If you still think professional wrestling is just body slams, folding chairs, thumbtacks, gratuitous violence, and over-the-top drama, you probably haven’t experienced a Pure Pro Wrestling event.
This past Friday night, PPW once again packed the historic Park Theatre in downtown Holland, continuing a trend that’s become almost expected over the last decade. Another full capacity atmosphere. Another loud, energetic crowd. Another night proving that professional wrestling has carved out a home in Holland.
When Pure Pro Wrestling first brought live wrestling to the city of Holland over ten years ago, no one really knew what to expect. Could independent wrestling find an audience in a community better known for Tulip Time, beaches, and family festivals?
The answer has been a resounding yes.
Since then, thousands of fans have walked through those historic theatre doors. Some have been lifelong wrestling fans who grew up watching Saturday mornings with their parents. Others came because a friend talked them into it. Many admitted they weren’t sure wrestling was “their thing.”
Most of them came back.
That’s because PPW has never tried to be something it isn’t. It doesn’t rely on profanity or shock value. It doesn’t try to embarrass families or make parents uncomfortable bringing their kids. Instead, it focuses on something that’s become surprisingly rare in entertainment today—creating an experience everyone can enjoy together.
Look around the crowd on any show night and you’ll see grandparents sitting beside grandchildren. Parents cheering with their kids. Teenagers screaming for their favorite heroes while adults laugh, clap, and get just as invested in the action.
It’s not unusual to hear someone leaving the venue say, “I wasn’t expecting it to be this much fun.”
That’s the magic of live professional wrestling.
Television simply can’t capture the feeling of hearing hundreds of fans counting along with a referee, jumping to their feet during a near fall, or watching the heroes and villains interact with the audience just a few feet away. The athleticism is real. The personalities are larger than life. The atmosphere is contagious.
Every event feels like a community gathering as much as a wrestling show.
Pure Pro Wrestling events aren’t just for money in a wrestling promotor’s pocket.
Owner Joe Byrd has built a business model around providing safe, world class, professional training for this artform whether you are five years old, seventy three years old, autistic, or blind, while giving the students a chance to work with veteran wrestlers who have wrestled all over the world, at events that raise funds for local community groups or the hosting venues.
The raffles, the concession sales, all go back to the Park Theatre, or the VFW Post 2144. In fact, PPW promotes donating to the VFW’s Toys for Tots drive at their yearly December show for a free raffle ticket.
For those who still carry the stereotype that wrestling is too violent, too loud, or not appropriate for kids, Pure Pro Wrestling has spent a decade changing those minds in West Michigan.
It’s family-friendly entertainment with incredible athletes telling stories inside the ring. It’s an escape from everyday life for a couple of hours, where the good guys battle the bad guys and everyone gets caught up in the excitement.
Friday night’s sellout wasn’t just another successful event. It was another reminder that Holland has embraced something many never expected would become part of its entertainment scene.
Ten years later, PPW isn’t just visiting Holland anymore.
It’s part of Holland.
So if you’ve never been because you thought wrestling “wasn’t for you,” consider giving it one chance.
You might walk in as a skeptic.
There’s a pretty good chance you’ll walk out wondering when the next show is.
And if the past decade is any indication, you’ll want to buy your tickets early. Those sellout crowds aren’t happening by accident.
For more information on Pure Pro Wrestling’s live shows and training programs, you can visit them at: www.pureprowrestling.net
For a history of PPW and how it has helped so many people, view their episode from PBS’s Start Up Season 13 2025:
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