If you tune in PAX-TV today at 4 p.m. or Fox Sports Net on Wednesday at 3 p.m. and think you see West Liberty-Salem prep legend Tim Dernlan wrestling, don’t call your cable company or try to fix your television.
And don’t worry, you are not caught in some sort of time warp. It really is him, competing in the Real Pro Wrestling League for the Minnesota Freeze.
This is not just another WWF or WCW knockoff. The RPW is exactly what the name implies ” real Olympic-style wrestling, the brainchild of a pair of determined collegiate teammates from Northwestern University.
When you watch RPW action, you will be seeing, according to a league press release, “pure athletic performance and family values-based entertainment, presented in an exciting and dramatic fashion.”
You will also be seeing the last in the long line of one of the best wrestling families in Ohio history. Tim, now 30 years old, and brothers Jeff, Steve and Matt combined to win 10 state wrestling championships during their Tiger days. It is truly fitting that the Dernlan name be associated with RPW.
You will be seeing wrestling history as well, as RPW is the first pro wrestling league of its kind. And you’ll be seeing something few thought they ever would.
“I never thought I’d see that day,” said Dernlan, by phone from State College, Pa., on Thursday, where he is an assistant coach at Penn State University. “As a matter of fact, I had a teacher tell our eighth-grade class that none of us would ever be pro athletes.”
Hey, everybody’s wrong some time. But is expecting a televised pro wrestling league to sustain itself wrong? Only time will tell.
But as reasons for optimism, the RPW folks point to National High School Coaches Association figures that estimate more than one million prep and collegiate athletes participated in wrestling in 2003 and there are more 20 million individuals currently living in the United States who have participated in wrestling in the past.
“It really has developed quickly,” said Dernlan. “It was neat to see it go from a grass-roots movement to a television show. Wrestling has really good interest. The NCAA has over 100,000 in attendance during its championship tournament, and it is still growing at the high-school level. I think people are waiting to see it on television.”
Still, there are doubters.
“I think a lot of people are still skeptical about it, and we will have to wait and see if it pans out,” he said. “With all the attention ultimate fighting and kickboxing is getting, now is the time to try it. I think there has been a little bit of a decline in boxing, too, and those fans are looking for something new.”
Perhaps that’s how the WWF and WCW caught on. But this is much different.
“Anytime someone hears pro wrestling, they think Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant,” said Dernlan. “When they see Olympic wrestling, they’ll understand the difference.
“Wrestling has dedication to training, persistence and hard work,” he continued. “There are a lot of traditional values in wrestling that have been forgotten in today’s society. Seeing the athletes competing against each other, and the background stories that will be part of this TV event, hopefully people will realize this.”
Simply put, wrestling has been Dernlan’s life. He was the family’s only All-American while at Purdue University, then he went on to train at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., between 2001-03 with a spot on the 2004 Olympic or U.S. World teams as his goal. The closest he came was second at the U.S. Open in 2001.
“I had three older brothers that wrestled, so I had no choice but just to defend myself. If nothing else but to get a pancake at breakfast,” he said with a laugh.
“I wouldn’t trade it for any other experience or any other sport,” he continued. “Wrestling taught me a lot of valuable life skills. It has taken me to a lot of places. I’ve met a lot of people; wrestling is such a close-knit family.”
At 30, Dernlan was already considering retirement as a competitor. And the chance for his older brothers to compete has passed with age.
“The rest of them are old men, but they can still beat me,” he admitted. “It’s that older brother mental edge, I guess.”
But the RPW still called.
“I did it for two reasons: One is just an opportunity for myself, which was just a no-brainer; two, they needed people to get it started so the next generation can benefit from it,” he said. “They are trying to make it something where guys can make a living while they are training for the worlds and Olympics.”
How did he do in the league, which was filmed during one weekend last October?
“I was a little lighter than I wanted to be, and I didn’t do all that well,” he said. “I would have liked to do better.”
He will, however, have another shot next year.
“I’m actually under contract for next season,” he said. “Next year, they are going to have dual meets around the nation, so local fans can watch it live. I think that’s the best way to get to know the moves and the sport and really get into it. It is even more exciting live.”
A whopping 70,000-plus fans annually at the state wrestling meet will attest to that. But this is a cross between freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling.
“The mat is just like the circle mat you always wrestled on, but it is on a pedestal-type stage and there is only two feet of out of bounds, then a six-foot pit in which if you fall into it, you lose a point. There’s a little Greco and sumo in there, kind of actually combining some of the different styles. Plus your incentive is to stay on the mat, so there is more action.”
Dernlan admitted he “didn’t make a bunch of money” his first time out, but just the experience made it worthwhile.
“It is definitely an unexpected bonus, right at the twilight of my competitive career,” he said. “It’s nice to see this come into play.”
And to see one of the area’s own associated with it.
Reach Kermit Rowe at
Wrestling Gear
