Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff are launching Real American Freestyle Wrestling with Israel Martinez, with the first event scheduled for August 30 in Cleveland, OH.
The Associated Press has shared more details on the new venture.
The inaugural event will feature single matches across eight men’s and four women’s weight classes.
Olympic silver medalist Kennedy Blades will lead the women’s division, while Zahid Valencia and Ben Askren will be key figures in the men’s division.
Hogan will serve as Commissioner, with sponsorship from Real American Beer and Cassius.
Martinez will be the COO, Bischoff the Chief Media Officer, and Chad Bronstein the co-founder and President.
The promotion is backed by Left Lane Capital.
You can check out some highlights of AP’s interview with Hogan below:
On if freestyle wrestlers can connect with people the same way pro wrestlers can: “Dude, they’ve all got that edge. These kids are young, they’re smart. They’re watching TV. They know about branding, they know what sells. And they’ve all got that little Conor McGregor swag.”
On fans who are surprised his promotion isn’t professional wrestling: “The idea was so exciting that I get a chance to be involved with all these young people and help guide them in any way, especially to make them huge stars and create a future for them. People might be surprised, but wrestling is wrestling, brother.”
On Eric Bischoff’s involvement: “Eric jumped in with both feet, and he’s doing a lot to guide this ship right now, brother. He’s setting so much stuff up production wise — just moving us forward, light years ahead of where we could have been on our own.”
