Nashville, Tenn. - Real Pro Wrestling (RPW), a
professional sports league
for collegiate and Olympic-style wrestlers, has
announced its initial
plans for a second season of competition, which
is expected to take place
in the late fall of 2006, along with the eight
states that will host
franchises, co-founders Toby Willis and Matt
Case have announced.
"We've brought a lot of exposure to our sport
through these amazing
athletes," Willis said. "We consider that one of
our biggest successes. In
addition to adding value to our tight knit
wrestling community, we need to
continue to create more awareness for our
sport."
While the actual cities of the eight franchises
have yet to be finalized,
RPW will select teams to compete in the
following eight states:
California, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, New York,
Oklahoma, Pennsylvania
and Texas. All eight of those states hosted
teams in the first season as
well, but this will be the first season that
actual competitions will be
held in those states.
"We chose these regions for a variety of
reasons. They are either top
wrestling markets or are showing considerable
growing in the sport," Case
said. "Texas, for example, isn't a traditional
wrestling hotbed, but it's
growing fast. It's a region that if successful,
could be a foundational
area."
Currently, venues in various cities throughout
the eight aforementioned
states are being surveyed along with community
interest and local sponsors
in each region.
"Wrestling could support many teams in many
regions because of the wealth
of it's grassroots programs. The sport doesn't
require huge football-size
stadiums because of the close-up action. You
don't need a big field of
play," Willis added.
RPW will announce the host cities of the
franchises along with rosters as
they are finalized and become available.
Willis and Case also announced that the league
format will change for its
second season to dual meet competitions held
regionally. In Season One,
wrestlers competed in individual tournaments in
seven separate weight
classes. A team score was kept for eight teams,
each of which had one
wrestler per weight class.
In Season Two, the eight teams will compete
against each other in dual
meets in front of live crowds, culminating with
a dual meet championship
at the end of the season. Each team will have
seven weight classes, and
rosters are expected to be filled by the end of
summer.
"We initially used the tournament format because
it allowed us to meet the
'made for TV' requirements and capture all the
episodes in a short time,"
Case stated. "However, our aim has always been
team based competition in a
live dual meet format in cities. This is why
we're making the transition
from tournament to duals."
In 2005, RPW presented a historic first season
of wrestling action on PAX
and Fox Sports Net. Seven, one-hour episodes
were aired, one for each
weight class, and a two-hour finale showcased
the championship bouts from
each of the seven weight classes. Nearly a half
million people viewed the
two-hour finale.
The episodes also aired in over 90 countries on
major networks such as
EuroSport and ESPN Star-Asia.
The Iowa Stalkers ran away with the team title.
Individual champions were
2000 Olympic silver medalist Sammie Henson of
the Pennsylvania Hammer (121
lbs.), Tony DeAnda of the New York Outrage
(132), former NCAA champion
Doug Schwab of the Iowa Stalkers (145), 2004
Olympian Joe Williams of the
Chicago Groove (163), Mo Lawal of the Oklahoma
Slam (184), 2004 Olympian
Daniel Cormier of the Oklahoma Slam (211) and
Pat Cummins of the
Pennsylvania Hammer (264).
Overall, eight Olympians, six U.S. World Team
members and 23 former NCAA
champions competed in Season One. Over $300,000
in cash prizes were
awarded to wrestlers.
RPW is a hybrid style of wrestling, combining
the Olympic styles of
Greco-Roman and Freestyle, along with elements
of collegiate and Sumo
wrestling.
In RPW, classic meets the future as the matches
are conducted in a
specially designed coliseum which showcases a
raised circular mat to
facilitate better camera angles and to afford
the live audience a better
viewing experience. The circular mat allows for
360 degree camera angles
and aids in covering the close quarters that
wrestlers frequently find
themselves in as they maneuver for position.
Real Pro Wrestling, Inc was founded in 2002 by
former Northwestern
University wrestling teammates, Toby Willis and
Matt Case. The company is
based in Nashville, Tenn. with brand offices in
Los Angeles and Colorado
Springs. RPW is a television production company
and a producer of live
events.
Complete information about Real Pro Wrestling
can be found on its official
athletes, coaches or RPW executives should
contact John Fuller via e-mail
at john@realprowrestling.com or by phone at
(719) 201-4897.
--
John Fuller
Real Pro Wrestling
Director of Communications
Office - (615) 846-6692
Cell - (719) 201-4897