Indie Promotion Criticizes WWE’s New Development Program: “There is No Fast Track to The Big Leagues”

WWE is always on a mission to expand their business and spread their wings when it comes to a global takeover. The company recently announced their new program called WWE ID (WWE Independent Development™) and now it appears that an indie promotion has criticized the program.

It is to be noted that the main objective of this program is to help aspiring professional wrestlers who want to make their way to WWE eventually. Some of the first schools to receive the WWE ID designation are Booker T’s Reality of Wrestling, Cody Rhodes’ Nightmare Factory, and Seth Rollins’ Black and Brave Academy, so they will already have a solid foundation.

While many fans and pro wrestlers alike are excited about WWE’s new program, others do not necessarily feel the same way. In fact, a wrestling promotion called Capital City Championship Combat took to Twitter and issued a statement on WWE’s new indie developmental program.

The promotion stated that the goal of independent wrestling is for talent to find and develop themselves, grow, and learn. They believe that if a wrestler is connected to a big company, they can’t truly be independent. For young trainees, there is no quick way to make it in wrestling. It might feel urgent when one is in their late teens or early twenties, but the promotion feels it’s important not to rush. Instead, it’s better to focus on growing and gaining experiences. Wrestling is not a one-size-fits-all journey.

In fact, the promotion even promised that any young wrestler with potential will benefit more from spending 5-10 years building their name and gaining confidence through different experiences than from choosing a specific school.

The point of independent wrestling is for talent to discover themselves, and develop themselves. To grow. To learn. If you claim to be an independent but are bound to a billion dollar company, you’re not an independent. If you’re a young trainee, there is no “fast track” to the big leagues. I know when you’re 19, 20, 21, etc it may feel like it is a “now or never” type situation to make a career in wrestling. Don’t rush yourself. Pride yourself on growing and traveling.

Take your early years to learn. Travel. Have experiences that are outside the box. The art of professional wrestling is not experienced in a one size fits all box. I wouldn’t want to promote shows and use talent that fit into a cookie cutter assembly line.

I *promise* any young kid out there, that shows potential – that spending 5-10 years making a name for themselves, developing & becoming confident in their own skin by traveling & working a variety of talents, is going to make you much more valuable than what school you pick.

I feel like I have some value in my opinion having done this for nearly two decades. But nobody I’ve seen gain success in wrestling did it by following a pre-determined path or taking an easy route.

Anyway, these are my immediate feelings…. Maybe there is more to come that will prove me wrong. But again, the talent I’ve seen succeed and reach that next level, didn’t achieve what they have because the path was an easy one to success. Make your own roads.“

WWE also has numerous long-term plans for their indie developmental program which will see lots of indie talent eventually make their way to the company. Nonetheless, many fans might agree with what C*4 Wrestling had to say regarding this matter, but some fans feel the program will benefit pro wrestling in the long run.

Do you empathize with Capital City Championship Combat’s concerns over WWE’s indie developmental program? Let us know in the comments section below!