Show: Wrestling Epicenter
Guest: Jon Wolfgang
Date: 07/09/2024
Your Host: James Walsh
Jon Wolfgang is one of the co-owners of the Arizona Pro Wrestling Training Center or Train in AZ. Strangely, he was involved in pro wrestling before he ever was actually trained to wrestle. Now sporting the physical appearance of a superstar and the spirit of the underdog, Jon Wolfgang is Phoenix Championship Wrestling’s top fan favorite as he chases the gold, the PCW AZ Heavyweight Title, currently held by CLAS.
In this new conversation, Wolggang discusses the growth of Arizona wrestling, his journey into the industry, and much more!
Phoenix Championship Wrestling presents Live on Broadway this Saturday from the Eagle Convention Center in Mesa, Arizona. Tickets are going fast so order yours as soon as you can at www.PCWAZ.com. You can also check out the training facility on Twitter and the promotion’s Facebook page as well. Tell ’em the Epicenter sent you! The event boasts live wrestling action including a star studded battle royal, a free meet and greet before the show with the likes of Jerry Lynn, Missy Hyatt, Val Venis, and Alex Hammerstone on hand, and a whole lot more all at a price you can afford to bring the whole family to.
For more interviews like this, visit www.WrestlingEpicenter.com.
JON WOLFGANG:
On finding his way into pro wrestling before he was a wrestler:
“Well, I got interested in pro wrestling the same way a lot of guys do – Watching it as a kid. I watched Bret Hart matches with my dad and as I got older, I tried to find ways to attach myself to it. I got into the business through will. I always had it in the back of my head. Like, “If you could do anything, what would you do?” And, it was I would be a pro wrestler! So, I got involved with a wrestling school. And, through that school I actually got in contact with Dom Vitalli. He’s the gentleman I actually own the Arizona Pro Wrestling Training Center with. We became really good friends! From that, we started Phoenix Championship Wrestling when it was really just getting on its feet and through that, we started the Arizona Pro Wrestling Training Center. We put together what we felt the best curriculum would be for young athletes About a year into that, I decided I wanted to be in the ring – Not just be the ring announcer, not just do the behind the scenes things. I wanted to be in the ring and fight, so to say. So, after 2 years of training, I finally had my first match in August of 2021!”
On being a polished wrestler so early into his in-ring career:
“I appreciate that. Thankfully, I’ve had a lot of veteran wrestlers say the same thing to me too. Going back to the training center, that is what I would attribute that to. We have Dom who has been wrestling for about 20 years. We’ve got a guy named Gabriel Gallo who has been wrestling for about 25 years and has had tours overseas. And, we have guys like Alexander Hammerstone who will come in and offer help from time to time. We’ve also had legends from the past come in and give seminars. We’ve had 2 Cold Scorpio, The Sheik, and various others. I would love to say my taking to wrestling has to do with talent but I truly believe it is because I have surrounded myself with some truly great people who have impart onto me some of their knowledge through their experience. I do think I have a talent for it. But, I think it has been hyper accelerated through really good people and really talented professional wrestlers.”
On how local Arizona residents can train to wrestle:
“You would go to www.PCWAZ.com and there will be a tab that says Train in AZ. You’d click that and there is an application process. We don’t just accept people in right away. We do about 4 classes per year. We’re very structured. We try to model everything we do on the format of the WWE Performance Center. We’ve got a lot of connections over there. We are able to see what works and what might not work so well. But, if you’re interested in joining, I would get on it right away. We actually have our next class starting in August.”
On the style of wrestling PCW AZ presents:
“I think a lot of it has to do with the vision we have for Phoenix Championship Wrestling. We want the grass roots of the promotion to hearken back to what professional wrestling was like back in the territory days. We want grandmas and grandpas to come. We want whole families to come. We want to see the looks on little kids faces when they see the wrestlers come out and they get inspired. That is what got us, most of us anyway, into wrestling. We were little kids and the wrestlers, these were super heroes. These are Superman, Wonder Woman, or Spider Man in real life in a sporting aspect.”
On having Jerry Lynn in for PCW AZ Live on Broadway:
“If 10 year old Jon Wolfgang knew we would have Jerry Lynn in, he would be going crazy. Because, I remember when I was growing up, we didn’t have a lot of money to watch pro wrestling. So, I saved up and I bought the Rob Van Dam DVD and I saw the (ECW) match Jerry had with RVD and it blew my mind.”
On his thoughts heading into PCW AZ Live on Broadway:
“My thoughts heading into that match (the battle royal) is redemption. I feel like I should be the PCW AZ Heavyweight Champion right now. Our last event, I challenged our current champion CLAS and I fell just a little bit short. It wasn’t for any mistakes I made. It was simply that I fell out of time. The pinfall hit just as the 25 minute time limit came up. Unfortunately, in that situation, you don’t get to keep the title. I ran out of time. So, I’ve got to get redemption in this battle royal. I’ve got to go back to the well and regain my spot to challenge again. There is nothing that is just given in Phoenix Championship Wrestling. You have to earn it. So, that is my goal. I want to finish the job I started last May.”
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