YSU students bring wrestling home

By JON MOFFETT

Vindicator Staff Writer

Lying on his back and staring up at the bright lights, Nick Volinchak thought he was defeated. He had wrestled with his own demons for years, grappling with drug and alcohol addiction. At one point, he was homeless and living at a rescue mission.

The Canfield teenager seemed to have lost.

But rather than submitting, Volinchak kicked out.

“I learned a lesson pretty quickly that the sky can literally be the limit for anything,” he said.

Now 25 and a freshman at Youngstown State University, Volinchak said he found inspiration in an unlikely place.

A wrestling ring.

Volinchak and business partner Kyle Terreri, also 25 and a YSU student, started Championship Wrestling Experience in January 2007. The company promotes wrestling events monthly at The Wedge nightclub, 1743 S. Raccoon Road, Austintown, and features more than a dozen local wrestlers.

Locals Patrick Hayes and current champion Shiima Xion are just two of the stars in the making, he said. While Terreri works primarily behind the scenes, Volinchak has an “on-air” role as the company owner.

But CWE also has had bigger names such as Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Jerry Lynn and Chris Sabin, all of World Wrestling Entertainment or Total Nonstop Action Wrestling fame.

The friends attended high school together and always had a passion for the business.

“Kyle and I are both lifelong fans,” Volinchak said. “We participated in the craze that was backyard wrestling, and we had decided very early into our high school career that we wanted to try and do something with wrestling.

“Everyone can admit that when wrestling is hot, there is nothing that is bigger,” he said. “When [Hulk] Hogan was big, you were not going to find a bigger idol or bigger star in football, baseball or basketball.”

He added that the reason wrestling is so popular is easy to understand: It is relatable.

“The city is so downtrodden right now, and that is what wrestling relies on,” he said. “People are sick of their lives, their jobs and their boss and need some kind of release. So when they can go to a wrestling show and grab a character — that one guy they can get behind who can represent them — they can relate, and it’s the perfect release for them.”

Volinchak and Terreri got serious about starting a wrestling promotion in 2006. They contacted a friend who worked at the Wedge promoting concerts and other events. Volinchak said he learned about the business side of promoting through those experiences.

“We really thought — and I double underline, bold and italicize ‘thought’ — we knew what we were doing with it. So we saw what he had to do and decided to give it a shot for ourselves.”

CWE had its first event Jan. 21, 2007, in front of a crowd of about 100 at the Holiday Inn MetroPlex in Girard. Volinchak was overwhelmed by the unexpected nuances.

“By the end of the night I was trying to find a place to crawl into and die,” he said. “It was very frustrating, and everything we thought we knew, we had no idea.”

Terreri agreed.

“We decided to dive into the deep end,” he said. “Then we realized that jumping into the deep end was a little over our heads.”

From a business perspective, the night ran smoothly, Volinchak said. But without experience with backstage goings-on, which Volinchak said is where many promoters learn the business, the event created headaches.

“We started off, literally, at the lowest point you can get,” Volinchak said. “There’s been a learning curve, and we’ve learned quite a bit in the two years we’ve been in operation. I think if we had started out in a position we’re in now, we would be much further along.”

Despite a shaky start, CWE has managed to stay afloat and has started to make a profit, Volinchak said. The monthly shows recently eclipsed the 200-spectator mark. His goal is to draw 300 fans to an event by the end of the year.

Financing the company has been difficult, Volinchak said. All capital was out of pocket at first, with limited funding from sponsors.

Profits from one show generally go toward the next month’s event. And Volinchak said costs for putting on a wrestling show can reach into the thousands. The Ohio Athletic Commission requires a $200 promoter’s license plus a $10,000 surety bond for a wrestling event. A $100 event permit also is required. Venues can cost anywhere from $300 to $1,500.

CWE’s next event will be May 1 at The Wedge. Tickets are typically $10 before the show; $12 at the gate.

Volinchak said fans can expect entertainment at a CWE show.

“We’re about the storytelling, but when you come to our shows you’re not going to see 15 minutes of wrestling and 45 minutes of talking,” he said. “We feel that we produce a product that is priced equally or better than the type of entertainment they’d get from the movies, plays, the [Mahoning Valley] Scrappers, [Mahoning Valley] Thunder or [Mahoning Valley] Phantoms.”

jmoffett@vindy.com