Josh Lashley/Real Pro Wrestling
Having a dream in life is very important, for it gives one the ability to wakeup each morning with the energy and enthusiasm which is vital to thrive toward their goals. Sometimes, dreams are even realized. For fans of wrestling, the dream of a professional Olympic-style league has now become very much a reality in the form of Real Pro Wrestling.
Through the hard work and dedication of everyone involved, from the athletes on the mat to those behind the scenes, Season One of Real Pro Wrestling was a success and its full steam ahead with Season Two, which gets going this fall. World class athletes, who are soon to be known to those outside the hardcore wrestling community, will face off in the anticipated second season of RPW. RPW president Matt Case was very impressed with the reaction to Season One and is ready to help deliver a very good product in the coming months.
“The fact that we were able to draw the audiences that we did in the time slots and networks that we were on was probably the most encouraging (aspect of season one),” Case said. “Our goal for Season One was simply to get RPW out there to the core wrestling audience to let them know that a real pro wrestling league was emerging. When you draw nearly a half a million people to a show that the network didn’t heavily promote, you’re doing pretty well. It proved that real wrestling fans want to see their sport on TV.”
“The next most important aspect was the reaction from the fans. RPW marketed, promoted and sponsored hundreds of wrestling events during Season One and during that campaign, just about everyone we visited with was extremely excited about the league. We heard comments like ‘it’s about time’ and ‘why hasn’t this been done before’ over and over again. We’ve actually seen people cry because they’ve been so thankful that this is now available for their kids to look up to and aspire to. Now that is truly encouraging.”
Many of those who watch RPW closely may be very well aware of mixed martial arts leagues such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the Pride Fighting Championships. Wrestling techniques are big reason for the success of several athletes who compete in those broadly respected leagues.
“Wrestling has always been the dominant martial art, “Case said. “It’s just that until now most people haven’t recognized that fact. The MMA has provided a testing ground that shows this truth to become self-evident, that not all combat sports are created equal. In the past, wrestling had been criticized for being too technical to appeal to the masses. Now we find that everyone in the MMA world is clamoring to learn.
“We’d like to be one of those organizations who can step up and facilitate this learning. Just look at the line-up of guys who wrestled for RPW in Season One. The knowledge that those athletes had individually was incredible. Now, think about an entire league of athletes with that knowledge and you’ll start to understand how wrestling can gain a foothold in the world of mixed martial arts.”
Just like most things in life, there were areas that could be improved upon in the time between Season One and Season Two. Those improvements and innovations will be on display this fall.
“The biggest change will be in our format,” Case said. “This season will be a dual meet format with a championship. Last season, we had to run the tournament format because we only had one hour in which to run the show. This season we will not have that time restraint and therefore we can run duals meets that extend beyond one hour.
“We will also be able to run extended back stories on the athletes, which is really cool because our goal is to get these world class athletes the mainstream recognition they deserve. Our television partner this year is going to help facilitate this new format tremendously.”
The changes that one will see in RPW doesn’t stop there as the league continues to expand in size and respectability.
“There will be an exciting addition to this season in that we’re going to hold qualifying events for the league,” Case said. “We will hold them in select locations by application only. Not all of the team’s spots will be determined by tryouts, but we will hold back about two spots per team on average to fill with qualifiers.
“During these qualifiers, we will be introducing some ‘fan fests’ to allow local fans to meet the athletes and interact with the league. We want to give people who want to become pros a shot.”
The athletes that you will see go against one another in RPW are highly driven and very motivated. RPW will give fans a look as to what makes these athletes the people they are today.
“Wrestlers are natural characters, so we want things to develop naturally” Case said. “Giving the athletes more time in front of the camera, more interviews, more magazine features, etc. will help this process.”
There is a perception by many that certain professional athletes, regardless of sport, are in a world of their own, quite distant from the fans who follow them closely. Real Pro Wrestling hopes to be unique in letting fans the opportunity to get to know the superb athletes that the will watch on the mat.
“Through the qualifying events, we aim to give the fans a chance to come out and spend time with the athletes at the ‘fan fests’, “Case said. “We also hope to bridge the gap between the fans and the athletes at the regular season events. This will happen primarily with autograph sessions and mini-clinics before the dual meets. We want people to feel that they have a direct link to these amazing athletes.
“Most wrestlers are incredibly approachable and down to earth people. All that we need to do is facilitate the interaction. The wrestling community is such a great family so it’s not hard to accomplish this goal. Beyond the technique, the family atmosphere of wrestling makes it one of the most respected sports. Another reason why wrestling is one of the most respected sports, in addition to how hard it is, is the way in which people in the sport give of their time and knowledge to one another.”
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