Professional Wrestling Championship - The True Alternative

[PWC2017]

This is the story of the new era of Professional Wrestling. An era where the Khan families wealth and ambition was matched by the vision of British man Matthew Manson.

19th December 2016
Hearing that billionaire wrestling fan Tony Khan has set up shell company in Delaware to start new promotion
110+ likes
davemeltzerWON
(Twitter) · 15 hours ago

20th December 2016
Three Count Sports & Entertainment LLC has been formed, company have acquired TNA from Dixie Carter and Ring of Honor from Sinclair Broadcasting Group. Incredible news.
1k+ likes
davemeltzerWON
(Twitter) · 15 hours ago

 

[PWC2017]

20th December 2016

Three Count Sports & Entertainment, LLC formed - Take over TNA Wrestling & Ring of Honor Wrestling
News provided by
Three Count Sports & Entertainment, LLC
Dec 20, 2016, 16:56 ET
JACKSONVILLE, FL, USA, December 20 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Three Count Sports & Entertainment, LLC, is pleased to announce that it has acquired full ownership stakes in both TNA Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor Pro Wrestling. This investment cements Three Count Sports & Entertainments presence in the world of Professional Wrestling.

The ultimate goal for Three Count Sports & Entertainment is to create a brand new Wrestling Promotion, combining the great talents in both TNA and ROH.

The full breakdown of the board of directors of Three Count Sports & Entertainment are as seen below;

PRESIDENT - Shahid Khan
VICE PRESIDENT - Tony Khan
DIRECTOR - Matthew Manson
DIRECTOR - Megha Parekh

'Today marks an exciting new chapter in the world of Professional Wrestling. With the acquisition of both TNA and ROH, Three Count Sports & Entertainment has an incredible platform to create the best Pro Wrestling Promotion in the world. That is our goal and in 2017 it will become a reality' said Tony Khan, Co-Founder and Vice President of Three Count Sports & Entertainment LLC.

For Media Inquiries:
Three Count Sports & Entertainment LLC
SOURCE Three Count Sports & Entertainment LLC

 

[PWC2017]

A Little Background Info​

Matthew Manson was just under 30 years old in October 2016 and his life was about to take a rather interesting turn. Well, as interesting as the rest of his adult life had been so far. Manson was currently living in Hong Kong when Tony Khan, a friend who he had met in Tokyo around Three years prior confirmed plans to create a new Professional Wrestling promotion in North America. They had become friends at an off-chance meeting after a New Japan Pro-Wresting event in the Summer of 2013. Manson knew who he was, as a Soccer fan and who was then working as a Marketing & Event Executive at the Kong Kong Football Association. Manson had moved to Hong Kong in 2007, aged 19. Although he hadn't excelled at School and to be honest, never was the most academic and although he could enjoy his own company, Manson enjoyed his social life, having a tight knit group of mates and in 2006 meeting a girl, Sarah, who, although British, had grown up in Hong Kong as her father was a member of the British Consulate out there.


Matt and Sarah got on well, enjoyed each others company and over time fell for each other. In the Summer of 2007, Sarah was in the process of moving back to Hong Kong and ask Matt if he would come over too. He agreed, thinking that he didn't really have much for himself back home. The normal life, mundanity of been a 19/20 year old in Birmingham didn't really excite him too much and after saying goodbye to family, he took the 12 hour flight to Hong Kong.


Fast forward a few years and it's 2012. Sarah is long gone and Matt had cemented himself in the HK lifestyle. Living with a mate in Kennedy Town, a small area west of Central HK, he now worked as an Executive at the Hong Kong Football Association as well as a Event planner for a small Boxing Promotion that had put on cards involving former World Champion Rex Tso. It was the high life he started to really enjoy, parties in Kowloon as well as the Soho district were a weekly occurrence. A new, tighter group of friends meant Matt was living the life, many back home in dear old England could only dream of.


By 2013, Matt had grown into his role at the HK Football Association. It had taken on much larger responsibilities and meant travelling to Japan, mainland China as well as other Counties in Asia was a regular occurrence. This is where he first met Tony Khan. Not at a Soccer match, but at a New Japan Pro Wrestling Event. Matt wasn't that much of a fan of Wrestling, not anymore anyway. He loved it as a kid, like everyone else, but grew out of it over time. He had heard about Japanese Wrestling though, while he was living in Hong Kong and had started to really enjoy it. He had taken to watching matches on YouTube and was taken aback by the realism of the whole thing. How the matches looked, how the areas looked, the ring, the mat. The sponsors. It didn't look like Wrestling, it looks legit, like boxing or MMA. It fascinated him that nothing like this had ever seemingly been attempted at the highest stages in the USA.

 

[PWC2017]

The Meeting ​

The first meeting between Khan and Manson was an interesting one. Most of the conversation in that Ginza bar was about Soccer, Fulham mainly and the influx of US owners into the British game as well as Manson talking about this role in the development of the sport within Hong Kong and Macau. Then the talk moved onto pro wrestling, mainly Tonys love for the sport and his belief that there is a market for another promotion in the US. Manson agreed, although he believed as WWE was so financially secure and 'on top' a new promotion would need to be vastly different to them. A true alternative. Manson and Khan discussed and debated what differences could be implemented within a new promotion. The main points were debated below.

• Could a sports based presentation work?
• Win/Loss records within a worked promotion?
• Usage of weight classes?
• Starting point for promotion, taking over other organisations?

It was a good debate. Khan seemed to side with a mix of the above and also 'keeping it simple'. Manson disagreed, his belief been that WWE held all the cards and had effectively 'sewn up how the business works' and that any new promotion would need to 'completely reinvent the wheel'.

Manson believed that anything similar to WWE would always come off as 'WWE lite' so what would the point be? Doing something different, creating a new way of doing this would be the most important way of separating themselves with the old ways of doing things. A completely different proposition. A true alternative and also a totally different 'universe' if you will.

Khan and Manson went there separate ways but kept in touch by email, mainly to talk about potential Soccer ideas regarding the HK National Team and Fulham but talk would sometimes return to Pro Wrestling and the current goings on. Khan was more up to date with the product but Manson continued to have the vision for something new. Something fresh and Khan knew if anything was to come up in the future he would have Matthew in mind to be part of the team.

 

[PWC2017]

2nd January 2017
Three Count Sports & Entertainment LLC acquire 50% of NJPW from parent company Bushiroad for around $10 Million Dollars. This seems like the big one.
5k+ likes
davemeltzerWON
(Twitter) · 1 hour ago

 

[PWC2017]

2nd January 2017

Three Count Sports & Entertainment, LLC acquire 50% stake in New Japan Pro Wrestling
News provided by
Three Count Sports & Entertainment, LLC
Jan 2, 2017, 17:05 ET
JACKSONVILLE, FL, USA, January 2 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Three Count Sports & Entertainment, LLC, is pleased to announce that it has acquired a 50% stake in New Japan Pro Wrestling. This investment cements Three Count Sports & Entertainments presence in the world of Professional Wrestling.

The ultimate goal for Three Count Sports & Entertainment is to create a brand new Wrestling Promotion, combining the great talents in both TNA and ROH as well as New Japan Pro Wrestling.

The full breakdown of the board of directors of Three Count Sports & Entertainment are as seen below;

PRESIDENT - Shahid Khan
VICE PRESIDENT - Tony Khan
DIRECTOR - Matthew Manson
DIRECTOR - Megha Parekh

'Today marks an exciting new chapter in the world of Professional Wrestling. Along with the previous acquisitions of both TNA and ROH, Three Count Sports & Entertainment has an incredible platform to create the best Pro Wrestling Promotion in the world. In the coming weeks we will confirm our plans and announce the details of the brand new promotion that will put on it's first event in July 2017' said Tony Khan, Co-Founder and Vice President of Three Count Sports & Entertainment LLC.

For Media Inquiries:
Three Count Sports & Entertainment LLC
SOURCE Three Count Sports & Entertainment LLC

 

[PWC2017]

The Skype Call that Changed it All​

It was March 2015 and Tony Khan and Matthew Manson hadn't been in contact for a while, probably around six months. Both were busy with there respective organisations, Khan with the Jags and Fulham and Manson with the HK Football League. That would change one night, when Tony would email Matt asking if he was free to chat.


He was and the Skype call came through. It was more animated Tony as usual, which is saying something when you think of Tony Khan. Over the next 30 minutes, Tony waxed lyrical about how he wanted to create a brand new wrestling promotion and that he wanted Manson to be the CEO of the company. He wanted Manson to be the main man. Matt was taken aback, he was excited but also needed some assurances. The main ones were the obvious ones as Manson was under contract until the Summer of 2017 with the Hong Kong Football Association and couldn't just up sticks from a place he had been living in for nearly a decade.

• What does this look like?

• How much control would he have?

• When would you like to start?

Tony made it clear that Matt would have full control of everything. He trusted him and believed in his vision for a sports presentation based pro wrestling organisation. It was something that Matt wanted to hear as he wasn't prepared to leave his career, a career and life he had built for himself for something half assed. The conversation carried on, with Manson adding some of his thoughts on what he believed needed to take place in the first few months for this to all become a reality.

• We need to start with making sure we have a solid ground to build on, we need to look at TNA and ROH especially and see if we can do a deal with the ownerships.

• Once we have built that platform we need to see if we can either work with NJPW or acquire a stake in them so we can use the talent that has been established over there.

• We need to work on getting a TV and PPV deal immediately.

• We need to establish a name and headquarters for the organisation immediately and start from there.

Tony was all ears and excited to hear more from Manson but knew this was only the start and also knew that the best thing for the both of them to do was to sit down in Hong Kong and really go over what they believed the best way forward was to be.

 

[PWC2017]

20th January 2017
Three Count Sports & Entertainment LLC complete takeover of NWA from International Wrestling Corp. Is this the final piece of the jigsaw?
1k+ likes
davemeltzerWON
(Twitter) · 6 hour ago

20th January 2017
Tony Khan in statement confirms new promotion will amalgamate NWA, TNA & ROH. NJPW will continue as separate entity.
500+ likes
davemeltzerWON
(Twitter) · 5 hour ago

20th January 2017
'We wanted NWA for it's history and prestige, that will be vitally important in the future when this new promotion gets off the ground'
3k+ likes
davemeltzerWON
(Twitter) · 5 hour ago

 

[PWC2017]

20th January 2017

Three Count Sports & Entertainment, LLC acquire full ownership of the National Wrestling Alliance
News provided by
Three Count Sports & Entertainment, LLC
Jan 20, 2017, 16:25 ET
JACKSONVILLE, FL, USA, January 20 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Three Count Sports & Entertainment, LLC, is pleased to announce that it has acquired the National Wrestling Alliance. With this transaction, Three Count can now put together the finest and most exciting pro wrestling organisation in the world.

The ultimate goal for Three Count Sports & Entertainment is to create a brand new Wrestling Promotion, combining the great talents in both TNA and ROH as well as New Japan Pro Wrestling. Todays announcement only solidifies our ultimate goal of making this happen.

The full breakdown of the board of directors of Three Count Sports & Entertainment are as seen below;

PRESIDENT - Shahid Khan
VICE PRESIDENT - Tony Khan
DIRECTOR - Matthew Manson
DIRECTOR - Megha Parekh

'After over 18 months of negotiations with some of the biggest promotions we are able to confirm an exciting new chapter in the world of Professional Wrestling. Along with the previous acquisitions of both TNA, ROH and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Three Count Sports & Entertainment has created an incredible platform to create the best Pro Wrestling Promotion in the world. We feel that in acquiring the NWA we now have the prestige and history required to serve us well in the coming years. In the coming weeks we will confirm our full plans and announce the details of the brand new promotion that will put on it's first event in July 2017' said Tony Khan, Co-Founder and Vice President of Three Count Sports & Entertainment LLC.

For Media Inquiries:
Three Count Sports & Entertainment LLC
SOURCE Three Count Sports & Entertainment LLC

 

[PWC2017]

Face to Face - Hong Kong - January 2016​

The rest of 2015 was mainly Tony and Matt putting the initial pieces together of what they wanted the promotion to look like. Mainly emails back and forth with ideas on wrestlers, PPV names etc. Fun stuff to think up but actually, they really wanted it to be right. You don't want to half ass this as it seems many of these promotions seemed to do. Just do WWE, but a little differently. The PPV names, the segments. Every promotion seemed to have someone holding a briefcase. It all seemed hacky and pointless. It was the one thing Manson didn't want this to be. He wanted it to look more like the UFC than WWE. If they could put the UFC, NJPW and a sprinkle of WWE in a melting pot and mix it up he felt the outcome could be incredible and most importantly, be different enough to be true alternative to WWE.


Khan and Manson met face to face in January 2016. Tony decided it was easier to travel to Hong Kong and spend a few days when Matthew was free to really confirm the plans and ideas for the promotion. It was a cloudy and rainy Monday afternoon when Khan and Manson finally sat down together. In a corner of a small bar in the Shangri La Hotel in Central Hong Kong, they both got down to work. The first thing to action was where would we want the organisations headquarters to be. Khan felt a decent idea would be keep it in house in Jacksonville where he and his family were based. Manson felt differently. Firstly, he felt it needed to be a place where you could bring sponsors and TV partners. A place where it felt legitimate. Also, somewhere where Manson would want to live. He wasn't exactly brimming with excitement potentially living in Florida. He wanted somewhere more interesting. He knew where he wanted it to be. The fight capital of the world, Las Vegas. He believed it would bring a level of seriousness to the organisation right off the bat. It would also be a place where there would enough venues to house multiple events for cheaper rent fees if needed. Khan agreed with the reasoning and got his team back in the US to start looking at offices in Las Vegas that could be used once Manson was ready to move over.

The next subject was how the events would be plotted and realistically when would the first event start. Manson put out that he believed around Eight PPVs per year alongside a weekly live card would be the best initial starting point and give the organisation the best chance to grow into the future. Khan agreed and confirmed he had already held provisional talks with two major US broadcasters with a third to come. They also agreed that a provisional date of Saturday July 1st 2017 for the first PPV. It worked as it gave them 18 months to really tie down the nuts and bolts of the whole thing. Matthew had told Tony he was planning to hand in his notice with the Hong Kong Football Association in November 2016 and would be free to start in January 2017 which would then give him around Six months to get the ball rolling before the first event.


They then moved onto talent and how they would create a roster. Manson believed the easiest way to create/build a roster would be to acquire the biggest promotions outside of WWE and go from there. Khan agreed and advised he was already negotiating with ROH and TNA. One idea from Manson was to take over the NWA which would give legitimacy to the new promotion and using the NWA's historical standing to mould a new way of booking would be the way forward in his opinion. Manson described using weight classes to create clear distinctions between wrestlers and angles and would move away from the cabaret/circus feeling of how pro wrestling had become. For Men, Four weight classes, For Women, Two Weight Classes and Two Weight Classes for both Mens and Women's Tag Teams. The reason why he believed this was a good idea, although hard to implement was that it would set the promotion apart, be different and create new angles to work on.


The end of the first face to face meeting felt good. They knew they had got a lot down on paper.

• Headquarters - Las Vegas
• Roster - Acquiring ROH & TNA as well as NWA
• First Event - July 1st 2017
• Weight Classes - Men (Heavyweight / Middleweight / Welterweight / Lightweight) Women (Cruiserweight / Flyweight) Mens Tag - (Super Heavyweight / Super Lightweight) - Women's Tag (Super Cruiserweight / Super Flyweight)

It was onto the next day to make some more plans for the promotion.

 

[PWC2017]

Face to Face - Hong Kong - January 2016 - Day Two​

The next day and more of the same from Khan and Manson. They found there spot, once again in the bar at the Shangri La. It was around 8.30am and most of the people were mulling around having breakfast. With coffees ordered they got back down to work.


The big discussion was what was name of the promotion to be. Khan had one idea, Elite Pro Wrestling. Manson didn't like it. For him it sounded too 'Indie'. He believed it needed to sound something 'World Wide' and his name for the company was 'World Wrestling Championship'. Again, Khan advised that it sounded too much like WWE and could cause issues. It needed to be a legit sounding name, but different enough to set them apart from the competition. After around 20 minutes of coming up with random names the one that they both agreed upon was Professional Wrestling Championship, The PWC. Different and clear and concise. Matthew wanted 'World' in the name but understood that PWC was the next best thing.


One idea Manson had was to have the PWC as the promotion name, but have the NWA as the governing body, in kayfabe of course. The NWA would be the name on the title belts too which would give some gravitas and also make things feel 'different'. Tony agreed, he knew that the NWA was held in such a high regard that bringing the name back would go someway to growing an interest in the organisation straight off the bat.


During the morning meeting, a couple of Wrestlers names started popping up. The first one was CM Punk. At this point he had signed with UFC and was set to have his first fight in the Summer against Mikey Gall. Khan and Manson agreed that seeing if they could negotiate with Punk and the UFC after the event would be a good idea to see if he wanted to come to a sports based pro wrestling organisation. The other name that initially was discussed was Rey Misterio. Mysterio had left WWE the year prior and made sense to see if he was open to be signed. They knew that even if they did acquire both TNA and ROH, they would still need bigger names with star power to assist in growing the profile of the organisation.


The rest of the day was both Khan and Manson confirming legal and contractual negotiations. Manson wanted a percentage of the organisation on top of a yearly salary. Khan agreed, but on one condition. Manson could acquire 25% of the company only if it was still in business after Five years. Khan also said it meant a lower salary in the short term of around $250K a year for 5 Years. Manson agreed and Khan emailed the team back in Jacksonville to print up contracts. The stage was starting to be set.

 

[PWC2017]

29th January 2017

Three Count Sports & Entertainment announce name of new promotion, Professional Wrestling Championship.
2k+ likes
davemeltzerWON
(Twitter) · 1 hour ago

29th January 2017

Tony Khan announces that TV / PPV Broadcast and distribution partner close to been announced.
2k+ likes
davemeltzerWON
(Twitter) · 3 hours ago

29th January 2017

Khan 'The most exciting day in over 15 years in Professional Wrestling. A true alternative is here'
1k+ likes
davemeltzerWON
(Twitter) · 3 hours ago

 

[PWC2017]

29th January 2017

Three Count Sports & Entertainment, LLC announce new promotion - Professional Wrestling Championship
News provided by
Three Count Sports & Entertainment, LLC
Jan 29, 2017, 16:25 ET
LAS VEGAS, NV, USA, January 29 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Three Count Sports & Entertainment, LLC, is excited to announce the formation of Professional Wrestling Championship. Today marks a new era for Sports Entertainment with a new organisation steeped in history and innovation that will present it's first event, on PPV in July 2017.

From the first moment Three Count Sports & Entertainment was formed, the ultimate goal has been to create a brand new Wrestling Promotion, combining the great talents in both TNA, NWA and ROH as well as strong style, sporting philosophy of New Japan Pro Wrestling. Todays announcement of the formation of PCW is the culmination of months of hard work but now the real work begins.

We are proud to announce that the organisation will be based in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Sports and Entertainment capital of the world. The headquarters will be based at the Flamingo Grand Plaza. The senior management team have already set up operation there ready for the first event in July 2017.

Please see below the Senior Management Team of Professional Wrestling Championship;

• PRESIDENT - Tony Khan
• VICE PRESIDENT & CEO - Matthew Manson
• HEAD MATCHMAKER - Cary Silkin
• HEAD OF FINANCE - Chad Glenn
• HEAD OF LEGAL - Megha Prarekh
• HEAD OF EVENT OPERATION - Kosha Irby
• HEAD OF PRODUCTION - Michael Mansury
• HEAD OF MARKETING - Catherine Newman
• HEAD OF MERCHANDISING & LICENSING - Mark Caplan
• HEAD OF PROGRAMMING & PARTNERSHIPS - Shane Emmerson

'What a day, I can safely say that this day will live long in the memory for me. To finally announce the formation of Professional Wrestling Championship. Today feels like the beginning of something incredible. We want to create the most realistic, sports presented professional wrestling organisation, something that has never been done before, we feel that in July 2017, the world will see the beginning of an exciting new era for fans of the squared circle' said Tony Khan, President of Professional Wrestling Championship

For Media Inquiries:
Three Count Sports & Entertainment LLC
SOURCE Three Count Sports & Entertainment LLC

 

[PWC2017]

January 29th 2017


Official Logo Launched -

Website Launched - www.pwc.org


Official Twitter Account Launched - Professional Wrestling Championship (@PWC) ·


Official Instagram Launched - Instagram · pwc
112k+ followers
112k Followers, 5 Following, 1 Post - Professional Wrestling Championship (@pwc) on Instagram: "Official Instagram Account of #PWC"


Official Wikipedia Account Updated -

Industry	Professional Wrestling
Founded	January 29, 2017
Founder	Tony Khan
Headquarters	Las Vegas, NV, USA
Area served	Worldwide
Product	Live Events, Television, Social media, Internet and Merchandise
Owner(s)	Three Count Sports & Entertainment LLC
Website	pwc.org

Professional Wresting Championship (PWC) is an American professional wrestling promotion company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

Founded by Tony Khan on January 29, 2017, the creation of the company sees a new promotion come to life after holding company (Three Count Sports & Entertainment) acquisition of TNA, ROH and a 50% ownership stake in New Japan Pro Wrestling.

The organisation is set to mark it's first event on July 1st 2017.

 

[PWC2017]

Long Days and Nights 1 - July 2016 ​

It was July 30th 2016, Matthew Manson was sitting back after another long day. It was his Birthday, but as most of the rest of 2016 had been, it had been a 16 hour work day with most of his energy taken with Skype calls to Tony Khan. Remember, Manson was still Event Executive of the Hong Kong Football League which had been going through one of the biggest revamps in a generation. Manson had been the figurehead of that change. The league had spent years without any real structure and had fallen well behind other leagues in the region like Singapore and Malaysia. Mansons long term aim when he was appointed in 2010 was for the HK League and Macau League to join forces to create a HK/MAC Super League. By 2016 that new league was two years into it's operation and developing well. A lot of work had gone into the project but by 2015 Manson was able to add work on a new Pro Wrestling Company to his list. He was sitting in his apartment, way up high in the Hong Kong Central Skyline, getting off his Third Skype call of the day, a Two hour meeting with the executives at FOX Corporation. It was the Third meeting with FOX regarding Broadcast rights for the Organisation. Manson liked FOX and saw there sports arm as a way into instant legitimacy. Khan had connections at Warner Bros but Manson couldn't see where the link into PPV distribution could work. Financially both FOX and Warner were offering similar deals of around $150M a year for Five years. The breakdown of what Manson wanted from the deal was;

• WEEKLY LIVE SHOW - 2 HOURS - ON A NETWORK WITH A 70 MILLION REACH
• MONTHLY / 6 WEEKLY - PPV EVENT - 4 HOUR EVENT ON PPV CHANNEL DISTRIBUTED BY NETWORK
• WEEKLY ROUND UP SHOW - ON A NETWORK WITH A 50 MILLION REACH
• FIVE YEAR DEAL INITIALLY WITH A VIEW TO EXTEND

Manson knew FOX would be the best to assist with the above. FOX had the Sports channels required to give legitimacy, as well as a FOX PPV Distribution Channel as opposed to requiring to go elsewhere to distribute. An all in one deal made sense and after multiple meetings with Tony and the other Board members at Three Count the decision was made.


Other Skype meetings over the months included many with wrestlers, potential sponsors, international broadcasters and other potential executives as well as interviewing new team members. It was a long and exhausting process, on top of managing the HK Soccer League but it's what was required. Tony was running Fulham and the Jacksonville Jaguars too so was used to crazy hours and a full on schedule and diary. It was expected and Manson knew that. It was tiring but exciting.


Manson and Khan could see the pieces falling into place. They knew many broadcasters and partners needed content and there was a space for another Wrestling promotion. It was just where that was the question.