In an effort to bring live professional wrestling matches to fans in Qatar, a new organization has announced plans to open a gym to train the country’s first team.

Qatar Pro Wrestling (QPW) is currently scouting out locations for a facility that could host wrestling classes and competitions to find new wrestling talent in Qatar, organizer Bilal Taha told Doha News.

It will be open to locals and expats, he said, continuing:

“It will give people an opportunity to have lessons, and the talented ones will be invited to compete, and the winners will become part of our official team, which includes famous wrestlers from around the world.”

Yesterday, QPW launched another part of its plan – the country’s first home-grown World Wrestling Championship, which will be staged in the circus tent outside Hyatt Plaza mall from Oct. 3 to 5.

The contest – which QPW hopes will become an annual event – will star many well-known wrestling personalities, including Bobby Lashley, Carlito, and Big V.

The championship is not Qatar’s first. The country has already seen two well-attended WWE Raw Live events, in 2011 and in February this year.

Taha brought the 2011 WWE event to Qatar. Wrestling already has an enthusiastic audience here, he said, asserting:

“It’s the second most popular sport to watch on TV in the region. When I brought WWE here, you could see how people were hungry to watch wrestling live, not just on TV.”

Tickets for the contest are available online, and cost from QR100 to QR750.

Do you plan to go? Thoughts?

Credit: Photo courtesy of Hyatt Plaza