Smack talk takes center stage at this open mic for amateur wrestlers

The Gaslighter makes his way to the stage of “NAW or Never: Smack Talk Open Mic” during a December show.Wearing a black hood over his fedora and sunglasses to complete his persona, he begins to boast about winning the NAW championship at the last show.“I am now the NAW, Intercontinental, Breakfast, Continental, World Heavyweight, European, North American, Intergender, X Division, Y Division, Z Division … champion and not a single one of you is ever going to take it from me,” he proclaims.“Even this turtle,” the Gaslighter says, pointing to the show’s security guard dressed as a velociraptor.No, that wasn’t an acid dream, that was a night with Shane Hartline and his ensemble of wrestling enthusiasts of “NAW,” a wrestling open mic.

The stage puts a spotlight on smack-talk skills, functioning like a gym where wrestlers work out their character muscles, polish their submission holds and perfect their trash-talking chops in front of a panel of judges.The practice allows them to build a presence in the ring that crushes their opponents harder than a suplex.The structure is the same during their monthly shows.

Performers put their name into a bucket, Hartline draws from it and the performers have 60 seconds to perform their promo.After the performance, his revolving panel of judges gets into a verbal exchange where they share feedback and refine their character.Regardless of the format, Hartline leaves room for unpredictability by unleashing his company’s cast like the Head of Marketing Department or the Department of Grappling Education (DOGE).

Even if the promo is rough around the edges, Hartline creates a space that encourages creativity.He wants performers to create a fantastical world that helps grow the universe within NAW, or Nearly Average Wrestling.Hartline, the creator of the show, described the concoction as a mixture of theater, performance arts and character development.

The former professional wrestler who took the ring in t...