ABOUT
The Champions League of American Wrestling (CLAW) is preparing to launch in 2025 when it will deliver on what wrestling fans have forever longed for---a bona fide professional league featuring our sport's top stars.
Wrestling fans know the history of past efforts to launch professional leagues featuring real wrestling. Our team has studied these efforts and researched dozens of successful leagues in other sports. We also spent extensive time objectively assessing existing wrestling rules (folkstyle, freestyle, greco) as they relate to consumer psychology. What do fans enjoy watching? What do they expect from a legitimate league? Why do fans get hooked on certain sports? The bottom line is that 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 fan interest. It's still real wrestling, but just faster paced with more ways for fans to engage.
While an exciting product is essential, there are many 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 system, meaningful schedule and playoffs, strong social media presence, cool uniforms and apparel/merchandise, fantasy leagues, exciting in-person events, well-produced broadcasts/streams, new statistics, reputable sponsorships, fan-engaging activities throughout the year, shrewd marketing strategies, and compensation methods and policies that attract exciting and great athletes, we are confident CLAW will appeal to persons who appreciate real wrestling while also attracting even larger audiences of MMA, football and other sports enthusiasts.
The first CLAW Draft is planned for the spring of 2025, followed by the inaugural season beginning in the fall of 2025. In 2024, CLAW will host one or two major events to showcase this exciting new style of wrestling.
FOUNDERS
CLAW is the brainchild of Tom Houck and Eric Brugel. Tom is the Founder and President of Top of the Podium, a nonprofit that successfully operated innovative wrestling facilities and programs 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) and EJ Johnston (CEO of 3ICE). Additional persons are being added to our team to ensure success.
Wrestling fans know the history of past efforts to launch professional leagues featuring real wrestling. Our team has studied these efforts and researched dozens of successful leagues in other sports. We also spent extensive time objectively assessing existing wrestling rules (folkstyle, freestyle, greco) as they relate to consumer psychology. What do fans enjoy watching? What do they expect from a legitimate league? Why do fans get hooked on certain sports? The bottom line is that 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 fan interest. It's still real wrestling, but just faster paced with more ways for fans to engage.
While an exciting product is essential, there are many 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 system, meaningful schedule and playoffs, strong social media presence, cool uniforms and apparel/merchandise, fantasy leagues, exciting in-person events, well-produced broadcasts/streams, new statistics, reputable sponsorships, fan-engaging activities throughout the year, shrewd marketing strategies, and compensation methods and policies that attract exciting and great athletes, we are confident CLAW will appeal to persons who appreciate real wrestling while also attracting even larger audiences of MMA, football and other sports enthusiasts.
The first CLAW Draft is planned for the spring of 2025, followed by the inaugural season beginning in the fall of 2025. In 2024, CLAW will host one or two major events to showcase this exciting new style of wrestling.
FOUNDERS
CLAW is the brainchild of Tom Houck and Eric Brugel. Tom is the Founder and President of Top of the Podium, a nonprofit that successfully operated innovative wrestling facilities and programs 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) and EJ Johnston (CEO of 3ICE). Additional persons are being added to our team to ensure success.
PRESS RELEASE: ANNOUNCING LEAGUE:
| press_release_launch.pdf |