– lack of effective sponsorship,GRA matter,among issues cited
The Guyana Wrestle Mania which was set for this Saturday at the National Park has hit yet another snag so the promoters announced yesterday that the event has been postponed until October 31.
Dennis Adonis, whose company Sound Proof Music along with Regional Wrestling Federation was tasked with organizing the event in Guyana, told Stabroek Sport yesterday that it was the lack of sponsorship and their inability to properly arrange flights for the selected wrestlers that caused the postponement.
Adonis added that there are still certain areas that must be cleared with the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and although the wrestlers were ready and prepared to come, they were still working on their contracts.
One such wrestler was ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin who, he said, had given them an ultimatum to find a chartered flight and even though they knew it would have been a bit tight for them as organizers to fulfill they were still trying to get Austin in for the event.
To date Adonis said that they have spent approximately $19 million on the event from a projected cost of $35 million in total. With the date rescheduled, he said they would now have to find some $1.7 million to have the wrestlers return.
The organizers had considered August 29 as a rescheduled date for the event but noted in a release that it would have been unethical to compete with another event that is scheduled for the same weekend.
Keeping the event in September, the release stated, would not have been seen as a financially viable period since it would be competing with the resumption of the new school term and parents would be reeling from the financial burdens of the summer holidays.
Ticket refund
Meanwhile, Adonis said that persons who had already purchased tickets to the event would be given a full refund by the ticketing office from which they made the purchase.
He said that the three outlets were GiftLand Office Max, Phone Depot and Channel 6 (Sharma).
Checks by Stabroek Sport at ‘Sharma’ revealed that so far only one person had gained a refund. A representative at the building stated that they were told by Adonis that the event would no longer be held on Saturday but until October 31 and so they should issue the refund.
The woman said that they are still in receipt of all the revenues from ticket sales and like all the other box offices they will be giving refunds to legal ticket holders whose ticket was purchased at their establishment.
The 2009 Guyana Wrestle Mania had promised clashes among some of the biggest stars in international wrestling and would have consisted of actual wrestling performances by several groups of wrestlers from the World Wrestling Entertainment Group (WWE).
But up to last week, several sections of the media had reported that all that was known about the event was that the National Park was booked for August 15 and this had raised some concerns about the credibility of the event.
It was further shrouded by a number of questions after a former sponsor, Game Express, publicly distanced itself, saying that they were not comfortable with the way the event was being managed and that Adonis had failed to provide certain vital information to them which would have signalled the authenticity of the event.