Jacob Dimond / jake@yelmonline.com
Inclusion Pro Wrestling has its sights set on Thurston County.
The promotion will make its debut show in Tenino and the county from 4 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 2, at the Stone City Event Center, with local wrestler Wil Speight, better known as SP8, set to wrestle in the main event of the show.
In addition to wrestling in the main event in front of his home town, SP8’s appearance in Tenino will mark his first ever match in a main event, something the professional wrestler doesn’t take lightly. He said fans at the show can expect a hard-hitting style of wrestling that’s inspired by two legends in the sport.
“It’s the first time that a lot of people that are close by will be able to come out and see me wrestle. That means a lot to me since it’s home,” SP8 said. “My style of wrestling is pretty simple — hard hitting and no B.S. Triple H and Scott Steiner are the main two who inspired me. Triple H by his outlook on how he started, and Scott Steiner inspired me to get up off my butt and into the gym to get in shape.”
SP8, a former employee of the City of Rainier’s public works department, grew up in a household of professional wrestling fans. He said his mother’s favorite wrestler was Portland-native “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, and that his sister was a huge fan of Bret “The Hitman” Hart. SP8 added his childhood favorite was “Mr. Perfect” Curt Henning.
“What inspired me to get into the business was my love for wrestling growing up as a kid. My mom went down to Portland Wrestling while I was growing up, but I wasn’t old enough to go yet,” SP8 said. “Years ago, I watched MTV, and there was a show where the wrestlers were talking about the songs and bands that they liked. One of those bands being (discussed) was Godsmack and those wrestlers were Triple H and Chyna. They asked Triple H why he wanted to get into the business, and his answer inspired me. If I really liked it, why don’t I go try it?”
Inclusion Pro Wrestling co-owners Nathan Noss and Anthony Wagner joined SP8 for an interview with the Nisqually Valley News on Sunday, July 20, and said the promotion is thrilled to be the first professional wrestling outfit to host a show at Tenino’s Stone City Event Center.
To Noss, his professional wrestling promotion truly lives up to its name. Though he’s bound to a wheelchair due to disability, the co-owner has longed for a career in the industry. After saving money and chasing his dreams, he launched Inclusion Pro Wrestling and vowed to create an environment that’s inclusive to everyone involved.
“What does inclusion mean to me? Inclusion means hope and belonging. I remember before we started the promotion, I would watch wrestling and dream about being involved, but I didn’t know how that would work because of my disability,” Noss said. “I talked to my friends and other people in the community that had disabilities, or some who didn’t and just wanted to know how to get involved, because they have the same feelings. So that fueled my desire to create something where we could all realize our dream.”
Noss wanted to send a strong message to anyone chasing their dreams, just as he did in the professional wrestling industry. He said everyone is good enough to do whatever they want in life, and while some people “might have it differently than others,” only an individual can control their own destiny.
“My message for anybody chasing their dreams is, first of all, don’t stop. Stay focused on what your main goal is and what your true passion is. Never let anybody tell you you can’t, or you won’t, or you’re not good enough,” Noss said. “This is your reality, and who knows, maybe you’ll show the world and others that your dreams can open others’ eyes to the reality that we are all truly all the same.”
Inclusion Pro Wrestling’s co-owners said the promotion has plans to continue planting its roots in Thurston County, specifically in Tenino and Rainier. If given the opportunity, Wagner stated IPW would be open to listening to opportunities to expand into Yelm.
“Thurston County is a new area for us, and only a very few promotions are actually in Thurston County. Most of them are surfaced around the Tumwater and Olympia area, which is why we do the smaller areas, because we found the smaller towns are hot beds for wrestling,” Wagner said. “When we started this promotion back in November 2023 in a small town in Cowlitz County, which is IPW‘s home base, we’ve been in Cowlitz County ever since with the fun, family-friendly wrestling environment.”
He and Noss hope to see a strong turnout of Thurston County and Tenino residents in the area’s debut show on Saturday, Aug. 2. The promotion is currently in negotiation with the City of Rainier to host shows at “a couple of locations,” according to Wagner.
“As with any company, we hope to continually grow and provide Thurston County with some great family-friendly wrestling and entertainment,” Wagner said. “I can’t give away all of our secrets, but what fans can expect (in Tenino on Aug. 2) is a fun night of professional wrestling and family-friendly entertainment, great wrestling and a great main event which features Tenino own SP8. SP8 deserves a lot of this credit for getting us the venue and getting us into Tenino and the city of Rainier.”
Tickets for the event can be purchased at the venue at the door during the day of the show or by calling 360-270-5133 or 360-206-4508.
