‘The best-kept secret in Indianapolis’

 Veteran wrestler T.J. Powers won the WCWO Thunderstorm Rumble on Jan. 31. Photo by Darcy Leber. 

DAVID JACOBS | SPORTS CO-EDITOR | drjacobs@butler.edu 

WWE fans were in a frenzy over the weekend with the national wrestling promotion in Indianapolis, starting on Jan. 31 with its weekly Friday Night SmackDown and going into Feb. 1 with the annual Royal Rumble

It is the first time the city has hosted the Royal Rumble, and the first time since 2019 that the city played host to SmackDown — albeit earning a Monday Night Raw bid just last summer. 

Thanks to the likes of Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton and former Colts punter and WWE announcer Pat McAfee, enthusiasm for the events in Indianapolis was at an all-time high. With such a frenzy in the city, the get-in price was upwards of $300 including fees for the Royal Rumble.

Isabel Villanueva, a senior sports media and creative media double major, attended the Royal Rumble and had never experienced something like it before. 

“I had never seen so many people in downtown Indy,” Villanueva said. “We got to Lucas Oil [Stadium] at 3:30 and people were surrounding the stadium.”

However, right down the road from where the big names wrestled lies the home of a local independent promotion which has the wrestlers themselves setting up the ring, setting up the chairs, handing out autographs at intermission and walking around taking pictures with any young fan that asks. 

1151 Kentucky Avenue houses one of the many independent wrestling promotions in the area with the family-friendly World Championship Wrestling Outlaws (WCWO). 

“It started about 30 years ago,” WCWO promoter Reggie Edwards said. “It started as a way to give wrestling fans in Indiana a way to see a family-friendly, more affordable alternative compared to [the national promotions] back then.” 

Tickets for the weekly Friday event start at $12 for open admission around the arena and $15 for front-row, giving fans 2-4 hours of high-quality entertainment. 

While some may think the price of admission reflects the quality of performance, the biggest difference between the independent scene and national promotions tends to be more on the production side and name recognition rather than the quality of wrestling itself.

“[The independent scene] is really important,” Villanueva said. “That’s where you start hearing about certain wrestlers. For example, I remember hearing stuff about Kenny Omega for years about how great he was before he finally went to AEW.” 

One-half of the newest WCWO tag-team champions, wrestler Jordan James has been wrestling at the independent level for nearly a decade. 

“Everybody that is on television started at the independent scene at some point in time,” James said. “[At this level] you’re going to have a lot of young guns trying to make a name for themselves, giving the crowd every bit of energy they have to the best of their ability.” 

Twins and tag-team partners Damien and Damon Reel — known as ‘The Highlight Reel’ — are perfect reflections of what the WCWO and the independent scene stand for: a fighting chance. 

Wrestlers at the independent level like the Reel twins never know if they will get the chance to wrestle at a national promotion, and often have underlying reasons to keep going. 

Whether it be for the fans, a lifelong dream of their own, or, in The Highlight Reel’s case, fulfilling the dream of a loved one with whom they shared this passion, their dedication remains unwavering.

“What keeps us going is our granddad,” Damon said. “He didn’t get to see this fulfillment [of his dream for us] happen; he passed away when we were kids but we keep going because of him and for our entire family.” 

Just as the hope from family motivates The Highlight Reel, the fans in the crowd cheering them on are just as vital of a motivator. 

“We got to make sure for the fans that come out and see us, we give them a show,” Damon said. “Every time I think, ‘You know, I’m getting a little older each day; maybe it’s time for me to just stop this.’ But I get one person that walks up to me, ‘Man you guys should be up there with the WWE Superstars,’ I appreciate that.” 

Even without the pay, popularity or spotlight of national promotions, independent wrestlers still must go through rigorous training just to get a chance at these local shows. 

“I was trained by Billy Roc [at the] School of Roc in Lafayette, Indiana,” James said. “It was every Sunday for four hours and 10 months [straight]. It was pretty grueling at times, but after [that 10 months] he gave us our first match in front of a live crowd of about 500 people in the Lafayette Theatre.” 

Acknowledging the dedication of all the wrestlers involved, over the past few years WCWO has transitioned from a cut-and-dry show to one with elaborate storylines and in-depth characters. The embrace of social media has helped market the matches and has given fans a more dynamic event to keep coming to week after week. 

“I always tell people we’re the best-kept secret in Indianapolis,” Edwards said. “If you’re into wrestling, you know about it. If you are family with independent wrestling, you probably know about it, but we are tucked away there [on Kentucky Ave.].”

Several wrestlers in WCWO history have had stints with national promotions, and a handful of ex-superstars have made their way back down to the independent level with WCWO. This is the beauty of it all — knowing there is a chance you can see a future or past superstar for just $12. 

“If you want a grittier outlook on pro wrestling, go see local,” Damien said. “These [wrestlers in the ring] are people you see every day. It’s more raw. We don’t know when our last time is, we don’t know if we’ll make it, so we got to make every second that we get in the ring count.”

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