On May 15th NWA Florida Wrestling Alliance presented the audience seated at Masaryktown Community Center with a highly entertaining event. The event consisted of single matches, featuring fans’ favorite wrestler Tony Storm.
“We are really trying to expand the independent wrestling circuit and bring back the smaller territories which once expanded in throughout the NWA,” Tony Storm said.
Storm along with Tony Halligan and Johnny Franco worked together to build the Florida Wrestling Alliance which began in 2015 as a training academy in Tampa. Just shy of the first couple of months the FWA began the process of starting the entertainment of wrestling; booking shows in the tri-city areas.
“One of our goals is to get community support and build community partnerships,” Johnny Franco said
The building of this entertaining sport, FWA has seen growth and great connections within the community. The event held on Sunday was a fundraiser for a non-profit organization here in Hernando County.
“It goes back to that old school philosophy; ask not what your community can do for you, but what you can do for your community. We invite the community into our programming, allow them to see what we can offer, they are going to believe in us,” Storm explained.
Once the ring bell was hit three times the match began. Wrestlers entertained the audience with incredible techniques and skill and showcasing their characters. These characters are defined by the wrestler. They play out by acting boldly, each full of zesty comments and dressed to harness their uniqueness, designing their personality.
Tony Halligan explains:
“The process of creating a ring personality is unique for each individual, most, at first, are developed during the final months of training. The best ring personalities take a portion of the real person and “put it on steroids” as they say. It’s more natural and comes across better to the audience. Sometimes a promoter will ask someone to portray a certain way either for one night or long term. Many wrestlers go thru different personalities throughout their career as they grow and develop and try to connect with the fans in a different way.
“How important is the personality? Very, it’s what connects you to the audience and whether they cheer, boo or even care that you are there. If you don’t connect with the audience on some sort of emotional level it gives them no reason to want to see you succeed or fail in your matches. If they do take interest in you, either love or hate, it opens up doors to wrestle in different places and against different people. That is how you grow and mature as a wrestler.”
Wrestlers have solid talent as well as amazing ability of strength. For some their participation in high school helped those with athletic ability fundamentals.
“We are trying to get involved with high schools; a lot of these guys had that amateur background in wrestling, I wrestled in middle school and high school, we are trying to bridge the gap from the amateur style wrestling to what you see in the ring,” said Johnny Franco.
In the past, wrestling had been losing interest within the public eye and rebuilding this type of sport entertainment has its challenges.
“There was a lot of so called blood and guts and turned a lot of people off. So what we have to do is rebuild that image and earn the trust of the people that house our events. The hardest part is getting the people to change their perception and beliefs and allows us to put on a quality program,” Storm said.
“Once you give us the opportunity to come in and put on a show for you, you will see it’s a great show and great storytelling,” Franco said
When Halligan’s partners, Franco and Storm are in the ring he understands the process of entertaining a crowd, not only older adults but those young kids as well.
“I want to grow the brand, and help the community. That’s what we are here for,” Halligan said.
For more information about N.W.A-Florida Wrestling Alliance visit: http://fwaprowrestling.com/