West Coast Pro to showcase wrestling at its ‘rawest form’ with rising women’s star headlining its main event
Las Vegas will transform into a pro wrestling fan’s paradise for a few days with WrestleMania 42 being the main course for most people who will fly into the city from around the world.
WWE will be sharing the spotlight.
Dozens of pro wrestling companies will be featured throughout the week at various venues all over the city. Imagine as if each college football conference was hosting its championship game every day from Wednesday to Sunday with the NFL’s Super Bowl occurring at the end. It’s the same feeling that will encapsulate pro wrestling fans over the course of the week.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
West Coast Pro will be one of the promotions hosting a show with several wrestlers on its roster participating in multiple matches for other companies as well.
In a sea of independent shows, West Coast Pro owner Scott Bregante told Fox News Digital that his promotion offers fans a chance to see the sport in its purest form.
"I think what separates West Coast Pro apart is we have an identity of like, we're very proud to be from the Bay Area. We're very proud to still showcase pro wrestling for what pro wrestling is and not what it could be," he explained. "I think a lot of people want to come in and reinvent the wheel. I think wrestling is beautiful in its rawest form and that is telling stories, putting a spotlight on up-and-coming people, getting people emotionally involved, just in the basics.
"I think we start so far away from it as an industry where you have to have an influencer now or someone that's famous connected to it. For us, we've never really folded on that. It's always been, like, we have really, really good wrestling. We have really good stories. Our crowd is incredible. The vibe is there. All the things that would make any company great, we've leaned into it and just never lost what made us, us."
Bregante said some of the industry’s top stars have come through West Coast Pro, including WWE’s Royce Keys and Jacob Fatu, while others have been featured at All Elite Wrestling, Total Nonstop Action and in Japan as well.
"We have people all over the place that come out of West Coast Pro, or had a footprint here," he continued. "And I think that that stands the test of time.... And I really think that’s what makes us. And I think that's really what makes us a step away from everybody else. We are just pro wrestling, you know? We're not sports entertainment, we're not an influencer, nothing like that. We're pro wrestling at its core."
One of West Coast Pro’s rising stars is the company’s world women’s champion Johnnie Robbie.
Robbie is a Los Angeles native who has leaned into her Latin American background and brought her own flavor into the ring – and it’s made a resounding impact with pro wrestling fans.
Bregante told Fox News Digital that Robbie’s ability to relate to fans has made her incredibly popular. Couple that with her skills in the ring, and the industry has a rising star to contend with.
"Incredibly relatable but not to the point where people see her as an equal, they see her as someone to look up to," he said of Robbie. "I think that's a lot of things that are lost within pro wrestling where a lot wrestlers resonate with fans by being fans, where Johnny Robbie is a step above."
Bregante said that Robbie’s career was nearly ended because of a serious neck injury, but she was able to recover, maintain her momentum with fans and put on banger match after banger match. It’s that part of Robbie’s journey, Bregante said, that makes her even more special.
"I think that's a very, very important part that people forget of why, you know, if you're just hearing now who Johnnie Robbie is but you hear everyone that's been around for a while to say like, ‘Yeah man Johnnie Robbie,’ these are these very important details of a journey with somebody, and her in-ring work speaks for itself," he said. "She is one of the most sought-after wrestlers, man or woman or otherwise. A lot of people say like, ‘Oh, best unsigned talent,’ I don't look at it that way. I think Johnnie Robbie, if you put her up pound for pound, she’s top 20 in the world period.
JAPANESE PRO WRESTLING STAR MIYU YAMASHITA GEARS UP FOR LAS VEGAS RETURN AT SLAM FEST
"You can't really go and say, ‘Hey, man, I watched the Johnnie Robbie match. It was just OK,’ 99.9% of the time, whenever you watch the Johnnie Robbie match, you go away with thinking, ‘OK, well, I think this woman is redefining what women's wrestling could be.’ And when I look at her and say this is what it should be. There's a reason why I have her main eventing over everybody else. And it's not because it's her gender or anything like that. It's because she has the passion, she has the look. She has the effort and the skill set and the overall entertainment value to main event any show that comes out of West Coast Pro. And West Coast Pro has a standard and for her to be at the top of that standard should say enough."
West Coast Pro’s "West Coast vs. The World" card looks like this:
The event will take place Thursday at 7 p.m. PT at the Bizarre Bar in Las Vegas.