Last year, Dogwood Dell was packed out.
The hillside was full, the crowd was loud and RVA Pro Wrestling put on one hell of a show. It wasn’t just wrestling. It was entertainment built for a Richmond audience, mixing big personalities, over-the-top antics and athleticism that get people in for the ride.
Since then, they’ve been on a heater. Hardywood shows have consistently sold out, appearances around Richmond have drawn bigger and bigger crowds, and what started as another niche wrestling promotion has quietly become one of the city’s more popular live events.
To some, it might look like RVA Pro Wrestling came out of nowhere. The reality is it’s the latest chapter in a story Richmond has been telling for more than 20 years. When we first covered Richmond Lucha Libre back in RVA #4 in 2005, independent wrestling was still firmly rooted in Richmond’s DIY scene. Shows happened in places like Wonderland and Alley Katz. Wrestling promoters shared the same orbit as punk bands, photographers and artists. It was loud, chaotic and often felt more like a party than a sporting event.
That’s where Tim “Timmy Danger” Stewart got his start. He first got involved in Richmond wrestling in 2005, working for local promoter Chad Painter. His first job wasn’t in the ring. It was sitting behind a CD player, making sure every wrestler’s entrance music hit at exactly the right moment.
From there, he stepped into the ring himself, wrestling around the country under the Timmy Danger name while learning what made crowds react and, just as importantly, what didn’t.
RVA Pro Wrestling, however, is a much newer story. About three years ago, Hardywood approached Punks For Presents with an idea for a wrestling event, so they brought Stewart in to help. The plan was to put on one show and see if anybody cared.
“We had one show to see what would happen,” Stewart said. “Pretty much what would happen. It sold out the week of, and it went super well. Hardywood was like, ‘Let’s keep doing them.’ And I’m like, ‘Alright, let’s keep doing them.'”
Then they sold out another. Then another.
Today, RVA Pro Wrestling has produced nearly twenty events, with all but one selling out. The formula, it turns out, isn’t complicated. Take professional wrestling, strip away everything that might intimidate someone who’s never watched it before and build it like a Richmond concert.
Keep the show around two hours.
Book five matches instead of fifteen.
Mix in local music.
Give people something to cheer for, someone to boo and let the audience do the rest.
Stewart says they stopped thinking about how to attract wrestling fans and started thinking about how to throw a good party. “I love the diehards and I love that they come to every show,” he said. “But we wanted to reach a wider audience. We sell more like a party and like a fun night out rather than, ‘Come see wrestling.’ I think that party and good-time vibe attracts people in. But once they see the show and the product, then they get hooked.”
Music has always been part of RVA Pro Wrestling’s DNA. While the promotion began as a heavy metal wrestling show, it’s evolved alongside Richmond’s music scene, bringing in everyone from DJs and country acts to local hip hop artists. This Saturday, Richmond rap royalty Nickelus F opens the show.
“It really started off as a heavy metal kind of show,” Stewart said. “But as we’ve progressed, we’re doing a lot more hip hop… I’ve really discovered that I love having hip hop incorporated in our show because rappers, they are the hardest-working promoters you can possibly find. They’re always pushing their product, always pushing what they’re doing.”
The wrestling itself follows that same mentality and unlike television wrestling, where everything is planned around camera angles and edits, independent wrestling does everything on the fly.
Stewart says that’s what makes it exciting. “A lot of it’s really entertainment,” he said. “It’s almost like stand-up comedy or DJing in a way, or even music. You’ve got to read the room. You’ve got to go into the match and say, ‘What is the crowd reacting to?’ If they’re chanting something at you, you’ve got to keep rolling with it.”
“What I love about wrestling and what we do is the crowd really is as much a part of the show as the wrestlers are,” Stewart said. “If the crowd’s getting behind this, let me keep rolling with this. If this idea isn’t working or what I’m doing isn’t working, let’s not do that.”
Take Sledge Gibson. Somewhere along the way, his habit of smacking opponents across the ass cheeks evolved into an entire persona. He now carries a paddle proudly labeled the “Cheek Clapper 9000,” and before long hundreds of fans were chanting “Clap Them Cheeks!” every time he made his entrance.
Then there’s heavyweight champion Leo Kirby, who somehow turned a pair of loafers into one of the promotion’s biggest running jokes. He wrestles in dress shoes, and Richmond has collectively decided this is not right. The result is a chorus of “Fuck Your Loafers!” echoing through the crowd every time he steps into the ring.
Jordan Blade has become one of RVA Pro Wrestling’s most popular stars. As Stewart puts it, “She’s just a badass,” and once the crowd gets behind her, “they love her.”
And then there’s Terry “The Flip” Sequoyah, one of the promotion’s most exciting high-flyers. “The kid can do anything off the top rope,” Stewart said. “He’s really amazing to watch.”
None of those moments were focus-grouped or carefully scripted. “It’s just what the crowd went with,” Stewart said.
For all the championships, costumes and storylines, RVA Pro Wrestling has found success by borrowing more from Richmond’s music scene than from traditional wrestling. It doesn’t expect everyone to know the rules. It doesn’t assume you’ve been following storylines for months. It just invites people to show up, have fun and become part of the show.
Last year’s show was prove in the puddin’. “We really didn’t see it coming,” Stewart said of the nearly 3,000 people who packed Dogwood Dell. “It was one of the biggest crowds for pro wrestling in Virginia, especially on the independent level, that I think I’ve ever seen.”
RVA Pro Wrestling returns to Dogwood Dell on Saturday, July 25. The event is free and open to all ages. Nickelus F takes the stage at 7:30 p.m., with wrestling beginning around 8:15.
Main photo courtesy of RVA Pro Wrestling
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