It has been pretty self-evident that things have been rocky for Deathmatch Downunder over the past year. From going on a mid year hiatus and running fewer shows, to information about their crowdfunded venue becoming less abundant, it’s been sad to see this blossoming promotion become background noise through the year. That was until October 22nd here in the United States, when an update was posted onto Deathmatch Downunder’s official website. In the update, DMDU Promoter Joel Bateman came clean and gave a rundown about the state of the company.
After reading through the update, I wanted to break it down; offering a summary of the major points from this “ramble of conscious thought”. Before I give a summary of Joel Bateman’s words, I want to clarify that the following is just that: a Summary. If you would like to read Joel’s post in full, it can be found here, and I implore you to give it a read for the fuller details of it all. And if there are any parties from DMDU who feel that I’ve misunderstood points and portions of the original update, feel free to reach out to me. But with this out of the way, let’s get into the update.
The Summary of Events
Joel Bateman starts this update by taking a moment to give thanks to various people and groups around DMDU. More specifically, he thanks talent, production crew, family and press. And most specifically, he thanks names such as Erin Dick, Callen Butcher and Damian Rivers (who’ve made their departure from Deathmatch Downunder through this year) amongst others. Bateman then confirms that he is in fact solely running Deathmatch Downunder. He further elaborates that as management of DMDU has changed over time, so has the division of labor. And as those behind the scenes exited the company, the division of labor would slowly grow bigger on each person until it was ultimately just Joel taking on the workload.
The topic then shifted into one of the hot button issues surrounding Deathmatch Downunder: the crowdfunding of 3011 Arena; what was planned to be Deathmatch Downunder’s own venue. In the elaboration that followed, Joel treads lightly in his explanation due to “Australia’s strict defamation laws”. After viewing the potential space and gaining acceptance on the building that was set to become the 3011 Arena in Footscray, Victoria, Australia, the company paid their “first months deposit & bond” and all seemed well. However, what followed was “stalling” and “[solicitation]…for more and more money to get…over the line and hand over the keys.” And so DMDU poured their capital into the venue and were even “…happy to sign on for a many year lease”. However things took a turn just one week before their scheduled Pour Decisions 2 event, as the businessman they were working with for the space “‘cop called’ himself, as well as contacted local council trying to get us cancelled…” Upon talking to authorities, not only did DMDU find out that the police were fine with the event, but also that this businessman has dealt with other customers in a similar manor; with reviews available online to back up this behavior. Joel would later clarify that DMDU was not simply holding on to money given to the company by donors. In fact, DMDU has “liquidated a number of [their] physical assets…” in order to refund backers around $11,000.
Joel Bateman would also use this post to announce his stepping down as promoter of Deathmatch Downunder. Despite the fact that Joel was stepping down from his position, he would not leave DMDU without good hands to take the company forward. According to Joel, there are people who had reached out to him about taking over for him and running the company. And even after laying out both the good and the bad about the company’s situation, this group is “all in on this mission.” At the helm of this group will be Jem Stone: formerly both a fan, and a member of the Deathmatch Downunder ring crew, now “…the face of DMDU” as told by Joel. In the writing of this article, I reached out to Jem Stone about what she is looking to accomplish as the new face of DMDU. Jem responded with the following:
When I came into DMDU as a fan, I found something I didn’t know I needed. A sense of belonging in a safe and inclusive environment. Within two attendances I was working ring crew and never turned back. I was all in to help this promotion continue show after show however I could which has lead me to running shows for DMDU and now taking over the face of the promotion.
Jem Stone
Over time as things have changed and our dreams were scammed out from under us, we lost that sense of a “home”, a safe place for talent and fans alike, we were defeated, heartbroken and struggling.
My goal is to bring back that sense of a loving and trusting environment designed for talent to thrive and fans to be entertained. Our core mission is the same as what it was in the beginning, while some things may change being a new team, the goal is the same. Deathmatch isn’t that big of a thing over here, which is what makes us at DMDU so much more special. My personal goal is to give to others what DMDU has given to me… a home.
While this was meant to address the ongoing issues with the company, the post was not all gloom. Joel Bateman reflected and celebrates the many positives that have come from Deathmatch Downunder. Among the positives were utilizing local talents, being able to bring in international talents, as well as DMDU talents being able to travel internationally from their platform. And most importantly, giving Deathmatch Wrestling in Australia a proper platform to succeed and grow. As Joel began to close this post, he shared his wishes for the community based around Deathmatch Downunder to continue to flourish without him at the wheel; be it locally or around the world. Joel closed this post with a thank you to all supporters, and to those who choose to stay on and support the company as it moves forward into the future.
As a fan of the company myself, I too hope that Deathmatch Downunder gets to push on and comeback from the past year of unfortunate events. DMDU has produced some fantastic wrestling, and has introduced me to so many different talents that I most likely would have never known about. Not to mention the close bond that the company clearly has with its fanbase. Having made the journey to Australia to see them, I’ve gotten to experience the environment the company has created firsthand. I was surrounded by some of the most welcoming people I’ve ever been around at a wrestling show.
I truly wish Deathmatch Downunder the absolute best as the company moves forward with their new management team in place. And you can follow DMDU on Twitter for updates as they take this big step forward.
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