New World Pro-Wrestling - The New Alternative

[PWC2017]

Setting the scene

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The story starts in the Summer of 2025. The wrestling landscape is one of big ideas and big money but no true alternative to the usual weekly episodic soap opera with the same in ring promos, the same gimmick matches, the same false finishes. An ambitious Las Vegas based private equity group looking at ways to build they're portfolio saw potential in pro-wrestling. Matt Manson was a 37 year old British Sports Executive who had built an extensive CV working within the Hong Kong and North American Soccer league systems.

Manson was living in Las Vegas, a city where had been based for over 8 years, moving to the USA in 2016 as part of 'Project 26', designed to create a UK style Soccer League pyramid in North America. Manson had moved to Las Vegas from Hong Kong in 2016. He had been living in Hong Kong since leaving the UK aged 20 in 2007. As with all these things, it was a girl he was seeing who's father worked for the British Embassy in Hong Kong meant when she asked Manson to come with her he jumped at the chance.

Life in Hong Kong was initially tough, with Manson only knowing very basic words in Cantonese but he loved the social aspect of the big city. As the months went by he picked up more and more words and also went to language class. By the time 2009 came round he was a lot more comfortable in conversations with locals and in his role working for a Boxing Promotion where he would assist a friend with seeing up events locally. Around the same time he got a major job at the HK Football Association as a competition assistant helping with all areas of the league, updating the social media accounts and website. He realised quite quickly that he believed the league system needed a lot of work and put forward some proposals to the HK Senior Management. They were impressed and believed having a younger person leading a new project would make sense.

As the years went by he split with the girl he had first met in 2006 and now had quite the impressive social circle. A good group of friends, mainly other expats and had quite the life. Living in Kennedy Town from 2009 to 2014 he was playing football a couple of times a week for a local team. Family would come over a couple of times a year and he would return back to the UK around once every two years. It was a great time.

Manson first came into contact with Tony Khan in June 2010. He and Khan had been introduced with each other in Hong Kong at a Commercial Sports event. Most of the conversation was about the growth of football in Hong Kong. Khans father Shahid was in the process of building his own sporting empire taking over the Jacksonville Jaguars earlier in the year and were looking at other investments. But talk soon turned to Pro-Wrestling. Manson was what you would call a 'Part-Time' fan. Something he watched as a kid during the 90's and kind of kept up with what was going on but seemed less and less. He had become more interested in Boxing and MMA, like many others.

Part of Manson and Khans initial conversations both in person and by email was how would a new promotion work? For Khan, it would be a mix of all non WWE organisations. Manson disagreed. He believed it needed to be a true alternative. For him, WWE were always going to be the best at everything but what they didnt do was pro-wrestling as a pseudo legitimate sport. Weight classes, Time limits, a sports presentation. Khan understood and the two would spend the next 6 years talking about ways to start a new promotion.

Khan had the money, Manson had the vision. In the end, after many years of back and forth Khan decided on what he believed it was going to be and asked Manson to come on board. Manson knew that if he decided to take Khans offer, he wouldn't have the autonomy to create and mould what he believed would be a successful alternative to WWE. He understood it wasn't his money so it wasn't his place and knew Khan had the passion and ambition himself. He knew he would be treading on toes so decided to decline the offer.

It was around the same time, the Summer of 2015 that Manson got another offer, this time to head 'Project 26' a huge plan to create a UK style Soccer League pyramid in North America. The offer came from two capital investment firms as well as the US Soccer Federation. This offer gave Manson the opportunity to plan the next 10 years himself. He would be given full control of the project which allowed him to plan ahead. In May 2016 he moved from Hong Kong to Las Vegas to start the next chapter of his life.

 

[PWC2017]

Setting the Scene - 2
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The next 10 years were busy but fulfilling. Based in Las Vegas, Manson was really enjoying life out there with drives out to the Nevada and Utah desert, partying in Sin City and easy trips to LA and the West Coast, his life had it all. There was a real difference from living in Hong Kong, and he missed the hustle and bustle of HK life but equally fell in love with Vegas. It wasn't all play out there, he was working hard, very hard with longer days travelling most weeks around the Country as well as Canada. He was affectively a sole contractor creating a brand new league system from nothing. He needed contacts and needed help both from the various soccer leagues in North America and from 2016 to 2024 had, alongside and with great assistance with the executives from MLS, USL and other leagues created the outlines of the pyramid. A league system, starting in February 2026 would have over 400 teams across the US and Canada. It was a huge job but Manson had developed immense pride in what the 2026 North American Soccer League was going to look like.

Part of the role over that 8 year period was creating new teams and developing new markets, and to do that meant dealing with lots of different businesses looking to invest. One of the big changes Manson saw was the increase in private equity looking to invest in Sport. From 2016 to 2024 numerous Capital Investment firms had started investing in either Soccer, US Sports as well as MMA and of course Pro Wrestling.

By the time the Summer of 2024 had come around, the base for Project 26 was pretty much completed. The league and pyramid structure was agreed by all of the relevant parties involved including new offices for the newly reformed NASL in Irvine, California. The MLS would stay in New York with both Presidents staying in there respective roles. Manson was offered to stay on in an unofficial capacity but felt that once the job had been done with Project 26 he wanted to move away from any league projects in Soccer going forward.

One of the Investment Firms Manson had been in contact with was Pershing Square Capital Management along with there subsidiary Howard Hughes LLC. A major hedge fund based in New York. They had been one of many firms with an interest in taking over a soccer team. The first conversations took place in 2018, and by 2021 they had agreed to take over the Las Vegas Lights, a small team playing in the USL. Manson was ok with the deal as it meant a complete restructure with Pershing acquiring rights to the a new name for the team, 'Atletico Las Vegas' as well as ring fencing around $550M to build a new 22,500 stadium just south of Harry Reid International Airport, on Las Vegas Blvd and Hidden Well Drive. The stadium development broke ground in May 2023 with an opening date the opening day of the MLS Third League in February 2026.

In April 2024 Pershing and Howard Hughes formed a new spin off LLC called Seaport Entertainment Group. The new group would be the Holding company for both Atletico Las Vegas as well as Minor League Baseball team the Las Vegas Aviators. The LLC would also own various entertainment and developments around the US.

The first discussions between Manson and Seaport/Pershing were in the Summer of 2023 at the groundbreaking of the new Atletico Las Vegas stadium. Seaport/Pershing wanted to expand there entertainment and sporting portfolio but didnt know what to invest in. Manson proposed coming on board and managing both the soccer team as well as becoming the figurehead of a pro-wrestling organisation.