Presented by Battlefield Pro Wrestling, the revival will begin May 3 with \u201cWXW: Homecoming,\u201d with plans to run shows the first Sunday of every month.<\/p>\n
It seeks to revive a dynamic that made the city a pipeline for pro wrestling \u2014 where wrestlers came through to sharpen personas, refine timing and learn how to work in front of a crowd that knew the difference.<\/p>\n
Stars such as Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan, Sgt. Slaughter, “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes and “Rowdy” Roddy Piper all passed through, part of a steady churn of talent using Allentown as a launching pad to worldwide stardom.<\/p>\n
Later, names including Yokozuna, Billy Kidman and Dave Bautista followed in those footsteps, training locally under Afa Anoa\u02bbi Sr., who operated The Wild Samoan Training Center.<\/p>\n
That influence still resonates. On WWE “Raw” last month \u2014 broadcast to a global audience on Netflix \u2014 CM Punk reflected on his early days making the trip from Philadelphia to Allentown<\/a>, where he said he was \u201cpaid in knowledge sitting under the Wild Samoans learning tree.\u201d<\/p>\n The Allentown Fairgrounds and PBS39 both played an integral role in the early days of the World Wide Wrestling Federation \u2014 an organization that today has a global profile as World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.<\/p>\n ‘Has always been home’<\/p>\n For Afa Anoa\u02bbi Jr., the return is more than nostalgia. It\u2019s an attempt to re-establish Allentown\u2019s role in the wrestling ecosystem, not just as a place that remembers its history, but as one that actively builds what comes next.<\/p>\n That vision is rooted in place as much as ambition.<\/p>\n \u201cWXW, to me, has always been Allentown,\u201d Anoa\u02bbi Jr. said. \u201cThat\u2019s where my dad lived. That\u2019s where the whole WXW idea was born \u2014 in the Lehigh Valley.\u201d<\/p>\n He traces that history through a network of now-defunct venues and training spaces, from the first gym tucked under Jordan Lanes to television tapings at the Days Inn & Conference Center off Route 22.<\/p>\n But Mountainville, he said, remained the constant.<\/p>\n \u201cMountainville specifically has always been home, and that\u2019s always been the monthly show for all these guys getting ready to go on TV,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a place, a platform for my father\u2019s students to always, you know, chop it up with the best in the business.\u201d<\/p>\n ‘The next pipeline’<\/p>\n The goal now is not just to return, but to rebuild that function.<\/p>\n \u201cAllentown is always in our plans, as far as being the next pipeline,\u201d Anoa\u02bbi Jr. said.<\/p>\n That pipeline already exists in pieces. Anoa\u02bbi Jr. runs a training center in the Poconos and has spent recent years rebuilding a roster that now approaches 100 wrestlers, enough to sustain multiple brands under the Battlefield umbrella.<\/p>\n The intent is to develop talent locally, give them consistent ring time and, ultimately, position them for opportunities with larger promotions.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve helped KC Navarro. He just recently returned to TNA<\/a>,\u201d Anoa\u02bbi Jr. said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have guys in NWA<\/a> right now. We also have guys on AEW<\/a>. We had guys sign with NXT<\/a>. We had Jacob Fatu here right before he went full time” with WWE.<\/p>\n Fatu was on the largest stage of them all over the weekend, battling the \u201cScottish Warrior\u201d Drew McIntyre in an \u201cunsanctioned\u201d match at WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n But for those chasing that level, the path is neither quick nor uniform, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom my experience and people within my family, it\u2019s usually around 10 years that you\u2019re on this journey,\u201d Anoa\u02bbi Jr. said. <\/p>\n “People have been always asking, when\u2019s WXW coming back? When\u2019s it coming back to Mountainville? And now we\u2019re back.\u201d<\/p>\n Afa Anoa’i Jr. on bringing WXW back to Allentown<\/p>\n \u201cNow, guys are able to fast forward that journey a lot. But to me, you can\u2019t beat experience.\u201d<\/p>\n That emphasis on repetition and live crowds is central to the WXW model. Anoa\u02bbi Jr. pointed to a broader industry shift away from house shows (non-televised events), which he believes have limited opportunities for wrestlers to develop in front of audiences.<\/p>\n \u201cTo me, a first-time match should never be on TV first,\u201d he said. \u201cYou should get a couple of house shows in before you bring it to TV, just to see if it works or not.\u201d<\/p>\n The monthly schedule in Allentown is designed to recreate that environment, both for performers and fans.<\/p>\n
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