In May of  2013 I read an article in the Des Moines Register with headline that read(I’m paraphrasing since it did not appear in their archives online) “Dwarf wrestling  controversy for Dallas Center”.  I was embarrassed, infuriated, offended, and in the middle of eating an ultimate skillet at The Village Inn.  When you come from a place that is swept as far into the corner away from the mainstream as pro wrestling is, it is upsetting that the first time the local professional wrestling scene is mentioned in the Des Moines Register in years, it included the phrase “Dwarf Wrestling controversy ” in the title.   The content of the article was just as troubling to me.  It was about how Brian Filloon, owner of The Longest Yard bar in Dallas Center, was meeting resistance from a member of the Dallas Center City Council over his decision to bring “Dwarf Wrestling” to his bar for RAGBRAI.

I’m well aware we live in an ever-evolving world of political correctness in which we are always looking for ways to make our language less offensive.  I get it and support it.  However, there are cases in which the current status quo for a particular word usage simply doesn’t fit.  In this case, it is dwarf wrestling.  For me it sounded so forced and awkward.  It was really hard for me to read in print over and over again.  Little Kato, one of the greatest midget wrestlers in the world explained it to me this way- “I’m proud to be a midget wrestler.  I make my living in the world of midget wrestling.  If someone comes up to me on the street and calls me a midget, I’m going to kick his ass”

I immediately called Brian Filloon and asked him about the trouble he was having getting the show off the ground.  He explained that his troubles were two-fold.  First, the promoter he originally booked the show through had found himself in some legal trouble and was bringing a lot of unneeded baggage into the equation.  Secondly, a member of the city council was adamantly opposed to the show because it wouldn’t properly represent Dallas Center.   I offered to take over for the original promoter and said I would do anything I could to help sway the city council to allow for the show.   I asked midget wrestlers Starla Love, Kelly Halfpint, and Little Kato to write letters to present at the city council meeting.  I was talking with Brian nearly every day as the discussion went on into June.  The funny thing was, as a result of a few people not wanting the show to take place, the show was getting great press from all over the state.  Newspapers and television stations were covering the story on a near daily basis.  It was nuts.

Finally it was July and the event was upon us.    We decided to set the ring up the night before the show; something we had NEVER done before, but thought it best since the streets were going to be closed the next morning by 7AM.  The idea of waking up at 5:30 in the morning to get the ring set up before putting on a  5 hour wrestling show from 9AM-2PM, did not appeal to me.  It took a little while to get the ring to sit level on the street.   The “ring crew” for the evening consisted of Travis Shillington, Matty “Star”, Kyle Peterson, and me.  Almost immediately after the ring was set up, storm clouds appeared to the north.   Matty and I decided to wait for a while to make sure the ring didn’t get rained on.  Wrestling in a wet ring is simply too dangerous.  Unfortunately we only had to wait about 15 minutes for a torrential rainstorm to hit.  Matt and I rushed out and started covering the ring with everything we had at our disposal.  It was ridiculous how hard the rain was coming down.  If I had not been in a panic, I may have found the situation amusing.   It was after midnight when the rain stopped and we were able to get the standing water in the ring swept off to the street.   I went to bed exhausted, worried, wet, and appreciative of the friends that had helped out.

I met Josh Peterson at 7AM and made the hour drive over to Dallas Center.  Brian had been telling me in the weeks leading up to the show he was expecting the event to be huge with thousands of people in attendance.  In 12 years I heard so many similar stories of optimism it was hard to take any of them serious.  Brian seemed like an organized and intelligent person so I was holding out hope that this might be the day we catch lightning in a bottle.  When we arrived in Dallas Center the ring canvas was pretty soaked.  We went to work right away on laying it out in the sun and getting as much air under it as possible.   I have a rule during wrestling shows:  NEVER let them see you sweat.  I think that is an old deodorant slogan.  Oddly, I have tried to make that a way of life.  I just think it comes across as unprofessional if you are running around in a hectic state looking like you don’t know what is going on.  Also the organizer, The Longest Yard in this case, has a lot to worry about without having to worry about me.  So as I was losing my mind on the inside, we were looking as much like a well-oiled machine as we could at 8:30 in the morning.

The show started at 9AM in front of a crowd of about  40 people, mainly local people and other vendors.  By 10AM there were a few hundred.  By 11AM there were close to a thousand and from noon to two there were THOUSANDS of people watching at any given time.  It was insanity.  The crowd was going crazy; we were going crazy.   It is one of those rare moments that you can look back on all the work and hardships that have brought you to a particular moment in time and say definitively that it was all worth it.   I laughed at one point when Josh sent me a text from a few feet away (talking over the noise of the crowd was impossible) that read “IPW has never been this cool”.

As I write this now, I get a little choked up thinking of that.  Josh was just sending a light hearted text, but after 12 years in professional wrestling, I feel like we are constantly fighting for acceptance.  Now, on a sunny day on the streets of Dallas Center, here were thousands of people:  doctors, teachers, college students, from all 50 states in America loving something they would have never thought possible – Impact Pro Wrestling.  If you would have asked any of the reported 20,000 people that stopped to watch our show that day if they were professional wrestling fans, smart money would bet on less than a few percent would say yes.  However, on that day, even it was for ONLY that day, we showed them that professional wrestling could be “cool” and fun.  That made it one of the greatest wrestling moments of my life.

Afterwards, the mayor of the town approached me and asked if I had a minute.  He took me aside and thanked me personally.  He was ecstatic on how we had represented his town during the RAGBRAI festivities.  He admitted to having some reservations, but was happy to realize those reservations were misplaced and hoped we would come back to Dallas Center at some point.   I was at a rare loss for words.  I did express our thanks for the city allowing the show to go on and taking a chance on a less than conventional form of entertainment.

The 6 and 10 o’clock news on all three network affiliates out of Des Moines had coverage of our show in Dallas Center.  It was reported to be the biggest none-stay over town event in the history of RAGBRAI.   The Longest Yard sold over 7,000 Budweiser tall boys before 12 PM the day of our show!   Both Brian Filloon and his wife were extremely thankful for our contribution to their success.  They showed that in both their words and a significant bonus over what we had agreed upon for compensation.    One of the most successful days in my 12 years of professional wrestling was the result of a few people opposing professional wrestling and a press that is quick to jump on anything they can sensationalize.  It is funny how things work out.

Troy Peterson founded Impact Pro Wrestling in 2002.  IPW runs about 25 shows a year primarily in Iowa and Minnesota.  Troy helps organize the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame weekend in Waterloo, Iowa each summer.  The weekend features an awards banquet and a talent evaluation for young wrestlers scouted by Gerry Brisco and Jim Ross.  IPW also presents a live pro wrestling show in conjunction with the weekend.  Troy lives in Des Moines, Iowa with his wife Caroline and 5 year old son Truman.