Wellman

A Wellman barn in the dead of winter. The bleating goats and the freezing cold were a constant reminder to Wellman’s Austin Bayliss that his wrestling startup had a long way to go.

“We had nothing except heart, [a] dream, a little bit of time and a lot of energy,” Bayliss said.

Now, Central Empire Wrestling – CEW – has taken off. Bayliss’s empire has hosted hundreds of events in Iowa since its 2007 inception and shows no signs of slowing down.

“Wrestling has taken me all over. It’s really been a phenomenal experience,” Bayliss said.

Their next event, “A New Era,” will be held in Oskaloosa on Saturday, Jan. 13. Doors at the Nelson Pioneer Farm & Museum/Mahaska County Historical Society open at 6:30 p.m. and the show starts 30 minutes later.

If interested, tickets can be purchased online at www.centralempirewrestling.com.

A rich history
CEW began with something Bayliss realized during his wrestling career: he is a showman.

“I started training when I was a junior in high school. I missed dances, games, proms; I did everything I could to pursue professional wrestling. I wanted to be a WWE wrestler,” Bayliss said. “I was very lucky. I wrestled at the Wells Fargo Arena at the Iowa State Fair.”

“I've wrestled in front of 10 people, I've wrestled in front of 10,000 people, my true love is putting on a show,” Bayliss added.

Thanks to his energy and dedication, Bayliss’s brand began to spread across the state like wildfire, cycling into the lexicon of Iowa’s wrestling fans. For some, CEW has left a profound impact.

“We had a wrestling fan that passed away and she had been coming to our shows since 2007. She was an elderly woman and a big-time supporter of us.” Bayliss said. “Her family called me and said that in her will, she would like you to be the last person to speak at her funeral. She would like you to ring the bell at her funeral and she would like you and two other wrestlers to be a pallbearer.”

CEW rings a bell before the show begins. They also ring the bell before and after every match. This makes the bell synonymous with CEW for many wrestling fans, like the woman.

“That's a pretty incredible thing that the bell would mean so much to somebody,” Bayliss said. “Five or six years later, I ended up doing the same thing for her husband. I never thought we meant that much. You never know who's watching, you never know somebody might need you more than you realize.”

Stories like these are a testament to Bayliss’ claims that CEW is a family outing that brings people of all ages together, regardless of gender.

“We've been family friendly since day one. If you come to our show, you will see little kids. We have grandmas, we have grandpas; we have moms, we have dads,” Bayliss said. “Frankly, a lot of women enjoy our shows and that might surprise some people. But sometimes, the women are the craziest.”

Bayliss has always been the sole owner and decision-maker of CEW. This creates stressful days paired with sleepless nights when putting a show together.

And through the years, Bayliss has come to master the art of wrestling. He acts as a ventriloquist, puppeteering the emotions of those in the stands, setting the narrative.

“I love the behind-the-scenes part of wrestling,” Bayliss said. “I love making people mad. That’s the greatest feeling because after you make them mad, you make them happy. That’s my business.”

The Iowa-based wrestling company has hosted its fair share of wrestling fame throughout the years. Most notably, CEW was honored with hosting Kurt Angle, a U.S. Gold Medalist and WWE Champion at “Bridge City Slam V,” on June 3, 2023.

But his visit was almost halted at the very last moment.

Angle’s connecting flight from Pittsburgh was facing a delay that would put Angle behind schedule, not arriving until 9 p.m., the end of the show.

“Here's a guy that has drawn people from 17 different states. This is a huge event. You immediately have to figure it out,” Bayliss said. “When you put on a show and say Kurt will be here, you’ve got to get Kurt there.”

From the initial phone call at 5 a.m., Bayliss worked tirelessly to resolve the issue. Luckily, the Pittsburgh flight eventually made it to Chicago. The plane was still late and so Bayliss booked yet another flight to ensure Angle could make the show, saving the day.

“The show must go on,” Bayliss concluded.

Other wrestling fame to grace the CEW ring includes WWE stars like Carlito, Hornswoggle, Jimmy Hart, Rikishi, Trevor Murdoch and Barbarian, to name a few.

Another way CEW connects with wrestling fans is by way of ring rentals. Bayliss owns eight rings alongside a cage. When the different sized rings are not in use, Bayliss rents them out for various people and reasons.

“If you call us, there's usually no job too big or too small,” Bayliss said. “We are usually pretty good about being able to adapt.”

Fantasy Camp prepares for real pain
Bayliss has not hosted a Wellman show in quite some time. He does, however, host Fantasy Camps where people can experience what it is like to be a wrestler. These camps are held at the home base of operations in downtown Wellman, the old Driscoll Studio building.

The last fantasy camp was held Jan. 7; Bayliss stated that these 4-hour camps happen roughly once a month. They last one day and have seen Iowans from all over the state attend.

CEW is a show that is choreographed with predetermined outcomes, but the pain is 100% real. That is why the fantasy camps exist.

“These people are finding out it takes a lot. Those ropes are steel cables that hurt. No matter how good you are, hurts the same,” Bayliss said. “It's not natural to be rear-ended in a car accident. That's what this is. This is a train wreck every time and I think it's a beautiful train wreck, but it's a painful train wreck.”

Even if the potential wrestler possesses physical talent, they must be a performer as well.

“You got to be able to look at your mom and not smile, to look at your dad and make him cry. You got to be able to see your son, and tell the story to him, because he still believes,” Bayliss said. “You flip the script and put on a show. That's something that some people can't do.”

Bayliss also prepares the trainees by sharing his own experience.

“The crowd chanting your name, it's an amazing adrenaline rush you can't get anywhere else,” Bayliss said. “I don't smoke, I don't drink, I don't do drugs. I do pro wrestling. That's what I've always been about.”

Another example Bayliss shared involved his wife, Kelsey, who was overseas before CEW existed. She was wearing one of Bayliss’s wrestling shirts and was approached by a fan who recognized Bayliss.

Things like these only add to his immense love of wrestling.

Turnbuckle innovation

Here are three different turnbuckle pads that Bayliss fashioned different ways for individual sale.

In came the personalized turnbuckle that keeps the fans coming back.

A turnbuckle is padding that is arranged at different areas of a professional wrestling ring. Bayliss decided to take these turnbuckles and add art to them. Paired with an athlete’s signature, it makes a nice collectible.

The production process is a lengthy one.

First, Bayliss needs art. For some of the turnbuckles, he received art from a talented artist in Serbia. After Bayliss has the art, he can start the factory line process. He cuts the pads to size from recycled and clean material.

Then, the art is printed at Bayliss’s sister’s shop in Sigourney, Misc. on Main. Their next stop is Bayliss’s mother who lives in Keota. She sews the turnbuckle and artwork together.

After they’re done in Keota, they come back to Bayliss, who adds grommets. He’ll then send the turnbuckle to the wrestler for a signature, or directly to the customer.

The wrestler whom the turnbuckle is styled after will purchase the rights to the image and, like Bayliss, earns a profit from the turnbuckle.

Bayliss described the process as a “beautiful accident.” Without COVID-19, he may have never stumbled across this avenue of merchandising, which has proven to be very popular among CEW and wrestling fans alike.

Keep a close eye on CEW’s social media to keep up with upcoming shows and fantasy camps. Contact Bayliss if entering a fantasy camp interests you; centralempirewrestling.com.