David McLane Says WOW Will Be "The Best Pro Wrestling Show On Television", Talks AXS TV - NJPW
David McLane, the founder of the original Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling (GLOW) promotion and, later, founder of the Women Of Wrestling (WOW) promotion, recently took the time to answer some questions on a media call that Wrestling Inc. was a part of. Wrestling Inc.'s own Nick Hausman picked McLane's brain about what he thinks sets WOW apart from the plenty of other competition in the industry. He would explain how WOW is aiming to be a family-oriented product while the other promotions are targeting a male-driven audience.
"In terms of differences, there's not much production-wise but there'll be a clear [difference] when you look at the audiences and the spectators that are coming to the WOW events. And maybe it's more because I'm in the forest, I've seen it, but we've seen it gradual, but it's very noticeable on this upcoming season that starts on the 7th [of September]," McLane said. "There's a lot more women coming to WOW events and there's a lot more kids coming. And the first two rows – I was amazed – were filled with kids at the last event. To me, that's what has been missing in wrestling.
"I go to some of the other promotions, and I go to their events, or I'll fly to a city to see one of their pay-per-views and you see a male-driven audience," McLane continued. "In WOW, you see a real family-driven audience and we've got the kids. And that's when I got interested and fell in love with wrestling – when I was a kid. And I see that in WOW, so, I think you'll notice that on the screen. And in terms of the performances and the talents, maybe I don't notice it but competitors tell me and the people at the live events tell me that everything has just been elevated. I say it being very humble: I believe we have the best wrestling show on television. And a year ago, I would have told you the best women's promotion on television, but when it starts on AXS TV on the 7th and you watch this series... I believe the product is the best wresting product on television."
McLane mentioned a story about how the legendary "Nature Boy" Ric Flair once praised him in a NWA locker room for his work on creating GLOW in the 80s. 'Naitch appreciated the creativity involved and saw promise in their developing wrestling abilities.
"Ric Flair came up to me in the locker room one night and he looked at me and he goes, 'Holy smokes! You're David McLane – I watch you on TV in different hotel rooms all the time when I travel.' And I said, 'Yes.' And so we started talking and he was the veteran, the superstar of wrestling at that time saying, 'Wow, you really did something so inventive to do what you did [with GLOW]... The wrestling talent will improve over the years. You don't have that down yet, but I see the creativity in it.' So there was the star of the industry that got it, so, I'll just say that it's taken the industry thirty years to see what he saw and I saw way back when," McLane explained.
McLane now has his sights set on the future and the steadily approaching premiere of WOW's second season on September 7th. He commented on how AXS TV has shown how dedicated they are to professional wrestling fans by committing their Saturday night block to WOW and New Japan Pro Wrestling.
"The partnership, the development – what's different now is I've got a team behind WOW which I never had when I was promoting women's wrestling before," McLane said. "I didn't have a team that had the same vision and drive. And subsequentially, what's great about AXS is they've created a whole night in their Saturday night lineup for professional wrestling with the Saturday Night Slam series. And WOW's fortunate enough to open that up and, secondly, then they re-air WOW after New Japan Pro Wrestling in case you're on the West Coast and you're still getting home from work. So that is special in the fact that you have a dedicated network to promoting and using promotional time and it's already out there and connected itself to the wrestling fans. Television is becoming more and more like radio where it's targeting demographic audiences specifically, and wrestling fans know that AXS TV provides the best in wrestling."
WOW (Women of Wrestling) season two debuts Saturday, September 7th at 8 pm EST on AXS TV. If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Wrestling Inc. with a h/t for the transcription.