Matt Jones buys Kentucky-based wrestling league, hopes to make it ‘nationwide thing’
Matt Jones, host and founder of Kentucky Sports Radio, has purchased a majority stake in Ohio Valley Wrestling, an independent wrestling league based in Louisville.
Jones announced the move on his radio show Tuesday morning. He partnered with Craig Greenberg, a Louisville businessman who previously served as the president and CEO of 21C Museum Hotels. Jones and Greenberg also had “a couple others” who joined them in the deal, Jones said.
Ohio Valley Wrestling was involved in training several big-name World Wrestling Entertainment stars, including John Cena, Randy Orton, Brock Lesnar and CM Punk, according to the league’s website.
The deal “is something that goes back a long time,” Jones said. He said he plans to expand the wrestling league’s audience.
“I want to make something in Kentucky that becomes a nationwide thing,” Jones said. “It already has a great history for a long time, but I want to try to expand that.”
Kentucky Sports Radio had ties to Ohio Valley Wrestling for a while. Shannon Grigsby, a Kentucky Sports Radio producer and on-air personality, has been involved in the league’s wrestling events for years. Jones said he began paying more attention to the league because of Grigsby, and the timing seems right.
“This is the best time, maybe ever, for independent wrestling,” he said.
Jones said he wants to incorporate his other ventures into the league. He would be open to putting a ring in the KSBar parking lot and holding wrestling events during tailgates before Kentucky sporting events. KSBar is a restaurant owned by Jones in Lexington. The restaurant had other investors when it started.
“There are wrestling fans everywhere,” Jones said.
He also said he hopes to get a University of Kentucky sports presence of some sort. He mentioned being hopeful that the league could get Kash Daniel, a former star linebacker for the UK football team.
Jones wants a better arena for the league. Current Ohio Valley Wrestling events are held at Davis Arena in Louisville. Jones said he hopes to find an arena that holds about 500 seats.
“It’s hard to find,” Jones said of Davis Arena. “Our goal is to find a place that easier to find.”
The deal included a wrestling school run by Al Snow, Jones said. It’s the only wrestling school in the world that is a state-accredited trade school, according to the school’s website. Jones said that Snow was “maybe the best teacher” of new wrestlers in the country.
Jones didn’t say on air how much he and Greenberg paid for their stake in the organization.
Jones also recently announced the sale of KentuckySportsRadio.com. Jones sold the site, which he started 15 years ago, to Stuart McWhorter. McWhorter was one of the original investors in 247Sports, a network of websites that focuses on college football, basketball and recruiting.
This story was originally published January 5, 2021 at 11:37 AM.