Billy Corgan Says He Pitched Resistance Pro Wrestling to Stephanie McMahon as a Possible WWE Developmental Territory

For the past year, the Smashing Pumpkins’ frontman has worked as the behind-the-scenes brainchild for the Resistance Pro Wrestling promotion out of Illinois. He teamed with R-Pro owners, brothers Gabe and Jacques Baron, to raise the diminished expectations that usually come with a typical weekend indie show and make the company a smashing success over the first 10 cards.

Stretched out in a Philadelphia hotel room, Corgan explained he’s in the wrestling business for the long haul.

“I like that it makes people uncomfortable,” Corgan said. “I like that it’s not an easy thing to explain. I like when it’s great, it’s amazing; when it’s bad, it’s really, really bad.”

Corgan’s music career has pretty much been all great since he founded the seminal 1990s alternative-rock band that keeps churning out acclaimed records, like their latest, “Oceania,” even as they endured a breakup, lawsuits, and multiple lineup changes.

He shifted his talents to R-Pro as the creative director, where he consults with wrestlers and maps out old-school story lines with a modern twist to keep the promotion strong.

R-Pro isn’t quite the behemoth of World Wrestling Entertainment. But it’s not the typical low-budget show held in the local high school.

“We want to be able to expand to where we’re a national brand and can run pretty much anywhere in the country,” Corgan said. “My name and my access to certain things get help get us there, but it doesn’t mean we’re ready for that. We’re better off being a little bit more conservative.”

Corgan and the Baron brothers have no interest in running a typical indie show stocked with old-timers and highspots with no true story advancement. Corgan wants episodic events where the next show builds off the last one. He’s pitched a reality show on the promotion to a handful of networks and has even proposed becoming a developmental system for the WWE with Stephanie McMahon, who oversees the sports entertainment giant’s creative department.

“I think it would be to our credit to get people to the top level,” Corgan said. “I think it does a disservice to our talent to not prepare them for the next level.”...More?

source: washingtonpost.com