Toby Willis and Matt Case had heard enough.
Whether it was the destructive impact of Title IX interpretation on college wrestling or the fallacies of professional “rassling,” these two former wrestlers knew it was time to do something about the negativity that was damaging the sport they loved.
“Matt looked at me and said, ‘Why don’t we do something about it?’” recalled Willis about a 2001 discussion with his former college roommate.
That question led to a unique answer … and one of the more unique enterprises involving man’s oldest sport: RealProWrestling.
And as co-founders of this latest attempt to offer a legitimate form of professional wrestling to former collegiate All-Americans and their fans, Willis and Case have also been named Wrestling International Newsmagazine’s Impact Award winners for 2003.
“Toby and Matt have a vision for the sport of wrestling in the mainstream media, unlike any other individuals with whom I have come in contact,” said W.I.N. publisher Bryan Van Kley. “They found a way to turn their passion for wrestling into something that could have an incredible impact on the future of wrestling as a whole and our sport’s elite athletes’ careers.”
“My first gut reaction (to receiving the Impact Award) was, ‘Oh no, our mission is not accomplished,’” said Willis from his home and production company in Nashville, Tenn. “On second thought, I’m glad that people are taking notice and patting us on the back. But I realize that our work is not finished and that we can’t toast any award until we realize our dream.”
That vision first came for Willis and Case in 2001 after the 1992 graduates of Northwestern knew it was time to fight back against the sport’s negative stereotypes and decided to utilize the skills they first displayed in college and later in the working world.
“As a former systems analyst, I was used to dealing with technical problems and implementing plans to correct the problem,” said Willis. “I thought we could do a better job of showing wrestling in a better light. No one has ever packaged wrestling to consumers so there was no reason why we couldn’t have a professional league.”
Willis also knew there had been two other attempts to start a professional outlet for wrestlers in the 1970s and 1980s but believed they had learned to overcome the problems of the past.
“It was the chicken and egg dilemma,” said Case. “In the past, (league producers) took the idea to television in hopes of gaining sponsors. But television and the sponsors wanted to see the product first.”
That meant that Willis and Case would have to create a video prototype of their new professional wrestling sport in which they would sell to national television networks.
So in October of 2002, the duo unveiled their idea before over 1,000 fans — including many wrestling dignitaries — in a brilliantly-lit television studio in Los Angeles, where a “hybrid” version of freestyle took place on a raised mat between former NCAA and Olympic champions.
Case also was a computer programmer at the time, “until Toby took me away from that,” laughed Case, who finally found a way to better use the music degree that he earned from Northwestern.
For Case and Willis also serve as the creative and technical directors to this production. Willis and Case have since produced five one-hour shows that they are currently trying to air on one of the major television networks.
Once the shows are aired, Willis and Case believe they will develop a following that will lead to a permanent league that will be perfect for television. The duo also believe that a successful professional league will build interest in the sport and thus end the downward spiral of cutting college programs.
“There is a smarter way of fighting against it,” said Willis. “It’s important that we win the hearts and minds of people. Lawsuits won’t do it. We want America to want wrestling.”
“We believe that we can turn wrestling into a revenue-producing sport,” Case said.
“And no university is going to cut a sport that produces revenue,” added Willis.
This endeavor has also been a bittersweet one for Willis, who tragically lost five brothers and a sister in an accident eight years ago when a minivan, driven by his parents between Milwaukee and Chicago, was struck by a 30-pound I-beam that punctured the gas tank and blew up the van, killing his siblings.
In return, Willis and his family received an substantial settlement that Willis has used as his capital to fund this project.
“I could have sat around all day eating twinkies and felt sorry for myself,” Willis said. “I feel that I can actually doing something with my life and have an impact on people.”
From W.I.N. Magazine’s perspective, they’ve both already succeeded.





• This story appears in the Annual College Preview issue of Wrestling International Newsmagazine. To subscribe to Wrestling International Magazine, call 1-888-305-0606 or by e-mail at info@win-magazine.com. W.I.N. publishes 12 times per year for an annual second class mailing rate of $29.95. The first-class subscription rate is $47.95.
e United States to play catch-up against most of the world in Greco-Roman wrestling? U.S. national Greco coach Steve Fraser said the answer to that question is very simple.
“You wrestle a Russian who has been doing Greco-Roman full-time since he was six years old … and you didn’t really start to wrestle Greco full-time until you are 21 years old,” Fraser said. “A lot of kids wrestle some Greco when they are younger, but not consistently enough where they really get a feel for it. The U.S. doesn’t have a Greco developmental system.”
Even with that obstacle to overcome, the Americans have done very well in recent World and Olympic competitions, especially in the 2000 Olympics where Rulon Gardner won a gold medal, Matt Lindland claimed a silver and Garrett Lowney brought home a bronze.
This year’s World Championships was the exception when the U.S. was shut out in the medal race at a major international meet for the first time since 1999.
Americans wrestle folkstyle beginning with kids’ tournaments and continue all the way through college.
“Wrestling folkstyle is the only way they can get a scholarship to get their college education,” Fraser said. “And a lot of college coaches discourage those guys from wrestling Greco in the spring and summer while they are in college.”
Fraser said top Greco prospects now have an opportunity to wrestle Greco full-time while on a college scholarship.
Northern Michigan University, in conjunction with USA Wrestling, now offers 25 Greco wrestlers a full athletic scholarship for college. Top Greco athletes who are in high school are recruited to attend that school.
Harry Lester, a top young Greco prospect, is among the athletes taking part in the program at Northern Michigan. The program is in its fourth year.
“This is a huge step for the development of our Greco athletes,” Fraser said. “They recruit kids out of high school. The athletes are trained to wrestle at the international level. They compete in a number of tournaments and they go on an international tour. It is a full-time Greco program with a full-time Greco coach.”
Fraser said many athletes who have started wrestling Greco after college, including Gardner, have eventually thrived as resident athletes at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
“Mike Houck, who was the U.S. National coach at the time, called Rulon after he was done with his college career at Nebraska and talked him into wrestling in a Greco tournament,” Fraser said. “Rulon was very reluctant to try Greco. At first he said, ‘What’s Greco?’ Seven years later, he beat Alexander Karelin to win the Olympics.
“Rulon has only wrestled Greco 10 years and he won the Olympics at the seven-year mark. That is pretty remarkable.”
Making the transition from folkstyle to freestyle is not as difficult, Fraser said, as moving from folkstyle to Greco.
“I think that is pretty obvious,” he said. “The summer after Stephen Neal won an NCAA title he won a World Champion-ship in freestyle. Plus (Cael) Sanderson and (Stephen) Abas made World teams when they were still in college.”
Fraser said USA Wrestling has taken steps to help American Greco wrestlers excel.
They include:
• An international training camp in Colorado Springs every month of the year to give Americans more exposure to foreign competitors. Cuba, Finland and Sweden are among the countries who have taken part;
• Winter tours where athletes travel for two to three weeks and wrestle around 20 matches against foreign opponents;
• An extensive scouting and education video system where the team learns techniques and can scout opponents;
• A strong resident program, along with an experienced group of coaches.
?I am very confident and very excited about our potential,? he said. ?I think we can be the very best Greco-Roman program in the world. It’s not easy, but we are still up for the challenge.?



• This story appears in the Annual College Preview issue of Wrestling International Newsmagazine. To subscribe to Wrestling International Magazine, call 1-888-305-0606 or by e-mail at info@win-magazine.com. W.I.N. publishes 12 times per year for an annual second class mailing rate of $29.95. The first-class subscription rate is $47.95.