Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly
Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly
Apostrophe Podcast Network
Selling Violence: Marketing Combat Sports
27 minutes Posted Apr 11, 2026 at 3:56 pm.
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Show notes

This week, we look at the marketing of violent sports.

Starting with a man named Tex Rickard, who wrote the playbook on fight promotion back in the 1920s.

We’ll analyze how WWE pro wrestling took a page from Rickard to create spectacles.

And we look at the phenomenon that is the UFC – and how mixed martial arts promotion can be carbon-dated all the way back to Rickard in the ‘20s.


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