Could pro wrestling be coming to the African nation of Togo?
A new report sent our way marks that as a distinct possibility.
The Western African nation of over 8 million doesn’t seem to have any easily locatable history or present day presence of local pro wrestling of any type. In theory, pro wrestling fans in Togo would have access to both WWE and AEW programming through DSTV which would feature WWE on SuperSport, the WWE Network on the streaming service Multi Choice, and AEW on TNT Africa. However, it’s unclear what the numbers of fans or viewers in the nation looks like.
A 2002 study showed that only 51% of households in Togo had television. However, that number has likely grown in the past 20 years but of those homes, it’s unclear how many would have the capability to pick up the channels needed to watch pro wrestling. As of 2013, there were only 38 internet users per 1,000 people in Togo. However, a 2020 article by Togofirst.com indicated that nearly 83% of the country were cellular phone users and that appears to have increased to 90% by 2022. It’s unclear what percentage of that mobile phone use comes from smart phones, but smart phones have emerged as the number one way that African consumers are accessing the internet. All of this to say that potential pro wrestling fans in Togo could be accessing pro wrestling programming using their smart phones and this could be a potentially large number of people, depending on the percentage of mobile users that have access to the internet.
Togo’s pro wrestling program would work alongside Pro Wrestling Africa to establish their pro wrestling industry if this proposal does come to fruition. The proposed promotion would use the working name of the Togolese Wrestling Association and management is believed to be intertwined with the management of amateur programs within that country. The proposed plan would involve at least one Pro Wrestling Africa senior staff member traveling to Togo to initiate this project. However, no concrete travel plans or arrangements have been put into place yet.
Along with having a growing amateur national wrestling association that was affiliated in 1996, the Kabyé people of Togo’s Kozah region have long practiced a traditional style of wrestling called “evala.” This type of wrestling has long served as an initiation ritual for the young men of the Kabyé as they transition from boyhood to manhood.
With a long history of traditional wrestling, a growing amateur wrestling scene, nearby help in place in the form of Pro Wrestling Africa and a potential wrestling fanbase in Togo, let’s hope that this proposed initiative moves forward and we can soon add the Togolese Wrestling Association to the pro wrestling world map.
