CLAW League Update: Catching up with CLAW co-founder Tom Houck

Photo: The Cradle City Cicadas celebrate a dual-meet victory.

Editor’s Note: This article appeared in WIN’s Volume 32 Issue 3, which printed on Dec. 3, 2025. 

By Tristan Warner

At the onset, Tom Houck knew the odds were against him and his business partner, Eric Brugel. After all, real professional wrestling leagues have failed to achieve long-term success in the past.

The duo’s attempt at introducing the Champions League of American Wrestling (CLAW) would have to be different, Houck insisted. It would have to be research-based in order to provide a product that closely aligned with what wrestling consumers were hoping to experience.

“We felt like we had to modify the rules to have a broader appeal and challenge all assumptions about the sport,” Houck remembered of the early days of CLAW. “The goal was to increase audience and viewership so we could pay the athletes decent money. We had to challenge the rules, what they wear, how the league is structured and formatted, how it is marketed, etc.

“The reality is people who aren’t already wrestling fans often think wrestling is weird…wearing onesies and guys laying on each other. Serious wrestling fans are used to it, and they find hand fighting interesting. The general public does not.

“We wanted to encourage more scoring, more action, and more fan engagement. We started our own research, market research and fan psychology, analyzing what they like and don’t like about spectator sports.”

From there, Houck and Brugel began testing their findings, making slight modifications along the way and interviewing athletes and fans for candid feedback.

Today, the product wrestling fans are being treated to is dubbed “CLAW style.”

“It is awesome,” Houck exclaimed. “It’s real wrestling but faster paced with more ways for fans to engage. The athletes love it and the fans love it. We found the sweet spot.”

Another element of Houck’s research went beyond the on-the-mat product and into the area of production. That also included elements of marketing, social media and anything else that would generate buzz, keeping fans engaged year-round, even if the competitions were seasonal.

“Combined with an exciting annual draft and free agency process, meaningful schedule and playoffs, strong social media presence, cool uniforms and merchandise, fantasy leagues, exciting in-person events, well-produced broadcasts, new statistics, reputable sponsorships, fan-engaging activities throughout the year, shrewd marketing strategies, and compensation methods and policies that attract exciting and great athletes, we are confident CLAW will appeal to persons who already appreciate wrestling while also attracting fans of MMA, football and other sports enthusiasts.”

Part of CLAW’s mission is to not only attract more fans to the sport of wrestling, but Houck explained that he and Brugel want to attract more kids and families who are already involved with the sport to find a zeal for watching wrestling.

“We found ourselves asking, ‘Why don’t kids who love wrestling watch wrestling?’ The truth is, only a small fraction of them actually does. We have to find ways to attract kids and get them hooked.

“A key part of our mission is to get more kids to wrestle, both boys and girls. Social media is a big part of it, and our presence at youth tournaments is important to engage younger audiences.

“We want everyone to feel comfortable coming to a CLAW match. It is a serious professional sport, but we want to make it fun for everyone. It is family fun and family friendly.”

After putting on several research-based trial events in Northern Virginia over the past several years, the inaugural CLAW Draft was held last July in Atlantic City, N.J., in preparation for the league’s launching, which occurred this past fall.

“It was a modified first season,” Houck explained. “We are still in the process of raising money; we raised enough so far to do the first two seasons.”

For the abbreviated fall of 2025 season, each of the six teams, in the Liberty and Justice divisions, wrestled three duals. The winners from each division competed in Pittsburgh, Pa. on Nov. 29 in Super Dual 1.

CLAW’s vision has always included a dual-meet style format with standings and playoffs as opposed to one-time fight cards. Houck and Brugel want to encourage consumers to align with a team and fanbase, much like in other professional sports leagues.

Also, in similar fashion to other professional sports leagues, fans can partake in the fantasy aspect of CLAW and support their favorite teams by purchasing gear on CLAW’s website.

Above all else, Houck just wants fans to tune in, support the sport, and enjoy action-packed, high-level wrestling.

“The goal this year was to give people a taste and expand in year two. We will stick with six teams next season, most likely. They will all wrestle each other once for a total of five duals each.”

CLAW has hopes of expanding not only the current league but also by tapping into women’s and kids’ wrestling in years to come. A college league in the offseason may be on the table as well.

Wrestling fans are encouraged to visit CLAW Total Access at https://www.wrestleclaw.com/total-access.html, where for $24 a year, consumers have access to loads of premium content including condensed versions of every dual, match highlights, exclusive interviews, technique sessions and more.

“We are intent on doing things different,” Houck concluded. “There have been lots of attempts in the past and nothing has ever worked. We’ve got to do things differently and run it like a professional league if we want to be taken seriously. It took us 3.5 years to do that.

“You have to get outside of the wrestling bubble. We think as businesspeople first. What do fans and customers want?

“CLAW is high quality, and we want to do things right. The key is…can we get new people to watch the sport and retain them as fans in a cost-effective manner? We believe CLAW is what the sport of wrestling has been waiting for for a long time.”