By Brian Hoops
In a span of only 15 months, the National Wrasslin League has grown from
a small startup company to boasting one of the finest performance and
training facilities in the wrestling industry.
On April 14, the NWL unveils it’s own state of the art training facility.
Located in North Kansas City, the NWL performance center will open its
doors to the public and future Kansas City shows will be run inside the
performance center.
“We’ve transformed our training and performance center into our own NWL
Arena, packed with bleachers, banners of our athletes, our own full bar and
concession stand and lots of other things that make it unique. This is our
office building. We have complete control to fix it up however we like,
which is special. It’s located in a really growing retail area — full of great
bars and restaurants to visit before and after the event in North Kansas
City. We really hope fans will enjoy the experience at our home, and I think
we’ll be able to do a lot of cool wrestling-related events outside of just
shows. We’re really excited for April 14” notes NWL Executive Director
Chris Gough.
The packed day begins with a training seminar by legendary trainer and
wrestler, Dr. Tom Prichard. Prichard has trained such wrestlers as The
Rock, Kurt Angle and Dolph Ziggler and will be training wrestlers at the new
performance center. The seminar begins at 10 am and ends at 3 pm.
A meet and greet with the NWL wrestlers and staff begins at 3 pm, held at
the Chicken N Pickle resturant, which is next door to the NWL
headquarters. At the arena, the wrestling event begins at 7 pm and will be
highlighted by Prichard wrestling another veteran wrestler and trainer in
Ace Steel. The main event boasts a 5 on 5 tag team match with Dak
Draper captaining one team and NWL Champion Jeremy Wyatt the captain
of the other team. The Cinder Block Brewery will host an after party after
the night of wrestling. A special commemorative t-shirt to celebrate the
arena opening is being sold at the company website.
“The grand opening of the NWL Arena is huge! There’s never been a better
time to be a wrestling fan in Kansas City. The NWL is changing the
landscape of professional wrestling here in the Midwest and I along with
every other man and woman on the roster take pride in helping it grow”
explains Spirit of NWL Champion, Maverick.
In the last three years, national wrestling leader, World Wrestling
Entertainment has opened its own performance center in Orlando, Florida
as a way for the next generation of stars to train and work in front of smaller
crowds before they are ready to wrestle on the national stage. On March
24, New Japan Pro Wrestling opened its own training dojo in Long Beach,
California.
“The new NWL Arena raises the stakes. They’ve taken it from an ‘NWL
Show’ to an entire ‘NWL Experience’. It’s a fitting way for fans to enjoy Dak
Draper” claims former NWL Champion and #1 contender Dak Draper.
Things have come a long way from Verne Gagne training potential
wrestlers on his rural farm in Chanhassen, Minnesota in the 1970’s. Gagne,
who probably has trained more professional wrestlers than any other
promoter in history, used to take prospective wrestlers to his farm and have
them run miles and miles in the corn fields of Minnesota, followed by 500
hack squats and pushups until their arms trembled. For those who made it
through the grueling cardio training, were allowed to advance to the barn,
which boasted one hard ring, no heat and a single light bulb.
Founded in 2016 by Major Baisden, the NWL ran its first show in Kansas
City on January 7, 2017. The league at first ran alternate weekends in
Kansas City and St. Louis, but thanks to creative booking, innovative
wrestling and characters, its popularity and fan base soon grew. Currently,
the NWL continues to run shows every other weekend in Kansas City, but
now also runs shows in St. Joseph, Missouri; Joplin, Missouri, O’Fallon,
Missouri and Springfield, Missouri.
During a period in the wrestling industry when finding television clearance
is extremely difficult, the NWL has been able to get its weekly television
program to air in Kansas City, St. Joseph, Springfield, Joplin and most
recently in traditional wrestling hotbed the Gulf Coast.
Missouri Wrestling Revival 