Real Pro Wrestling

Real Pro Wrestling (also known as RPW or RealPro Wrestling) is a professional sports league of wrestling, similar to the amateur wrestling found in the Olympic Games and at the college and high school level. The term "real" is meant to emphasize that it is professional (meaning the wrestlers are paid money) and it is wrestling, but that it is not professional wrestling in the traditional sense; modern professional wrestling features predetermined outcomes and operates under a very different set of rules from amateur wrestling.

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, Tennessee with brand offices in New York and Virginia. RPW is a television production company and a producer of live events.

The league began operations in March 2005 and consisted of eight teams (see below). Although the teams had various city and state names, all matches were taped on a soundstage in Nashville.

According to [http://www.realprowrestling.com the official website] , "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."

Numerous similar projects were announced before RPW, but none had gotten off the ground. Lanny Bryant, the Montana-based editor of "Wrestling USA" magazine, proposed a similar league in the early 1990s, as one example.

Wrestling style

The style of wrestling that is used in "RPW" is a combination of freestyle, folkstyle, sumo wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling. Because of this, wrestlers of many styles competed in the league. Currently, Greco-Roman and Freestyle are the most common wrestling backgrounds in the leagues, due largely to the Olympic experience of the wrestlers in the league. In fact, the team rosters consists of numerous Olympians and NCAA champions.

Rules

The rules are similar to freestyle wrestling but were modified to encourage risk and intensity. The goal is to dominate the opponent and pin his shoulders to the mat. This is called a fall. Points are also awarded during the six minute match for controlling the opponent, placing him in danger, or escaping the opponent's control. If there is no fall, then the wrestler with the most points wins the match. Some of the most noticeable changes are as follows:
# Two 3-minute periods instead of 3 periods totaling 7 minutes
# If a wrestler pushes his opponent out of the ring he gets a point.
# The Bonus - if a wrestler manages to stay in the center of the mat and stay aggressive, their "bonus meter" will go up. If they get the bonus, they get to go into a special position in which they can't lose any points and can gain points by throwing their opponents.
# TV Challenge - the coach of each wrestler is allowed once per individual match to challenge a call made by the "Ref" using video from multiple video angles.For more rules and clarification visit the websites listed below.
* [http://www.realprowrestling.com/Gym/ListCategory/4/17 Season 1 and Season 2 Rules]

Teams

* [http://www.realprowrestling.com/Teams/ListTeam/8 California Claw]
* [http://www.realprowrestling.com/Teams/ListTeam/6 Chicago Groove]
* [http://www.realprowrestling.com/Teams/ListTeam/3 Iowa Stalkers]
* [http://www.realprowrestling.com/Teams/ListTeam/5 Minnesota Freeze]
* [http://www.realprowrestling.com/Teams/ListTeam/1 New York Outrage]
* [http://www.realprowrestling.com/Teams/ListTeam/2 Oklahoma Slam]
* [http://www.realprowrestling.com/Teams/ListTeam/7 Pennsylvania Hammer]
* [http://www.realprowrestling.com/Teams/ListTeam/4 Texas Shooters]

[http://www.realprowrestling.com/Teams/ Full Team Listings]

League structure

Despite the existence of eight "franchises" in RPW, all tournaments have been conducted in a classic elimination bracket format thus far. No actual dual meets have been held.

Television coverage

In the league's first season, 2005-06, matches were televised on PAX TV (now ION Television) on Sunday evenings and on Fox Sports Net affiliates at various times. Rulon Gardner, one of the most famous figures in amateur wrestling in the United States, was the color analyst.

Due to poor ratings and executive reorganizations at both networks, both PAX and FSN pulled the show. RPW then decided to syndicate coverage of the second season on various broadcast stations. Right now, about 50 television stations carry RPW, all of them in small and medium-sized markets throughout the United States.

Media

* [http://www.realprowrestling.com/podcast.xml RPW Podcast]

External links

* [http://www.realprowrestling.com Real Pro Wrestling.com]
* [http://www.realprowrestling.com/Boards/ RPW Forums]
* [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/hiestand-biz/2004-09-15-hiestand_x.htm USA Today]
* [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,151604,00.html FOXNews]