Violent J knows Juggalo Championship Wrestling has spent years fighting for respect in the wrestling business, and he admits the company’s own name may have been one of the biggest things working against it.
During a conversation with Chris Jericho on the Talk Is Jericho podcast, Violent J looked back at JCW’s history and explained why he completely understands wrestling fans who initially assumed the promotion wasn’t meant for them.
JCW originally built its identity around ICP’s Juggalo fanbase, with Violent J explaining that the company was once very much a “for Juggalos by Juggalos” operation. As the promotion grew, however, they wanted to attract wrestling fans who had no connection to Insane Clown Posse.
That created an obvious problem. Violent J said the Juggalo Championship Wrestling name itself could make outsiders believe there were inside jokes, references and other things they simply wouldn’t understand.
“I totally understand why we weren’t getting it. First of all, it’s a heavily acquired taste. All right. Second of all, okay, like Slipknot fans are called Maggots, right? If Slipknot opened Maggot Championship Wrestling, I would feel like there’s things going on that I don’t understand. You know what I mean? It’s not for me.”
Violent J said he believes the same reaction naturally happens when wrestling fans hear the name Juggalo Championship Wrestling.
“Naturally, when something’s called Juggalo Championship Wrestling, the masses are going to assume that is not for me. You know what I mean? There’s stuff going on there.”
The issue was serious enough that changing JCW’s name was actually discussed. Violent J said they ultimately decided that abandoning the Juggalo name wasn’t something they were willing to do.
“We thought about changing the name even, but then we said we can never do that.”
Instead, Violent J said they decided to change what the name represented. He compared “Juggalo” to words such as renegade, outlaw or misfit, while making the actual wrestling product more accessible to people outside ICP’s fanbase.
“We can try to make people realize that the word Juggalo is no different than renegade or outlaw, you know what I mean? Or misfit, you know what I mean? Misfit Championship Wrestling. It just is. It’s a little more directed, but it just means wild style.”
That philosophy also meant moving away from storylines that only hardcore Juggalos would understand. Violent J said the goal became showing the entire wrestling world what a promotion run by Juggalos could actually deliver.
“We really, really focused on having a show that doesn’t only pertain to Juggalos. It’s not all Juggalo-related angles and things that non-Juggalos don’t understand. You know what I mean?”
“Instead of being for Juggalos by Juggalos, we want to show the wrestling world of today how good of a promotion us Juggalos can put on.”
Violent J made it clear that he doesn’t expect everyone watching JCW to suddenly become an ICP fan either.
“You could hate ICP. That’s totally fine. You might love JCW.”
JCW isn’t running away from the Juggalo name after 25 years. Violent J’s plan is essentially the opposite — keep the identity that made the company different while proving that fans don’t need to know a single ICP song to enjoy the wrestling.
Do you think the Juggalo Championship Wrestling name has held JCW back from reaching a larger wrestling audience? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.
