LANCASTER, Pa. (WHTM) – Independent wrestling group Three Legacies Wrestling just recently celebrated one year of breathing life back into the Lancaster wrestling community through training and family-friendly entertainment.

“Philadelphia is so close to Lancaster, so there is a broad group of people that travel from this area to Philadelphia for wrestling,” said Co-owner and head trainer Jesus Rodriguez. “There is no wrestling here . . . there’s been a gap for so long.”

Former WWE manager Rodriguez and his team at Three Legacies Wrestling are changing that. Their professional wrestling academy started with two students and now they are training 25. Of those, four actively wrestle at the shows Three Legacies Wrestling hosts shows regularly.

“We started the training academy back in September officially of 2022,” Rodriguez said. “We train five days a week. It requires a lot of mental strength and then builds a lot of physical strength.

Three Legacies Wrestling’s inaugural year culminated with the Red Rose Rumble, a show that took place in August at Clipper Magazine Stadium, home of the Lancaster Barnstormers. 2,500 people attended the event.

“The Red Rose Rumble had a big-time feel to it,” said Ronnie Ramone, who does the marketing and media relations for Three Legacies Wrestling. “The fans were captivated from the very first moment of the show.”

The show featured a mixture of local wrestlers and nationally and internationally known wrestling icons. Three Legacies Wrestling is planning to hold the event again next August.

All of this began after Rodriguez made his way to the Red Rose City for addiction recovery. Following his rehabilitation at Blueprints For Addiction Recovery in Lancaster, Rodriguez teamed up with the center’s owner, Christopher Dreisbach, to start Three Legacies Wrestling.

“I’ve had this privilege of being able to travel the world and then opening up wrestling schools in different countries,” Rodriguez said. “I spent time in India, Australia, England, Mexico, all over the U.S. I spent about a year in Cairo, Egypt before I ended up here.”

Chris encouraged Rodriguez to open his own wrestling school and the co-owners got the keys to what is now Three Legacies Wrestling in August.

Lancaster used to have a wrestling community when the Lancaster Championship Wrestling group was in town, but the organization came to an end around 2017/2018. After COVID, Rodriguez and his team thought it was a perfect time to fulfill the need for family-friendly activities with Three Legacies Wrestling.

“We cater to families,” Rodriguez said. “So mom and dad can bring their kids and don’t have to worry about excess violence or cursing or the blood or all that stuff.”

The Central Pennsylvania community has enthusiastically embraced the new wrestling group. Rodriguez says they have even had some of their wrestlers get recognized when they are out on the town and people will point out their business logo when he wears the merchandise around.

“We’re able to provide for the community and that’s the key part that I’m thankful for because this community has given me so much and I’m able to give back,” Rodriguez said. 

Three Legacies Wrestling currently holds their shows at Bright Side Opportunities Center. In January, they are planning to relocate to a bigger location because currently, their shows can only hold 550 people. In March, they plan to hold their second signature show for the year at the Lancaster County Convention Center.

Their next show will be this Saturday, Oct. 21. The show, named I Am Crazy will be held at 7 p.m. at Brightside in Lancaster. Former WWE & CWE wrestler Super Crazy will make an appearance.