By DREW MARKOL
The Intelligencer
Just what the world needs, another professional wrestling league.
Well, wait a minute, the organization Toby Willis has put together is different – it offers no dropkicks, power bombs or metal chairs to the head.
Instead, what Willis, a one-time state wrestling champion from Illinois in the late 1980s, has done is to try to give the real stuff a swift push.
His idea?
Find the best Olympic-level wrestlers he could, put them on eight regional teams (including one representing Pennsylvania), tinker with the rules a bit and put the product on television.
“It’s not like we’re dipping our toe in the water, “said Willis, the major financial supporter behind the project. “We did our research and heard all of the pros and cons, and this is not a novel concept from out of the blue.
“The money is there and the television people and advertisers have said, ‘Show us something.’ That’s what we’re doing now. We share the name wrestling with the WWE (Vince McMahon’s phony World Wrestling Entertainment), but that’s about it. If you want pretty girls and crazy story lines, go elsewhere.”
The money came from a $100 million settlement Willis received after six of his brothers and sisters were killed in a 1996 auto accident that also injured his parents. Take a portion of that money, couple it with a love of amateur wrestling, throw in a college teammate at Northwestern, Matt Case, as the league’s VP, and a little entrepreneurial spirit, and a league is born.
“Toby Willis is a student of wrestling and a wrestling fan, “Real Pro Wrestling spokesman Chris Chickering said. “He’s a former state champ who wanted to give something back to the sport, give it an outlet to be seen and also produce a program that families can all watch together.”
RPW does have flashing lights, music and slick production, but it also has competitive wrestling in seven weight classes. The eight teams are dotted with numerous NCAA champs, Olympic medalists and Olympic hopefuls. The best known wrestler on the Pennsylvania team, known as the Hammer, is Olympic silver medalist and two-time NCAA champ Sammie Henson at 121 pounds.
The most recognizable name attached to the Pennsylvania team is Kerry McCoy, the former Penn State star and current Lehigh assistant, who is also an assistant coach with the Hammer. He considered coming out of retirement to give RPW a shot, but not for long.
“I thought about it briefly, but I’m at another point in my life, and competing is not a priority for me, “McCoy said. “I will stay involved as a coach and maybe as an announcer (for RPW) later on, but competing does not seem likely.
“This is a great opportunity to promote the sport of wrestling and increase the exposure for the world’s oldest and greatest sport. I believe it has the potential to grow and become a mainstream media sport.”
In order to do so, RPW needs wrestlers like McCoy on the mat. They have the backing of the sport’s biggest legend, Dan Gable, and its biggest recent star, retired Olympic gold medalist Rulon Gardner (an RPW announcer), but the current big fish, Cael Sanderson, could not be reeled in. Sanderson gained famed with an undefeated collegiate career, going 159-0 at Iowa State with four national titles, before winning Olympic gold last summer in Athens. Sanderson was taking a post-Olympic break while RPW was filming and did not take part.
Without a dominant performer, think Wayne Gretzky at his height, to carry the freight, RPW will try to develop a star from within its ranks. They can hope, if there’s a second season, that Sanderson comes on board or maybe three-time NCAA heavyweight champ Steve Mocco from Oklahoma State signs on. For right now, though, the talent roster is skilled, but mainly faceless.
“They lack a superstar, “Hatboro-Horsham wrestling coach Glenn Kaiser said. “A big hitter like Cael Sanderson has to get on board. There’s no Gardner or Brandon Slay and no Sanderson.
“That’s one of the reasons why I think it will be limited to the wrestling community. I don’t see it catching on at a national level, but it’s a good attempt. For the true wrestling fan, the one who goes to the state meets and the NCAA tournament, they’ll definitely enjoy it.”
RPW hopes its scoring system – lots of offense – will help make up for the lack of a leading man. In order to try to get away from the tedious 2-1 decisions frequently seen on the collegiate level, RPW tied in match scores to team scores. In other words, if a Hammer wrestler wins his match 6-2, the team gets four points. Win 12-2, and it’s 10 team points. A pin is good for 15 team points, not the standard six. (Willis also provides a monetary bonus to his wrestlers to promote scoring).
“The format rewards aggressive action, “said Gable, a RPW spokesperson. “It’s great athletes competing in high-energy action.”
RPW promotes itself as being family entertainment with no swearing or fighting, a no-tolerance steroid policy and no labor disputes.
“It’s an exciting series you can enjoy viewing with the whole family, “Gardner said. “You can feel 100 percent safe watching with children of all ages without the fear of unruly, unprofessional behavior.”
RPW wants to gain enough of a fan base to make a second season feasible. American Airlines and Asics are already on board as sponsors, but more are needed. And the TV deal with PAX is just for one year.
“We’ve already had some good initial feedback from advertisers, “Willis said. “Season two looks pretty good already.”
The goal down the road would be to have teams in cities across the country with weekly matches held.
“The kicker is, if this thing catches on, wrestling can go international, “Wilis said. “It’s the national sport for many countries in the world and it could explode real fast.
“What I’d like to see, in five years, is not only a North American league, but leagues in the middle east, Asia, Europe and Russia that lead up to international competitions. That’s something wrestling has that sports like baseball and football don’t.
“In five years, I hope we’re one of the top sports programs in the world. It’s possible, whether it takes five or 50 years.”
Drew Markol can be reached at (215) 345-3141 or [email protected].
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