MESA, Ariz. — Inside Arizona Pro Wrestling Training Center near Stapley Drive and Broadway Road in Mesa, high-flying action is taking place.
Up-and-coming professional wrestlers endure grueling and intense training all while showing off that big personality. Getting body slammed from the top rope and running exhausting drills in the ring for hours. Going through training that is similar to what WWE superstars go through.
All with the same goal of making it to the biggest stage.
"WrestleMania, that's what everybody wants and that's the mindset," said wrestler El Valiente who has been training for about two years.
Pro-Wrestler Dom Vitalli, owner and trainer of Phoenix Championship Wrestling, which runs the gym, said no matter what you think about the WWE or professional wrestling, it isn't easy.
“Wrestling is for everybody to enjoy, but it's not for everybody to do,” Vitalli said.
That is why he and co-founder Jon Wolfgang have an interview process before anyone can get accepted into the program. The process makes it clear to everyone that if you want to learn here, then you must show dedication, grit and hard work.
“We don't train people that want to do this as a hobby or just kind of try it out," Vitalli said "We're actually training the next generation of WWE superstars.”
Focusing on ring maneuvers, chain wrestling and safety while competing, some have made it to that level after training with Phoenix Championship Wrestling. Vitalli said WWE star Maxxine Dupri trained at the facility to prepare for her WWE tryout.
Arizona has strong ties to several WWE Superstars, such as Dolph Zigler and Daniel Bryan, and both Vitalli and Wolfgang said the sports entertainment event's popularity is currently on the rise in the Valley.
To help get it to where it is today, they created Phoenix Championship Wrestling where they host local pro-wrestling events area for everyone to enjoy. Vitalli said it helped fill a big void that was missing in the Valley.
"There's no reason why good quality, family-friendly championship wrestling shouldn't be a staple of the Valley," Wolfgang said.
Wolfgang, the current PCWAZ Heavyweight Champion said their crowds have grown over the years with 1,600 fans at a recent event. Ultra Women's Champion Zamaya remembers the feeling of hearing and seeing the crowd chant her name as she entered the ring. She wants those enduring all this training to feel it too.
“It's the most insane feeling," Zamaya said. "To this day, I still get emotional thinking about it,”
Wolfgang said the overall goal is to keep PCW growing and to establish themselves as the premier organization for professional wrestling in the state.
“We want people to know that, okay, if I go to Arizona and I want to see good wrestling, I know exactly where I can go," Wolfgang said.
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