Real Pro Wrestling History (Part 4) – Wayne’s Hail Mary
Last week we read about how Matt and I, the two founders of RPW, started off on our quest for information to start a pro league. This quest led us to Wayne Gernstein, the guy who started the failed National Wrestling League (NWL) , the last attempt to start a real professional wrestling league. We ended last week’s article with us meeting Wayne at a restaurant in Chicago.
Wayne told us how he started the NWL, showed us the meticulous planing he did, and told us the problems he faced. He had little money, and although he had the support of the wrestlers, he was not supported by the other wrestling organizations. All his good work was about to come to an end.
But rather than fade out of sight. Wayne decided to try a Hail Mary, one last attempt in desperation to try to win. Investors and sponsors said they were interested in the NWL but wanted to see the product first. Wayne needed money to show them the product. This chicken-and-egg hurdle had to be jumped and Wayne decided to launch the league knowing he didn’t have the money he needed to survive. He hoped one of the big investors or sponsors he was courting would commit after seeing the NWL in action.
And so the first duel meet was scheduled between the Chicago Fire and the Iowa CornStalkers. Not having any money left for advertising, Wayne booked the Rosemont Horizon Arena and crossed his fingers. The mat was in place, the teams weighed in, and the concessions were ready. Nobody knew how many people would show up. Most predicted a couple hundred at best.
Everybody was shocked when three thousand people showed up. The matches were good and the crowd had a great time. For those who were at the event, they saw the future of wrestling and Wayne couldn’t believe his good fortune. But Wayne knew the big hurdle remained. How would the investors and sponsors respond.
Wayne did have some investors who liked what they saw and these investors offered Wayne more money. But it was not enough. Wayne told the investors to keep their money, for while it would keep the NWL alive for another week or two, they were probably going to lose their money in the end. The NWL closed its doors and many of the wrestlers never even got paid.
Wayne’s Hail Mary had failed.
Or did it? On that cold evening in the Rosemont Horizon was a dad who brought his teenage son. This dad worked two full time jobs, one as a minister in a small church in Chicago, and the other job as a grade school teacher in the Chicago public schools. Barely making financial ends meet, he somehow also found time to coach wrestling. By teaching his sons wrestling, he helped one son win the state championship and receive a college scholarship to Northwestern University.
As the father and son sat in the seats, eating popcorn and enjoying the wrestling, they saw first hand that Wayne had a good idea. They had no idea of all the hard work that went into the show. They simply supported the NWL the best they could. They even bought a tee shirt. The teenager hoped one day he could wrestle in the league and earn a living through wrestling. How do I know this?
I was that son. I saw with my own eyes and heard with my own ears what a real wrestling league was. Wayne’s Hail Mary had ended up incomplete in the end zone. The NWL was history. But little did Wayne know that one of the teenage boys in the stands would finally catch the ball and complete the Hail Mary pass thrown 15 years earlier.
Wayne did not fail completely with the NWL. RPW owes its existence to the vision, bravery, and hard work of Wayne Gernstein. As founder of RPW, I knew real wrestling could work because I had seen it in action. That is why I did not listen to the vast majority of people even in the world of wrestling who said a real professional wrestling would not work. They did not know why the league had failed and had never seen it in action.
But I had. I had seen it and now knew the reason why the NWL had failed. I also realized I could be the investor to break the chicken-and-egg cycle that Wayne had fought so hard to overcome. For I was no longer that teenager sitting in the stands eating popcorn. I now had the money and the knowledge to make a difference.
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