Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Career

Obviously there’s been lessons in wrestling. I’m sure you’ve learned that don’t apply in real life things are like this would never occur in real life compared to pro wrestling, but is there a life lesson you learned through covering wrestling maybe it helps with politics a little bit in the sense that the phoniness and you see the pon in politics kind of helps you see it. I think no, I mean, the life lessons. I’ve learned in wrestling don’t necessarily have to do with wrestling, but have to do with reporting and those. I mean, you know that it wouldn’t matter the subject you would have to still learn those lessons.

I mean I could learn those lessons. I mean wrestling gives you different kinds of lessons because it’s such a different world. I think you get to see, you know, a wide variety of people because wrestlers certainly are not cookie cter people what not whatsoever. And I mean, they and they vary, you know, it’s like you have some really honest guys. You have some really dishonest guys. You have ambitious guys you have people who aren’t not that ambitious you have people with Incredible Drive. You know, who sacrific so much. So yeah, you. I mean, I think it’s I think like covering wrestling you do get kind of you know, a perspective of a lot of different things.

You had a great perspective too learning back in the day from the late great journalist that Frank de Ford for those that don’t know. I he was on Real Sports. I mean you in a number of Publications. I mean, just an absolutely legendary writer a guy who gave his full endorsement to you looking back, how fortunate do you feel to learn from him. Not forget wrestling just when it comes to journalism in life? What a lucky break that was I mean, it’s like you it’s so funny because it was like, you know, when I was like a kid like 10 11 years old. He was my favorite writer.

So, the idea that I was able to work with him for, you know a year and a half. So closely was like a dream come true. I mean, I remember like when he called me up when he was starting the national to do it. It was almost like I don’t know how it was so weird because when I took the call it was like how did this happen, you know what I mean, it’s like this was never going to happen in my life. And there. It did. And yeah, learning from him. He was so experienced and he saw through so much and you know, he I mean, I definitely learned a lot about ethics and you know, things like that and just discussions.

We never talked wrestling although we sometimes talked Vince McMahon, but we didn’t really talk wrestling wrestling because he wasn’t really a wrestling fan, but we would talk you know boxing. You know, I mean, I remember he was and it didn’t happen yet, but I remember him telling me like, you know, you’re going to you’re going to get to a certain age and you’re going to hate boxing. I remember him telling me that because he hated boxing. And I didn’t get to where I hated boxing, but I remember him telling me like you know, he was like a big boxing fan and then he reached a certain age.

And he absolutely hated boxing because of the, you know, the human loss, you know, lives lost things like that deaths in the ring and the fact that in the end like the fighters, you know, some of them make it, but most of them don’t and it chews you up and spits you out and you get brain damage and the whole bit. You know, he really was not a fan of how boxing was and I remember you know, but he you know, he had a wide variety of Interest. I mean? Like, you know, a lot of sports people. It’s baseball football hockey basketball? I mean, he was like me where we were we what we both had in common is we were into like, you know, if it was beach volleyball or roller derby or whatever it was like that stuff fascinated us the offbeat sports.

So, yeah, it was the luckiest break for sure. You know, I mean, it’s probably the luckiest break of my career. You know, I mean, the other one was you know, early on when some of the wrestlers started talking to me and luckily I got really Smart Ones talking to me and some of the promoters and kind of teaching me. You know, the methods of promoting so, which was really good because, you know, they kind of taught me to see through the BS of other promoters. So I was really I was really lucky at, you know, for both of those things. When did you realized that the wrestling Observer Newsletter could become a business and your career.

You know, when I first started it. I thought that the potential was there. But I didn’t really expect it. I guess in ‘ 8687 when I was making no money on it. And I was working so hard as a sports writer. And I kind of had to make the choice and my parents and everybody just thought, well, you got to keep the wrestling thing and go to sports writing. And I chose the other one and every was like, you know, you chose the one with no future, but I just I felt like that wrestling was under coverage. And I could feel a better like there’s always going to be some people covering sports, but I didn’t think wrestling had that.

So I thought that I could give more benefit on wrestling and also by that time it was like even though I wasn’t making any money doing wrestling. I was more famous doing wrestling than I was doing. You know, High School sports or, you know, whatever soccer or whatever. So it kind of like led me there and then you know, after I kind of made that call and I wrote, you know, I did the who’s who book which did start making money. And then the national came and then that was like when I started writing for the national that’s when it really turned around those two years, you know, because I was in a big daily paper and my name got big and I got a lot of new subscribers.

I mean, really my subscriptions. I don’t remember what it was, but I mean, it went from a very modest number and probably doubled, you know, or tripled during that two-year period and from that point on I’ve been able to make a good living out of it. So the national was a was huge huge that period was a great period of growth. Just by having the exposure in the National every week. I’ve interviewed a lot of entrepreneurs and the recurring theme that they tell me in their stories is they’re always worried that one day they wake up and everything’s just gone. You know, everything they worked for everything they built and they always feel like they have to keep refining keep trying new things obviously you’ll stay consistent with what’s working what does Dave Meltzer do in order to not only stay consistent.

But to make sure that this keeps going and gr and grown as you get older pray I’m at the mercy of the business unfortunately. And really the top company kind of determines your, you know, I would like you know, like a big wrestling War would be really cool. And we have one. I think that’s been interesting. But we’ve been lucky in the sense of I think we got into the podcasting thing at the bottom, you know, at the ground floor. And so by the time. It got big, we were established. So, I think that was a real lucky, but it’s you know, the business success.

I mean, it’s like with Bryan Alvarez. We work really really hard like just super hard and we’re super dedicated to our clientele. I mean, literally, you know, I mean, we don’t miss. We don’t miss shows. And I mean, no matter what happens in our personal life. And sometimes we may have to record at 1:30 a.m actually very that’s more often than you think, but we just don’t miss shows. So the hard work is certainly part of it. But it’s also I mean, it’s understanding what we cover as well. And it’s also been a lot of I think there’s been a lot of luck in the sense of the podcasting thing hitting at the right time.

You know, the internet, changed it. I mean, it’s made. It’s made things more competitive but that’s good. But also has opened up information a lot more and the ease of contacting people is a lot more the internet’s really the internet has some horrible qualities, but by and large. I know a lot of people think that it’s a negative. I think it’s a giant positive, but there, you know, there is a giant negative to it. Horrible negative. But the positive outweighs, the negative in addition to of course, running wrestling Observer f4wonline.com. You’re also a parent, you’re also a husband. You’re an entrepreneur, how the hell do you balance everything every day.

Not very well. But I try really hard you know, I mean, I work really hard at what I can do at all facets. But it’s very hard. That aspect, but you I man. I love my kids though. And yeah, I got great kids my son’s is awesome. You know, he really is never, you know, Val dictorian of his class and never gets into trouble and you know, pretty pretty darn genius and you know, a lot more a lot more grown up than I was when I was his age. That’s for sure. That’s awesome. God. God bless him. That’s great to hear. And, you know, definitely wish him and your family the best.

So Dave. We really do appreciate the time. Before we get you out of here. What’s the best piece of advice you give anybody hoping to have success work really hard is almost like the necessity. When you’re young. Listen and learn as much as you can from smart people and pay freaking attention to them. You don’t have to listen to everything they say, but there’s a lot if you’re with smart people and you figure out what they say works. And doesn’t you’re going to be way ahead of the game, but you got to listen, you got to listen, you know, if you don’t listen and you don’t want to learn.

You’re, you know, I mean that to me my key is that I never want to stop learning. Other people think they already know and it’s like I don’t know. And I know more than you so you don’t know either you never fully like wrestling you never fully know wrestling nobody fully knows wrestling the people who think they know wrestling they’re the ones that are going to be out of touch because it’s always. It’s always going to change. But yeah just listen. I mean from writing. Read a lot of good writers. I mean, and you learn learn learn from how they do it. I mean, I’m I’ll never be frank to Ford, but my God, I when I was a kid I read, you know, Frank Deford and Scott Ostler and different guys like that.

And even the stats guys I was really into the there were certain writers that were really good stats guys and they fascinated me. And I learned the stats aspect as well as the flowing words aspect. So you got to learn both. You got to learn the business that you know, like if you’re a sports writer. And you don’t know business. I think you’re way behind. I mean, I know what with MMA a lot of the reporters when I first started covering MMA the MMA reporters were so far behind on the business end and they’ve caught up, but when they started. It’s like they just liked fighting, you know, it’s like, you know, it’s the fight business.

If you don’t know the business, you don’t get the fighting. You don’t get, you know, they would complain about UFC making matches and I would sit there go like that’s the right match to make because it’s the match the fans want to see and they would just be, but it’s not, you know, number one and number two and it’s like the fans don’t want number one and number two, they want personality. So you in time you figure that out. But yeah just like listen, what pay attention to what the fans want. And also understand that will always change, whether it’s football or hockey or whatever, you know what gets the fans going is going to be something new not something old and it’s going to always change, but if you know that going in and you see the trend starting somewhere early make sure look for the new trends.

If you look for the new trends, you’ll be ahead of the game. It’s better to be ahead than behind. Well said. And how Co and one more how cool is it right? You just mentioned before you grew up reading Frank de Ford later. You worked for him were mentored by him learned from him. How cool is it these days, whether it be wrestlers fans whoever to hear Dave. I grew up reading you, I still read you to this day. I love your shows all that jazz. It’s really cool. What when we do the q&as before the pandemic. We would go to like big shows like WrestleMania or, you know, a shows or whatever New Japan shows.

I would see people who’ve been reading for like 30 years and 35 years, it’s awesome. It’s so it’s that is, you know, that’s the that has that was the most gratifying part of my job for sure was meeting people at live shows. And that is actually among the, you know of all, you know of all the things one of the things that I miss the most is going to shows. You know, the other thing about going shows is that when you go to the right kind of shows and you watch the young wrestlers on the way up. You get to kind of see what’s going to be working in five years, too.

So, you know, unfortunately that doesn’t exist right now. I can’t wait for that to come back, but you know, obviously we got a we got to get a vaccine because that’s really going to be the only answer. But we’ve got to get rid of this disease because we’re all going to be crippled until that happens unfortunately and it’s a very trying period. I think it’s like in many ways. It’s the I think it’s the worst period in the history of our Lives. I mean, some people’s lives are better. I mean in the sense, you know, economically, you know, some people are good and some people are bad and all that.

But as far as like overall you know, I think especially now with a school about to start and the mess of, you know, if we send kids to school right now. It’s going to be complete disaster unfortunately and but I but you want your kids to learn at the same time. So it’s like some really we’re in a really trying period. Hey, as the old saying goes, It’s cool to read about history it sometimes sucks to live through it, but you know, but you know, the one thing I that’s is from that standpoint. Right now sucks, but in three years having lived through this. We’re all going to we’re all going to grown up a ton and we’re going to be a lot smarter for it.

Not every one but many of us are going to be because we were forced to adapt and learn and you know that cuz you’re forced into understanding what you like and what you don’t like and when you can’t do it. You learn to miss it and you appreciate it more. So, there’s a lot of positives. That come from this period, but they’re not happening now they’re going to happen in like 3 years when we look back. You know, economically like H there’s smarter ways to do it. We used to be doing. But you know, living through it is a very difficult period it is and but hey, you know, from a day-to-day perspective, right?

I’m sure you get a test to this as long as you wake up as long as you have your health. I mean, look, anything anything’s possible as long as you can, you know, say say you’re healthy because unfortunately not everybody can say that right now health health is absolutely. 100% the most important thing 100%. I mean, be blessed that you have your health because if you don’t. You know, that’s you know, that’s the health is definitely the most important thing for sure.