Photo credit: @Mouse3911
Wrestling is truly something special. It can be a topic of discussion that can lead to divisiveness and debate. But it can also act as an outlet to escape the mundane and banal. But when the mundane and banal can be something grim and darker than the average norm, wrestling can mean so much more. Enter JRose (AKA: Your Favorite Ring Announcer’s Favorite Ring Announcer). You’ve seen him in promotions like Game Changer Wrestling, Paradigm and Black Label Pro where he keeps the party going. Now, JRose is looking to jumpstart a promotion of his own with Naptown All Pro-Wrestling (or NAP).
In the middle of July 2021 I stepped away from my position on the creative team at Paradigm Pro Wrestling. That, combined with other factors, left me burnt out completely and [lead to taking] time away from wrestling altogether. When I came back…I was looking to do something more with wrestling specifically involving community outreach in my hometown of Indianapolis…but I had absolutely no idea how to get started. A post-show conversation…with another Indianapolis native…got me hooked up with Leila Darden from the Far Eastside Community Council in Indy and a 30-minute meeting with her turned into a 2-hour meeting discussing all things like the massive violent crime problem plaguing Indianapolis kids and young adults specifically in regards to gun violence and homicide to how the culture of the city has diminished with a renaissance of sorts only coming about in the last 3 or 4 years all ending with her convincing me that I should run a wrestling promotion “for Indianapolis, by Indianapolis.”
An idea like this certainly does not come from nowhere. Something of this purpose and magnitude could only come from someone who knows and loves their city. And as an Indianapolis native, JRose is that someone.
[I’ve had this idea] since I first started doing stuff in wrestling way back in 2016. It’s something I’ve brought up in conversations…with everyone from Mance Warner to Kevin Ku. It’s been a goal of mine but if I were going to do it I wanted it to mean something more than just bringing some wrestlers around to do a sit-down conversation because in doing that you lose the magic of pro wrestling the interactive part. Now in 2022 with not only my stock but the stock of the others on the NAP team higher than they’ve ever been now is the time to truly get after trying to make an impact while keeping it true to the things we all love about pro wrestling.
A venture like this would seem daunting for just one person to go it alone. And so JRose assembled a team of other talent of the Indianapolis/greater Indiana area. Joining JRose in the back office of NAP would be Hoodfoot, Chase Holliday, Shawn Kemp, and MLW’s Calvin Tankman.
I came up in wrestling wearing a lot of hats often at the same time…So if this were ever going to happen I needed to piece together a team to help and it was extremely apparent to me immediately who that would be. Simply put these are my brothers, some of the closest friends I’ve made in pro wrestling and all of them love this city with every ounce of their being and they share the same passion as I do to have this event and this promotion succeed…Chase is the person keeping all the demands of every person both in management and in talent answered, Shawn handles the logistics as far as putting the entire show on, Hoodfoot helps me out on the business and finance aspect of things and Tankman is the closest wrestling advisor. I take the lead on the vision and everyday business things but we all have a fairly equal voice in what all decisions NAP makes as a company and I literally couldn’t do this without them.
With some big names of the Midwest at his side, JRose has built up two phenomenal cards of talent. But with an idea like this, there is sure to be interest beyond the talent appearing.
The response has been damn near overwhelming because a lot of people “get it”…Both in terms of what we’re trying to accomplish [as a cause] for community activism and as a wrestling promotion. There are names, rather big names both in the world of indie wrestling and in contracted TV wrestling that have offered their support both in terms of spreading the word and as far as working the shows themselves. There’s actually an absolutely nuts name who wanted to come through but due to scheduling it couldn’t happen but hopefully sometime soon they’re able to slide through.
As previously mentioned, this show is two full cards of wrestling. A more family oriented show in the morning to coincide with a community fair targeted for at-risk youth. And an evening show where everyone is welcome, but parental discretion is advised. With two cards full of talent, everyone is looking to show out.
No one is a bigger Jody Himself advocate than I am…the joy that it brought me when Hoodfoot handpicked Jody to be the opponent for Isiah Broner is only topped by the joy that I felt when Tankman co-signed it. He’s a talent that’s grown so much [since we] first met a little over a year ago and even more so when I first became aware of him 2 and a half years ago. I think he’s going to surprise a lot of people…Alice Crowley is the only wrestler on this card who was born and raised in the neighborhood we’re holding the show in and I know that she will most definitely be showing out against Sandra Moone…who has made Indiana her second home over the past year and loves this city just as much as Alice does.
D-Rogue between his match against Billie Starkz and his involvement in the Triangle Contingency…has the possibility to wrestle THREE times on the day and come out as the top wins leader in NAP already and that’s kinda crazy. I know he has a chip on his shoulder and he asked for it but I don’t know if he makes it out the day on steady ground. It’ll be interesting to see. Chase Holliday has a hell of a day ahead of him too, facing off against Adriel Noctis and…Bryan Keith to where two wins on the day could really push him up a tier on the indie wrestling echelon. Bradley Prescott IV and Chris Andino will either steal the show with a match that deconstructs wrestling to its core or will [have a] top 10 dumbest most entertaining match of the year. And lastly Calvin Tankman vs Myron Reed was a match that I said if I couldn’t run it I wouldn’t do the show, that’s how passionately I feel about that match. Myron vs Tankman will be the new standard bearer for marquee wrestling matches in this city.
While talent on any show is a great thing, at the core of it, NAP is all about giving back. Statistically, there is much danger for the youth of Indianapolis in the way of gun violence. And NAP is looking to offer a community outlet for the young and the at risk to partake in something special.
The mission of this show is to [at minimum] create a fun, unrestricted, unique experience for the youth of Indianapolis who may be in danger of being victims of gun violence and at maximum, put them in range of someone who can change some aspect of their life for the better. If just one kid or young adult comes out of this with a good day where they felt safe and free to be who they are or at absolute best change their life for the better… well it means that we did our job.
If you’d like to support NAP, you can buy a ticket for yourself, or sponsor a ticket for an Eastside area youth. You can also follow NAP on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for updates. And of course, you can follow JRose on Twitter and Instagram.