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| CANTRELL DENIES MONEY PROBLEMS KILLED LEGENDS SHOW
March 10, 2008 Despite mounting evidence to the contrary, Georgia Wrestling Promotions owner Roger Cantrell has steadfastly denied that money problems were at the root of his decision to cancel the “Night of Legends” show scheduled for March 14 in Dalton at the Northwest Georgia Trade Center. Cantrell maintains that he had the money and sponsors, but had lost faith in his booking team due to their record of incompetence. Cantrell, who is a severe diabetic, also cited the toll the stress was taking on his health, and problems with NWA Anarchy as additional factors. Cantrell admitted to being over $1,000 in the hole coming off the Lafayette and Woodstock shows that drew very poorly. Cantrell said he did not bring sufficient funds to fully cover his costs and was counting on the box office to pay talent at both of those shows. Cantrell admitted that he had not been able pay the undercard talent what they would have been expecting. Some say they got nothing at all. Sources say Cantrell left the Lafayette show early with money still owed to the building and venue personnel. Cantrell never paid the $2,500 up front fee for Scott Steiner’s appearance in Dalton. It’s one of the few points of agreement between Cantrell and his critics. Cantrell stated that he made a deal directly with Steiner to pay his $2,500 fee on the night of the show. But once Cantrell began advertising Steiner, he was contacted by TNA Bookings Director Bill Behrens, who informed him that payment was due in advance. According to Behrens, Cantrell missed the due date for payment and despite promises to pay, it never happened. Meanwhile, Cantrell had been adding name talent to the Dalton lineup right up until the ill-fated February 29 show in Woodstock including the Masked Superstar, Tommy Rich, Raven, Manny Fernandez, Ricky Morton, and Erik Watts. This left talent many of those associated with GWP to wonder where was the money going to come from. Cantrell stated he would receive the cash payments from the Trade Center box office on the night of the show. He also stated the Trade Center events staff told him he did not need to provide insurance. Tuesday Jones at the Trade Center had a different story. Jones stated that Cantrell would need to provide his own insurance and that a check for the box office receipts would not be available to Cantrell until the Monday or Tuesday after the show. GWP’s fee for the use of the facility was $2,600 to be paid in advance. Liability insurance was estimated as being in the neighborhood of $800-$1,000. Cantrell’s March 2 email message informing parties associated with GWP of his decision to cancel the show stated he had lost thousands in the wrestling business and ticket sales for Dalton had “slowed to a crawl.” According to Cantrell, only 85 ringside seats and an undetermined number of general admission seats had been sold through the Trade Center box office. Cantrell indicated that NWA Anarchy played an indirect role in the demise of the Legends show. Among other things, Cantrell accused NWA Anarchy owner Jerry Palmer of trying to enlist Cantrell’s former head of security, Jimmy Oxendine, to promote shows with Anarchy in lieu of the GWP shows. Palmer stated that it was Oxendine that approached him about running shows due to the mounting financial problems in GWP. Cantrell reportedly settled a $2,700 debt to Oxendine by giving him the GWP ring. All of the above notwithstanding, Cantrell is back in business with a show scheduled for Woodstock on March 28. Next: Bookers to Blame? |