Luke Hawx welcomes challenge of bringing Wildkat Sports Wrestling to Philadelphia

Luke Hawx has never been one to shy away from taking a risk.

In his mind, one of the reasons why he has made it to where he is in life is because he is not afraid to fail.

He was not afraid to fail when he pursued his dream of becoming a professional wrestler and he was not afraid to fail when he decided to get into acting and performing stunts in movies.

Hawx — born Oren Hawxhurst — is set to take on another risky proposition when he brings Wildkat Sports Wrestling to Philadelphia for the first time on Saturday, June 10 at the 2300 Arena.

Hawx and Wildkat Sports Wrestling are based out of New Orleans, which does not have a bevy of independent promotions within its midst, making Wildkat the premier promotion in the area.

Despite having carved out its own niche in parts of Louisiana and even Mississippi, Hawx is taking the calculated risk of bringing his promotion into the uncharted and sometimes hostile territory of Philadelphia.

Philadelphia's connection with professional wrestling has been well documented, as it has served as the launching pad for multiple for promotions that are still operating today such as Ring of Honor, CHIKARA and Combat Zone Wrestling.

While that makes Philadelphia fertile ground for professional wrestling promotions, bringing in a promotion that the fans are unfamiliar with will pose a challenge.

Hawx is well aware of the risk, but is willing to take it anyway.

"If we go to Philadelphia and we fall flat on our face, it's a learning lesson," Hawx said during an interview with philly.com. "Do I want to go out there and fall on our face, do I think we're going to, I do not think so, but you can't be afraid to fail.

"You have to take these chances," he added. "If we want to progress and we want to grow then we've got to do something out of the box. We have to do something no one else is doing and nobody else is doing that."

While Wildkat, which started solely as a school in 2011 before becoming a full-fledged promotion later that year, has never been in front of the Philadelphia fans, Hawx himself has on numerous occasions, so much so that he considers the city a second home.

Hawx has used his familiarity with the city to his advantage by adding a local flavor to the June 10 show, as Philadelphia natives Stevie Richards, Blue Meanie and Blk Jeez are all scheduled to appear.

Also scheduled to appear is WWE Hall of Famer Scott Hall, Extreme Championship Wrestling stalwart Joel Gertner, who is also the host of Wildkat's weekly television show that airs on WUPL My 54 in Southeastern Louisiana and parts of Mississippi, and Homicide.

Despite boasting a star-studded lineup, Hawx knows that Wildkat will still have deliver a quality product come June 10.

"It's still a nerve-wracking opportunity," he said. "It's not like anything is guaranteed. We still need to be put on the map there. We're coming into uncharted territory. We don't necessarily have that big fan base so we need the support. We're hoping that fans come out."

Ironically, Hawx does not have to worry about fans coming to see his other profession as a stuntman/actor.

Although he has only landed minor roles up until this point, he has performed them in major films such as Fate of the Furious and Logan, which are two of the highest grossing films of 2017 so far.

Fate of the Furious posted the biggest box office opening of all time and has grossed more than $1 billion worldwide with more than $200 million of that coming domestically, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com.

Logan has grossed more than $600 million worldwide.

These opportunities did not come easy for Hawx, who is a member of the Screen Actors Guild, as it took years of training and work on a variety of films and television shows to get to this point.

Hawx has always looked to capitalize on his success by making Wildkat more than just a wrestling promotion. That is why the full name of the company, which was originally founded by former WWE star and Hawx's good friend Orlando Jordan, is called Wildkat Sports and Entertainment.

Among the projects Wildkat produces outside of wrestling is an annual Halloween video that features cameos from the promotion's various wrestlers. The 2016 version even featured a brief cameo from the man behind the Freddy Krueger character, Robert Englund.

Landing a cameo from Englund is no small feat, but it serves as another example of the progress Hawx and Wildkat Sports and Entertainment had made over the years.

If the expedition into Philadelphia is any indication, neither is ready to slow down any time soon.

"You got to have a vision," Hawx said. "You have to know what you want and you have to go after it and you have to not be afraid to fail. I'm not afraid to fail."

Vaughn Johnson has a podcast with Nick Piccone called the Straight Shooters on WildfireRadio.com. Check it out here HERE.