ABOUT
The Champions League of American Wrestling (CLAW) is launching in 2025 and will deliver on what wrestling fans want---a bona fide professional league featuring our sport's top stars.
Many fans know the history of past efforts to launch professional wrestling leagues. Our team has studied them and researched dozens of successful leagues in other sports. We also spent extensive time assessing existing rules as they relate to consumer psychology. What do fans enjoy watching? What is expected from a quality league? Why do fans get hooked on certain sports? CLAW must be a fan-focused league!
While wrestling is an incredible "participation sport," it's not always exciting to watch, especially at higher levels. So, rules must be modified. After extensive research and testing, our new rules increase action, scoring, and strategy. It's real wrestling, but just faster paced with more ways for fans to engage.
An exciting product is essential, but there are other critical issues that must be addressed to launch a successful league. This begins with defining and building a brand that resonates with the public. Combined with an exciting annual draft and free agency process, meaningful schedule and playoffs, strong social media presence, cool uniforms and merchandise, fantasy leagues, exciting in-person events, well-produced broadcasts, new statistics, reputable sponsorships, fan-engaging activities throughout the year, shrewd marketing strategies, and compensation methods and policies that attract exciting and great athletes (yes, that's a lot of factors!), we are confident CLAW will appeal to persons who already appreciate wrestling while also attracting fans of MMA, football and other sports enthusiasts.
FOUNDERS
CLAW was founded by Tom Houck and Eric Brugel. Tom was the Founder of Top of the Podium, a nonprofit that successfully operated innovative wrestling facilities since 2014. Previously, he founded and sold a successful training and consulting company to Thomson Reuters after serving at KPMG Peat Marwick. Eric is the Managing Director of Grey Owl Capital Management with nearly 40 years of experience in the financial services industry. He was a team captain and All-American wrestler at Penn State with over 100 victories. In 2014, he was inducted into the Pennsylvania Wrestling Hall of Fame.
The CLAW Advisory Board consists of influential persons in sports and media industries, including Chris Bevilacqua (CEO, SimpleBet), EJ Johnston (CEO of 3ICE), Andy Redman (former CEO of Tornante Company), and Jonathan Koch (CEO of Asylum Entertainment). Additional persons are joining our team to ensure success.
Many fans know the history of past efforts to launch professional wrestling leagues. Our team has studied them and researched dozens of successful leagues in other sports. We also spent extensive time assessing existing rules as they relate to consumer psychology. What do fans enjoy watching? What is expected from a quality league? Why do fans get hooked on certain sports? CLAW must be a fan-focused league!
While wrestling is an incredible "participation sport," it's not always exciting to watch, especially at higher levels. So, rules must be modified. After extensive research and testing, our new rules increase action, scoring, and strategy. It's real wrestling, but just faster paced with more ways for fans to engage.
An exciting product is essential, but there are other critical issues that must be addressed to launch a successful league. This begins with defining and building a brand that resonates with the public. Combined with an exciting annual draft and free agency process, meaningful schedule and playoffs, strong social media presence, cool uniforms and merchandise, fantasy leagues, exciting in-person events, well-produced broadcasts, new statistics, reputable sponsorships, fan-engaging activities throughout the year, shrewd marketing strategies, and compensation methods and policies that attract exciting and great athletes (yes, that's a lot of factors!), we are confident CLAW will appeal to persons who already appreciate wrestling while also attracting fans of MMA, football and other sports enthusiasts.
FOUNDERS
CLAW was founded by Tom Houck and Eric Brugel. Tom was the Founder of Top of the Podium, a nonprofit that successfully operated innovative wrestling facilities since 2014. Previously, he founded and sold a successful training and consulting company to Thomson Reuters after serving at KPMG Peat Marwick. Eric is the Managing Director of Grey Owl Capital Management with nearly 40 years of experience in the financial services industry. He was a team captain and All-American wrestler at Penn State with over 100 victories. In 2014, he was inducted into the Pennsylvania Wrestling Hall of Fame.
The CLAW Advisory Board consists of influential persons in sports and media industries, including Chris Bevilacqua (CEO, SimpleBet), EJ Johnston (CEO of 3ICE), Andy Redman (former CEO of Tornante Company), and Jonathan Koch (CEO of Asylum Entertainment). Additional persons are joining our team to ensure success.
PRESS RELEASE: ANNOUNCING LEAGUE:
| press_release_launch.pdf |