Dive Pro Wrestling bringing squared-circle spectacle to Ogden area
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- A photo of the ring during a Dive Pro Wrestling event in South Weber.
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- Sterling Silvers holds the Dive Pro Wrestling championship belt in the air during the promotion’s third anniversary event.
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- An undated photo of the Dive Pro Wrestling roster.
SOUTH WEBER — Utah isn’t exactly known as a hotbed for professional wrestling, although the state has been the site of some bona fide squared-circle milestones. On Sept. 22, 1997, for example, Bill Goldberg defeated Hugh Morrus on a WCW Monday Nitro show to capture the first win of what would become one of the most memorable streaks in wrestling history.
Flash forward to now and Trai Ballard is looking hit Utah’s independent wrestling scene with the proverbial Spear and Jackhammer in Goldberg-like fashion.
Ballard is the owner and operator of Dive Pro Wrestling, a promotion that runs shows monthly out of the Family Activity Center in South Weber at 1181 E. Lester Drive. However, the initial move toward booking his own shows spawned more out of necessity than anything.
“I got into it in 2020, just during the time where COVID shut everything down, shut the entire world down, but also shut down where me and all my buddies were training. So, I was just kind of tired of sitting around and doing nothing,” Ballard told the Standard-Examiner.
His solution to that problem was to buy a wrestling ring so that he and his crew could continue training and posting wrestling clips on social media in order to keep their names out there. That eventually led to Ballard starting a new company.
“As it was getting closer and closer to things being able to open back up, we were sitting around after training one day and somebody suggested, ‘We have a lot of talent, we could just start a promotion.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s a really good idea. I’ll just start a promotion.'”
The company just ran its “Winter Warfare” event on Jan. 20, during which Sterling Silvers successfully defended his Dive Pro Wrestling championship against Jesse Dulae. Next up will be “Love and War” on Feb. 17, where fans can see live, homegrown wrestling for the price of a $15 ticket.
Despite the local roots, fans also can expect to see grapplers from around the wrestling world hopping into the Dive Pro Wrestling ring. Former WWE stars like Shannon Moore and Brian Kendrick have made appearances for the company, and the latter was even booked on consecutive cards.
“The first month, we didn’t even announce (Kendrick). He was a complete surprise, which is really cool for the fans. I think it just reestablishes that you have to be at these shows because you never know who’s going to show up.”
Ultimately, that’s what Ballard wants to drive home for people in Utah — that Dive Pro Wrestling events are full of surprises and there’s something for everyone to enjoy, whether they’re diehard wrestling fans or not.
“Even if it’s not necessarily your thing or something you’re really into, it’s a show. It’s a performance. I have never heard anybody come to a show and not have a good time,” Ballard said. “It’s the spectacle, the athleticism, the story-telling. It’s just getting lost in the moment of what’s going on.”
In today’s landscape of endless entertainment options and wrestling shows being streamed or televised just about every day of the week, Ballard acknowledges that being an independent wrestling promoter is a challenge. Financial and logistical issues are commonplace and, somehow, there are still people out there who don’t understand the difference between pro wrestling and mixed martial arts or boxing.
Regardless, Ballard and the men and women of Dive Pro Wrestling have a passion for what they do.
“The best thing about running a wrestling promotion or doing what we do as wrestlers in general is just being able to help fans escape from whatever is going on in their lives for an hour and a half or two hours,” Ballard said. “It makes all the hard work that we put into it worth it.”
From a personal standpoint, Ballard — who cites stars like Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam as influences — has designs on getting his shot with a major promotion like WWE, TNA, AEW or elsewhere. However, he has big dreams for Dive Pro Wrestling, too, one of which is to get a dedicated venue for the promotion.
“My goal for Dive is to keep growing it bigger and bigger. I want a building so badly, because I have so many ideas and there’s so much stuff we could do,” he said.