Exclusive: Caleb Konley Explains Why You Should Be Watching Juggalo Championship Wrestling

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

​If you're looking for an alternative to the alternative to the alternative in wrestling, Juggalo Championship Wrestling is for you.

Insane Clown Posse's Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope founded JCW in 1999 and have been a staple of the independent scene ever since. They've largely specialized in hardcore wrestling and have amassed an incredible roster of talent over the years.

As part of ICP's Train of Terror Tour, JCW will be hitting the road for the remainder of October, culminating in ICW's 31st annual Hallowicked show on Halloween night in Detroit. JCW airs episode of its flagship show, Lunacy, every Wednesday on YouTube where current JCW American Champion Caleb Konley is prominently featured.​

"If you take all the craziness of a GCW or an old-school feel of an ECW and add in a rock concert and a Halloween costume concert, all together rolled into one, that's what you're going to get," Konley exclusively told WrestleRant about JCW's appeal. "It's a party from top to bottom.”

Having now celebrated 25 years in business, ICP is starting to take JCW extra seriously heading into 2025. Konley believes that their rowdy crowds are a testament to fans being more intense and lively when they run bars and breweries.

"That's what a JCW show is every single night: It's just craziness," he said. "If you love fan interaction and a good babyface and a good heel and you want something to cheer and boo and you want to be loud, JCW is the place for you.”

Konley previously worked for ICP for their Gathering of the Juggalos events in 2010 and 2012. Although they weren't familiar with him at the time, he admits to having followed their wrestling and rapping careers since he was in high school and has appreciated the opportunity to get to know them.

“They're just people like everybody else," he said. "They have a character, they have a persona they're portraying in the public, but even if you look at any of the podcasts they do, they're just normal dudes who want to be treated like normal dudes. I worked for an over-the-top rock star, not going to say any names, certain people want you to treat them a certain way in the wrestling business and in the music business. But ICP is down to earth, they want to talk to you and shoot straight with you.”

​JCW's ability to establish a unique identity for itself was not a concerted effort. They are not different by design. Rather, ICP and the JCW roster are simply unapologetically themselves, and in the process, they've attracted a passionate audience for their events.

For as white-hot as wrestling is these days, the business could always use another alternative.

"I don't think a juggalo wrestling promotion could be anything but different," Konley said. "That just comes with the territory. We're obviously not just pandering to the juggalos, but at the same time, we want to have a good wrestling show that's available for anybody that wants to watch wrestling. It's not going to be your cookie-cutter show you're going to see on a Monday or a Friday and it's not going be like something you'd see on a Wednesday. JCW is not going to be like anything else out there."

Konley described feeling "right at home" upon starting with JCW and related it to his experience growing up going to concerts. In feeding off the energy of the fans, he attests, it's easier to risk your life when they're going crazy. He said he's constantly drawing inspiration from concerts he attends (including how the lead singer interacts with the audience) and applying those strategies to his JCW work.

"There's a ton of people," Konley said about who he'd want to see join JCW. "One of my best friends for a long time, 'The Manscout' Jake Manning, is awesome and I'd really like to get him involved. My tag team partner Zane Riley. Anybody who has an over-the-top, weird gimmick and they find themselves not really knowing a place to showcase it.”

​By 2025, Konley hopes to see JCW rev up its touring schedule, attract new names and continue building upon the success they've already attained.

"In the coming months, you're going to see a lot of crossover," he said. "Violent J just did some dates with GCW. You're going to see more interaction between those two companies. I'd like to think there's going to be a lot of interaction with the local companies on the east coast, a lot of the companies doing similar type of things. Starting in 2025, I don't have the specifics, but JCW's goal is to run a weekly, live show leading up to a monthly pay-per-view.”

New episodes of JCW Lunacy air every Wednesday on YouTube.

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