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

The Gaslighter makes his mode to the signifier of “NAW oregon Never: Smack Talk Open Mic” during a December show. Wearing a achromatic hood implicit his fedora and sunglasses to implicit his persona, helium begins to boast astir winning the NAW title astatine the past show.

“I americium present the NAW, Intercontinental, Breakfast, Continental, World Heavyweight, European, North American, Intergender, X Division, Y Division, Z Division … champion and not a azygous 1 of you is ever going to instrumentality it from me,” helium proclaims.

“Even this turtle,” the Gaslighter says, pointing to the show’s information defender dressed arsenic a velociraptor.

No, that wasn’t an acerb dream, that was a nighttime with Shane Hartline and his ensemble of wrestling enthusiasts of “NAW,” a wrestling unfastened mic. The signifier puts a spotlight connected smack-talk skills, functioning similar a gym wherever wrestlers enactment retired their quality muscles, polish their submission holds and cleanable their trash-talking chops successful beforehand of a sheet of judges. The signifier allows them to physique a beingness successful the ringing that crushes their opponents harder than a suplex.

Host Shane Hartline holds a speech with a life-size dinosaur puppet during the “NAW oregon Never” unrecorded drama wrestling amusement connected Dec.12, 2025, successful Los Angeles.

(Ian Zandi)

The operation is the aforesaid during their monthly shows. Performers enactment their sanction into a bucket, Hartline draws from it and the performers person 60 seconds to execute their promo. After the performance, his revolving sheet of judges gets into a verbal speech wherever they stock feedback and refine their character.

Regardless of the format, Hartline leaves country for unpredictability by unleashing his company’s formed similar the Head of Marketing Department oregon the Department of Grappling Education (DOGE). Even if the promo is unsmooth astir the edges, Hartline creates a abstraction that encourages creativity. He wants performers to make a fantastical satellite that helps turn the beingness wrong NAW, oregon Nearly Average Wrestling.

Hartline, the creator of the show, described the concoction arsenic a substance of theater, show arts and quality development. The erstwhile nonrecreational wrestler who took the ringing successful the Florida autarkic wrestling scene, histrion and comedian lives by the aged cliché: Once you’re successful wrestling, you ne'er truly leave.

“I’m truthful excited astir it due to the fact that it genuinely combines each 1 of my passions and my interests successful the cleanable bundle for the archetypal clip successful a unrecorded amusement setting,” helium said.

“Even though it’s wrestling and it’s similar aggression and each that benignant of energy, I bash privation to laic the instauration of a welcoming affirmative energy,” helium said.

On stage, if helium sees imaginable oregon country for improvement, Hartline plays the relation of a manager. He directs the talent, helium seeks assistance from his platform of characters and helium wants to proceed the workout.

The Gaslighter (comedian Matt Raub) battles the timepiece during the “NAW oregon Never” unrecorded drama wrestling amusement connected Oct. 17, 2025, successful Los Angeles.

(Ian Zandi)

“It’d beryllium dumb of maine to get you disconnected signifier arsenic [quickly] arsenic possible,” Hartline added. “I privation to find much bits with you. I privation you to not lone play with the judges, but play with our ‘NAW’ recurring formed members.”

“Mic enactment plays specified an important relation successful wrestling,” said Jenn Sterger, an ex-wrestler, present comedian who’s been a portion of the judging panel. “The assemblage needs to cognize who to basal for, it needs to bargain into the story, staying successful quality is ace important.”

Sterger said she’s seen a batch of quality enactment autumn flat, adjacent successful the “big leagues” erstwhile it comes to wrestling, conscionable due to the fact that they didn’t cognize however to beryllium a convincing storyteller. “[NAW] is simply a bully small gathering artifact for that, but it’s besides a bully spot wherever radical tin benignant of travel and effort retired amusive bits arsenic characters,” she said, adding that quality is everything successful the ring.

“You person to person attitude,” Peter Avalon, one-half of DOGE, said. “... you got to bring a larger-than-life personality, you person to person an cognition that takes nary prisoners and doesn’t springiness a s—.”

Shane Hartline dons a fur overgarment during a melodramatic entranceway successful the “NAW oregon Never” unrecorded drama wrestling amusement connected Oct. 17, 2025, successful Los Angeles.

(Ian Zandi)

NAW has created an intersection betwixt the satellite of wrestling and comedy. A batch of wrestlers privation to beryllium comedians and vice versa, Sterger said. At the extremity of each show, the judges prime 2 characters to look disconnected successful a conflict of wits. The victor receives a institution declaration that doesn’t wage successful currency — it pays successful clout, Hartline joked.

The winners are added to the formed of characters that tin beryllium utilized successful different shows. They tin interrupt immoderate of their monthly shows, including its one-year day amusement successful May.

“There’s thing that’s disconnected the table,” Hartline said.

“... It’s a blank canvas and I tin bash thing with it arsenic good arsenic the radical that travel and participate.”