LUBBOCK — Every area of Texas — whether it’s the far-flung rural corners of the state or the busy streets in the large, urban corridors — shares a love of sports.
Football, basketball or baseball, professional, college or youth, it doesn’t matter; Texans are game. Even lawmakers make it a point to wish their favorite teams luck before a big game, if not actually attend. Because fans in the Lone Star State take sports seriously, the economy rakes in hundreds of millions of dollars every year.
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There is one sport that hasn’t quite reached the level other sports have: professional wrestling.
With its flashy gear and over-the-top theatrics, professional wrestling hasn’t always been taken seriously as a mainstream sport. After a rise and fall in interest, then a sudden resurgence over the last 30 years, it’s gaining popularity and bringing in revenue that could make it a contender for recognition like other sports. And Texans are craving it.
“Texas wrestling fans are known worldwide for being some of the loudest, proudest wrestling fans in the entire world,” said Tony Khan, owner and CEO of All Elite Wrestling.
From the prairies of the Texas Panhandle down to the Rio Grande Valley, professional wrestling has a storied legacy here that goes back a century. In 1933, the Legislature made the promotion and conducting of combat and wrestling matches legal. What followed was the creation of wrestling history, particularly in West Texas, as Western States Sports, also known as the Amarillo wrestling Territory, promoted events across the region.
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The Y’all is a weekly dispatch about the people, places and policies that define the state of Texas. Produced by Texas Tribune journalists embedded in communities across the state.
Wrestling legends were born in Texas over the last 80 years, including Eddie Guerrero, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Terry Funk and the Von Erich family. They all hail from Texas and have been deeply tied to their roots — so much so that their hometowns have honored them in their own ways. Just last year, El Paso officially proclaimed Eddie Guerrero Day to celebrate their native son.
And just like other sports leagues, Texas fans have shown an appetite for the mayhem that professional wrestling events bring. Last summer, All Elite Wrestling hosted All In: Texas, which proved to be the promotion company’s most-attended show in North America with more than $2.5 million in tickets sold. According to the Wrestling Observer News, about $725,000 in merchandise was also sold, the most for a non-World Wrestling Entertainment show in U.S. history.
The main event championship match between Jon Moxley and Hangman Adam Page even had the twist of being a Texas Death Match, in which no wrestler can win by a disqualification. The unique contest is a hardcore match that was created in the Texas Panhandle back in the 1960s by Dory Funk, a longtime champion of the Amarillo territory and father to Terry Funk, who emerged as a global icon in the pro wrestling industry before his death in 2023.
As the sport prospers in Texas, which is known for courting profitable industries, investment from the state could be the next step for the industry’s growth. In 2025, the Legislature invested $1.5 billion in the film industry. Could the state make a similar investment in wrestling and its untapped potential?
Last year, the state had a hand in providing funds to put on All In: Texas. According to Wrestlenomics, an independent outlet that covers the business of professional wrestling, Arlington applied for state funding for the event, which qualified for public reimbursement dollars through the Texas Event Trust Fund program. This program assists Texas communities with paying costs to prepare and conduct an event by depositing projected gains in local and state taxes generated from the event to a specific trust fund to cover qualified expenses. Around $1 million was approved, though Arlington City Manager Trey Yelverton confirmed to the outlet that the amount AEW would receive would be reduced.
Along with the entertainment and revenue wrestling provides, the sport has become a colorful part of Texas culture, so much so that one city official wants to nurture it in colleges.
El Paso City Rep. Deanna Maldonado-Rocha, who helped create the recognition for Guerrero, who died in 2005, said wrestling is so important to the culture of Texas that there is even room to encourage and expand college programs.
“I believe that Texas is well-known as being one of the best states that produces some of the best wrestlers in the nation,” said Maldonado-Rocha. “Wrestling in itself deserves that place to have the sport available in more universities and to really amplify those athletes that work so hard.”
One wrestling legend who calls Texas home is Shelton Benjamin, an AEW star. Benjamin is an example of how college helped him hone his craft and led him to wrestling stardom. He grew up in South Carolina and started his athletic career there through football, track and field, and wrestling. He later became a two-time All-American Heavyweight wrestler while in college at the University of Minnesota and won the National Junior College Athletic Association heavyweight title.
Wrestling coursed through his veins since he was young, so after college, he made his way into professional wrestling. With tenures in WWE and New Japan Pro Wrestling, and now with AEW, Benjamin has become a household name and one of wrestling’s most decorated champions.
“I’ve been living my dream for the last 26 years,” said Benjamin, who now lives in the Houston area. “I’m proud to be part of all of this and be able to extend my legacy.”
AEW has held several live television shows this month alone in Texas. This includes Dynamite at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park this past week, and a monthlong residency of the show Collision that ends Saturday at the Esports Stadium in Arlington. Benjamin makes regular appearances for the company with his stable, The Hurt Syndicate. The trio is popular among the AEW fanbase, and has only added to Benjamin’s status as a Texas wrestling legend.
“Just being able to go out in front of the crowd and do our thing is extremely rewarding,” Benjamin said. “I’m appreciative anytime someone recognizes me on the street or in the airport when someone asks for an autograph. It’s mind-boggling sometimes; I don’t get used to it.”
Benjamin isn’t close to retiring, but when he does, he’s likely to get the same treatment other wrestling legends in Texas have received.
When El Paso formally created Eddie Guerrero Day in November, Maldonado-Rocha estimates close to 200 people attended the City Council’s ceremony, including kids wearing Lucha Libre masks and people with old tickets from when they saw Guerrero wrestle in town. City leaders sprinkled in personal touches that were familiar for Guerrero’s fans, including inviting low rider drivers and featuring one of the cars that Guerrero used to ride and make his entrance in.
Luchadores, who are professional Lucha Libre wrestlers primarily from Mexico and known for their high-flying moves, were in attendance, representing another side of the legacy Texas has when it comes to wrestling. Maldonado-Rocha said Lucha Libre events happen every weekend, which has continued to weave wrestling into the city’s culture.
“These men are still contributing to the legacy, they are a community,” said Maldonado-Rocha, who attended a Lucha Libre event earlier in January. “The amount of storytelling that goes on in these matches is incredible. Eddie was a famous heel, and I think El Paso just latched on and he continues to live on because of that.”
Maldonado-Rocha said the work that goes into wrestling deserves to be recognized on higher levels. If more successful wrestling events come to the state, that could happen. AEW’s All In: Texas last year at Globe Life Field in Arlington was the first time one of the company’s flagship pay-per-views was held in the state. AEW is still fairly new — the company launched in 2019 — but has since become a mainstream success in the wrestling industry.
The company has held shows in several parts of the state, including El Paso and Laredo. Khan, who is also the co-owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, said All In’s success will likely have AEW coming back to Texas for their major events in the future. He also said he’s interested in exploring some of the smaller markets around the state.
“I want to continue having AEW shows in Texas,” Khan said. “There are so many great places to visit throughout Texas that I’d like to continue that tradition that we’ve built every year of AEW events in different towns.”