By CARMINE FRONGILLO, Sun Staff
DRACUT — Professional wrestling on television has come a long way since the days when the Grand Wizard, wearing a turban and sunglasses, Bruno Sammartino and Chief Jay Strongbow were the rage.
While World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Inc. shows such as SmackDown! and RAW remain as popular as ever, there really isn’t much on television in terms of Olympic-style wrestling that is available for the sporting public.
This is about to change.
The days of our nation’s best collegiate wrestlers having nowhere to turn, other than to set their sights on the Olympics, once their eligibility runs out is over. Wrestlers finally have a league of their own, albeit one made for TV.
And Dracut’s Sean Harrington, 31, who earned Division 2 All-America status twice while wrestling at UMass Lowell, couldn’t
be happier.
Harrington is one of 56 wrestlers from throughout the United States who make up the rosters of the eight teams that will compete in Real Pro Wrestling (RPW), a new pro sports league that features competitive wrestling in a ‘Survivor’-like format.
RPW will make its broadcast debut today on PAX TV at 4 p.m. The series, which was taped in a studio in front of several hundred fans in Los Angeles last October, will run on PAX through May 15. RPW will be re-broadcast on FoxSportsNet on Wednesdays beginning March 30th.
“You have 56 of the best guys in the country doing everything they can to win,” said Harrington, who is a member of the Texas Shooters. “I think I was the only guy who didn’t wrestle at a Division 1 college. These guys are world champions, Olympians and NCAA champions. We’re talking the cream of the crop in terms of wrestlers.
“What’s so exciting is to see the sport of wrestling presented in a way that it can really be showcased. Viewers will be able to see every bit of the action. They’ll show quick instant replays. They show bios on every wrestler.
“You’ll get to know who you are rooting for,” continued Harrington. “Guys are actually hamming it up and playing the villain role. So there are guys viewers will dislike. It’s such an exciting atmosphere. There’s rock’n roll music in the background. And (former Olympic gold medalist) Rulon Gardner is one of the announcers.”
Harrington, who won a New England title while at Dracut High, wrestles at 163 pounds. He has wrestled internationally and competed in last year’s U.S. Olympic Trials.
According to Harrington, RPW will feature team and individual champions. Once a wrestler loses he is eliminated from the competition. Wrestlers won’t be wearing headgear and trunks will be worn instead of a singlet. Harrington isn’t allowed to reveal how he fared in the competition.
“They really approached it the way it had to be approached from the general public’s point of view,” said Harrington, who runs Pro Finish Painting with his brother, Gary. “They didn’t want to take any chance on boring matches or confusing rules of traditional wrestling. They want to keep it simple and keep it exciting.
“They gave a lot of incentives in terms of prize money to score a lot of points. You get a lot more money for beating a guy 10-0 than 1-0. Plus, if you beat a guy by one point your team only gets one point. If you win by 10 points, your team gets 10 points.”
The life span of RPW will depend on how many people tune in to watch the show.
“It’s really in the viewers’ hands,” said Harrington. “I think the investors have sunk about $10 million into this, so far. I think one stage production was about $5 million. They’re going to be looking for a return now. I don’t think they expect to get all their money right away, but they’re going to want to see a trend that people are excited about it.
“They did this in such a way that if wrestling is ever going to appeal, it will be through this venture. In some matches, guys are so heated that they could go at each other for another 20 minutes. It’s real. It’s elite guys going all out.”
Should RPW catch on, Harrington, who lives in Dracut with his wife, Jackie, says he would return for a second season.
“This is the only way I’ll keep on wrestling,” said Harrington. “I’m not going to keep training for the Olympics. It’s time to move on in my life. But this is different. If viewers like it, and they invite me back, I’ll keep going with it.”
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