading to a later finish for the show, or a rapid change to the plans to fit a definitive end. All this on top of not necessarily having to worry about a multi-camera set up that is more than the ring camera and one or two roving camera people.

When it comes to live television, there may not be an interval, but that match that suddenly went a few minutes over, or that promo that doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon, has an impact on what follows. Programs broadcast on traditional television have to stick to their scheduled end time, unless alternative arrangements are made. It’s less strict for streaming platforms such as Netflix, but an end has to be in sight, particularly for the fans in attendance who may have been expecting the show to finish at a specific point.

No doubt being aware of times and timings is something that is ingrained into WWE stars and carried into other companies, should the need arise. That’s not to say that they’ll stick to those times, not bleed into the ad break or run over in their match, but the impact is much greater for a television product; other planned segments can be cut or require a trimming of whatever was planned, which is unlikely to go down well with the affected members of the roster.

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