Welcome to GrapPro.

Launching August 15th, 2024 as a love letter to GamePro Magazine, GrapPro is an online pro wrestling magazine run by Aaron Wrotkowski to provide editorial, review, news, and more for primarily fans of AEW All Elite Wrestling.

GrapPro is an independent project by one person so subscribing to GrapPro provides the financial opportunity for me to do this full time and provide more content to pro wrestling fans.

Details from the Video

Quick FAQ
When will the website launch?
Launch date goal is Thursday, August 15th, 2024. The first weekly newsletter will come out Sunday, August 18th after the website launch.
Is this a paywall site?
No. There is no paywall on content. Everything on the website can be read by everyone and shared by everyone.
Will you cover WWE?
No.
Will you cover promotions other than AEW?
Rarely. If I feel it’s important to cover (or I watched something and wanted to talk about it) then I will do it but the website is primarily All Elite Wrestling content.
Can I join as a writer/contributor?
Currently no. This is a one person project. I am trying to build an income on my writing. I’m not going to bring writers on and not pay them.

So What Is GrapPro?

Back when I was a kid, I used to buy GamePro magazine every month. GamePro was a videogame magazine. I used to also buy other magazines like GamePlayers, Nintendo Power, Tips & Tricks, and more. GamePlayers was actually my favourite as I once wrote to Jeff Lundrigan. I didn’t get my question answered but I remember them sending back a postcard thanking me for the question. GamePro however was the must buy, especially when GamePlayers went through a bunch of changes in the late 90s. I had a collection of every GamePro from 1992 (when I first got an allowance) until around 2002. They were stored in a garage and ended up taking water damage.

I went to college for Journalism and New Media and got my diploma in 2010. I didn’t really want to work in traditional media. New Media was difficult to get a grasp in. I worked for some sports magazines, I launched the Last Word on Sports wrestling section, and I worked as a producer at an online broadcast company. Upon leaving that I got a regular job because I needed to pay for ADHD medication and have a roof over my head.

It has been more than five years since I did any journalism/new media work and I’m approaching age 40 and I feel it’s time to finally launch my own project. That’s GrapPro. It’s a love letter to the GamePro Magazines I read as a kid but it’s based on what I have the most knowledge and passion in which is professional wrestling.

GrapPro Will Feature:

  • Editorial/Opinion pieces like I’ve done on my personal blog for years.
  • ProReview, which will be daily reviews of All Elite Wrestling matches along with a rating system adopted from the old GamePro magazines (pre-1995 when they added an overall rating)
  • PPV Preview, previews of the upcoming AEW pay per view as I’ve done on my blog.
  • Role-Player Realm, for fantasy booking articles.
  • AEW and general wrestling news
  • Audio/Video in the future
  • Q&A, where ProMembers can ask questions and I’ll answer weekly.
  • Weekly Newsletter for $1 a month sent to your email containing all the writing from the past week and a sneak peek at what is to come the following week. You will receive it at the start of every week (my week starts on Monday)

The primary focus will be All Elite Wrestling. This website will have no official affiliation to AEW, All Elite Wrestling, or Ring of Honor.

I have been covering All Elite Wrestling on my blog since 2019. It’s where I have a lot of knowledge and it’s why I have almost 2,000 followers on Twitter. I will cover other wrestling related news or shows if I find it to be interesting or important but the primary focus will be AEW.

I will not cover WWE. Did it once before and I wish to never do it again. Having to cover WWE back when I was an editor for Last Word on Sports almost killed my love of pro wrestling. I don’t care if I’m leaving an audience out. There’s a thousand websites covering WWE. Someone else can write about them. I plan to write primarily about AEW.

I know the current climate people feel that only negative stories about AEW sell. We’ve seen the YouTube thumbnails. People constantly say they feel like there’s no voice for All Elite Wrestling fans. I’ll tell you right now. I’m not a rah rah cheerleader or a fan. I’m a critic.

You’re going to see me discuss All Elite Wrestling and break things down. I won’t love or hate everything. Spending the past five years covering AEW based on my opinion won’t change with this. If I lose subscribers over saying something people disagree with that’s a part of the game.

I don’t have an ulterior agenda. I’m not pushing a comedy career or trying to keep a spot at a fake press conference. I write editorials with how I feel in the moment.

So if you want to read about AEW without wondering if the writer is afraid to make someone at WWE mad? I’m your man.

What are the pay methods for GrapPro?

As I stated in the FAQ, the website has no paywall.

I am against paywalls. Let me explain why. If I was running a website primarily about breaking news then I would have an incentive to make you pay to see that news. A lot of those websites get by on being trusted for news and that’s how they get subscribers. I do not plan to sell news. I plan to sell opinion.

In selling opinion if I paywall it you just won’t see it. Anything I say that’s interesting one person can just copy and paste to Reddit. More importantly, opinions are better free and public to be shared.

All of the writing on my website will be free to view.

However, I do have multiple ways to subscribe in order to support my writing which I will discuss in a later video.

Follow GrapPro

Please follow @Grap_Pro on Twitter as well as my personal Twitter account @AaronWrotkowski for more updates. I will be adding more social media accounts as we get closer to launch.