DING DING:
Louisiana Wrestling and Hockey Are Back! By Emily Hingle
Major league sports have always been popular in Louisiana, but the minor leagues never get as much attention. The tide seems to be turning for those underdog sports, though, as smaller-scale matches are making a comeback across the nation. People aren’t as willing to pay hundreds of dollars for nosebleed seats when they can cheer on the local team up close for a couple of bucks.
Wrestling is getting increasing attention. Elev8 Pro Wrestling and WildKat Sports are the biggest promotions in Louisiana regularly putting on jaw-dropping bouts, some of which have gone viral around the world. Did you see the video in 2020 of a wrestler jumping off of the balcony at Esplanade Mall? “My son PJ Hawx jumped from the balcony. We were getting this worldwide buzz, and people were paying attention to all of our hard work,” WildKat Sports’ founder and famed wrestler Luke Hawx said. “My goal with WildKat was to bring quality wrestling and talent into Louisiana because Louisiana was such a hotbed for wrestling back in the day. I wanted to start a school where people like me who had to go across the country to search for wrestling wouldn’t have to do that.” Although COVID and Hurricane Ida put a damper on WildKat Sports’ 10th anniversary in 2021, Luke is confident that 2022 will be a bigger and better year. Not just for WildKat’s team, but for territorial wrestling everywhere. He said, “We’re starting to go back to territories. Our guys are young, they’re hungry, and they’re passionate about what they’re putting out. No matter what’s going on in your life, when you come to WildKat, you can forget about everything else. You’re going to be intertwined with everything that’s going on in the show. We bring passion to people’s lives that puts them in a better mood or sends them home angry, ready to come back to the next show because they want to see somebody get beat up.” Luke welcomes aspiring wrestlers to the WildKat School to learn the trade, but
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you’ve got to be ready to work. He believes that too many people in the business don’t have that work ethic and can be a danger to themselves and others. ”When I started the school, I quickly realized I needed to start promoting live events so that I can protect my wrestlers and not have them at shows where guys aren’t as qualified. It’s unsafe, it’s bad for business, and it’s harmful for everybody who’s trying to do it successfully. You won’t even go into the ring until you’re physically fit in my eyes. Which means you don’t go into the ring until you get done my set of drills that I condition you with that I believe is a necessity to keep you and your opponent safe. There’s no way around hard work.” The Louisiana Boxing & Wrestling Commission sells licenses for boxers, wrestlers, and kickboxers to fight in sanctioned events, but there is no physical fitness and ability test required. WildKat Sports is about more than putting on local matches. Luke continued, “The real goal was to initially get those guys started in the business and they can hopefully move on and make a full-time career somewhere else. Now we’re getting to where these guys are able to stay with WildKat and make careers in wrestling and entertainment, which we’ve done with the Starz show Heels.” The wrestling drama Heels was recently renewed for a second season. From the ring to the rink, you may not have heard about wrestling and hockey in Louisiana, but it has always been around in some form. Currently, you can go see a high-
COURTESY WILDKAT SPORTS / DON COOPER
Wrestling returns to Louisiana
