I have done so many hours of research on trying to get as much information as I could about starting up my own fed. It became pretty clear that I wasn't going to get it all at one site. I spent atleast a month getting as much information as I could to start off BJW with a bang! I wanted our fed to have a great image in the eyes of others so we could get some fan support. I would have to say the most important thing about starting up a backyard wrestling fed is to get a bunch of your friends together and all train to get atleast the basic wrestling moves down. Now I'll admit, if I realized how crucial good wrestlers are to makin a product look great, I would've worked with more of the wrestlers at BJW. I did work with Insane Juggalo and with a bit more match experience he could be the next Psychopathic Champion (although he would have to go through me...and that's never an easy task). Anyways, Samhain, another wrestler, didn't really know any moves when he wanted to become apart of BJW (as a wrestler...before he was the camera man, but most of the time we would hear "oh, the caps on"). Samhain brought this to my attention and I worked a bit with him, and we immediately came up with a perfect, original, finishing move. Now he just needs to work on his wrestling basics a bit and matches will be more intense. I give a lot of credit to those two on working towards becoming great wrestlers.
Secondly, if you have some pretty standard backyard wrestlers now, the next thing you will need is a ring. I've seen alot of matches on Best of Backyard Wrestling where guys aren't wrestling on anything but ground, and I wouldn't recommend it. All my respect towards those guys for doing what they do, but for people just getting into backyard wrestling, it's best to have something to break your fall to get rid of match fear. Plus, injury lists won't be as long. What we use in BJW are matresses. Just go down to Salvation Army or something like that and you can pick up matresses good enough for doing wrestling moves on for cheaper than $40. Now if that still seems like a large amount to pay, get your guys together and have everyone throw in $5 or $10. Teamwork is key. Now, I'm warning you now, the more you use the matresses the more they will wear down, so make sure you have about 2 large matresses to go ontop of eachother, and some camper matresses to go around the sides of the main part of the ring.
Once you've got this, you will want to either cover the mats up so they don't move a lot, or tie them together or something. Just use your imagination and be creative with what you want your product to look like.
Now, every fed has some sort of entrance way. you can either have a bedsheet hiding a door, or make your own for pretty cheap. What we did was buy about 5 steel poles for 99 cents each. Instead of screwing them into eachother, we just ductaped them together and it worked out just as good. We put two sets of two steel poles together and made them into little base supporters on opposite sides. Then we took the last one and ductaped it on to the top. When that was over (took about 10 minutes at most) we threw a couple bedsheets over and got clothespines to secure them onto the top pole.
After we had the basic entrance way, we brought out my CD player and turned it up to full blast. This gave us our entrance music. You'll realize it's all pretty simple to do once you have the right stuff.
I know what you're thinking now, "What about the props?". Well let me tell you, cookie sheets are awesome weapons. They barely give off any pain, and they are cheap if you buy them down at the Salvation Army. Tables are a little different. I had wood for tables, but we used them all up, so now we gotta find more. I suppose if you have a source who has chip board or panelling you should ask them if you can use some. If you want to buy it, I would recommend you cut it into atleast 2 tables when you get it, because they are a little expensive from lumber stores. It costs atleast $12 to $20 for a sheet of either chipboard or panelling. This is something I would also recommend researching to find less expensive wood, and ofcourse when it comes to it, Teamwork is always helpful.
Another great weapon is a ladder. If you really know how to take a ladder hit, selling it is no problem. The reaction is awesome, and the sound of it is loud. Ladders can be useful for alot of things if you, again, use your imagination.
I'm sure you all want blood or whatever, so here's my thought on it. Blood caps aren't really my thing. We haven't used them, so I really couldn't tell you what to do with them. Our blood is real...athough, I wouldn't recommend that to everyone. What you gotta do is talk to all your wrestlers about the thought of bringing blood into your fed. If you think blood packs are a good idea and you figure out how to use them, by all means, use them. That's the safest way. Remember, you want a good product, but you also wanna have a sense of safety when wrestling. If you choose to use something to cut yourselves (which I strongly recommend you research first so you don't cut an important vein or nerve or something) then do what WWE does, and use razors. I want to make it very clear though, that this style isn't the best. I would definetly try blood packs first if you really want blood. For us, it just happens. That's pretty much our motto right there. Shit Happens. We know that if we start bleeding in a match, it won't be that bad if you respect eachother and have that sense of safety. I have been thrown into a ladder head first and got busted open, and that was the only time I thought I would need stitches. But I didn't (Thankfully). Other things that happen are cookie/chair shots that cut people open a bit, and one time Insane Juggalo gave The Communist a nose bleed with a splash ontop of his face. Therefore, I would say don't bring in blood, just let it happen if it happens, unless you want to use blood packs.
That is pretty much it. The last thing I want to say is for wrestlers, do not copy gimmicks and stuff from pro-wrestlers. For example, don't call yourself something like "Stone Cold Rob" with a special as a Stone Cold Rob Stunner. It's not creative. The more original your federation is, the more fans you will get if you're promoted enough. If you're thinking you want to become a professional wrestler someday, then one definet thing you will want to have is good microphone skills. Think of things to say in your wrestlers character and practice infront of a mirror. The better your character is on the mic, the more reaction the fans will give you. With just talking on the mic, you are indicating whether you are Heel(bad guy) or Face (good guy). There's nothing the fans love more than a wrestler who knows exactly what to say at exactly the right time and knows how to back up his words with actions.
Ok, I lied, the last thing I want to say is to PROMOTE YOUR FEDERATION. The more promotion you have, and the more people want to see what your fed is about, the more support you will have, and after a bit, if you have enough people willing to come, you can charge them to watch. Don't make them pay like $20 to come...just start it with little pay, like $2 - $5 with a free pop or something. You want to bring in the people to make your fed work. With fan money you can buy more props, a better ring, and ideally, a better federation.
Now go out there and make a fed, promote it, and have the most entertaining wrestling matches ever. Maybe one day it will become your career.. who knows...but remember, always have original stuff, and always have a sense of safety and respect for eachother.
