Louisville’s legendary Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) has sold a controlling interest to a UK-based sports company in a move indicating both change and continuity, therefore marking the fourth ownership change of the promotion since 2018. Monday, OVW said that starting May 1, 2025, Morley Sports Management Limited (MSM), a sports organization with headquarters in Wales, will take over management of its affairs.
MSM, which presently owns Haverfordwest County AFC, a Welsh Premier League football team, brings with it experience in restoring underdog sports brands. Kentucky Sports Radio presenter Matt Jones, a minority owner, said OVW needed exactly that.
“It was getting hard to continue,” Jones said to WDRB in a phone interview. “We had to get by for the last year.”
Originally started in 1993 by Danny Davis (actual name Danny Briley), OVW became known as the “Harvard of pro wrestling,” acting as a late 1990s and early 2000s developing powerhouse for WWE. Legends such as John Cena, Brock Lesnar, Batista, Randy Orton, and Cody Rhodes—the latter of whom presently holds the WWE Championship—have been taught by the promotion.
Though its legacy is unquestionable, its ownership has been anything but consistent. With financial support from Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, Davis sold OVW to the Gladiator Sports Network, which passed it forward to a company fronted by Jones late in 2020. A temporary alliance with biomedical company Genvec Ventures followed in 2023, but it was unable to maintain progress.
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Jones, who closed the MSM agreement over the weekend in Amsterdam, notes that this shift is about development rather than only survival.
“This is the real deal,” he remarked. “They own a successful pro soccer team, and they have experience in sports. Their scheme centers on the academy and getting the product on European TV markets. There’s a passion for wrestling throughout Europe.”
Despite OVW’s spike in notoriety following the 2023 Netflix docuseries Wrestlers — which ripped back the curtain on the promotion’s talent and challenges — profitability remained elusive. While ticket sales immediately increased, the long-term issues of organizing a small-market promotion remained.
Mayor Greenberg, who appeared in the series and maintains a minority ownership position, has distanced himself from day-to-day operations since taking office but approved the move.
“It’s great news for the company and the future of OVW,” Greenberg said Tuesday. “I’m pleased with the selection of MSM as the new owner.”
Rob Edwards, founder of MSM, will take over as OVW’s CEO. In a statement, Edwards complimented the brand’s legacy and detailed his aim for international expansion.
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“OVW is such a historic brand within wrestling and sports entertainment and has real provenance,” Edwards added. “Some of the biggest talents in the industry have learned their trade at OVW, confirmed by the fact that the main event at WrestleMania this year will be between two OVW alumni in John Cena and Cody Rhodes.”
MSM claims it will keep present leadership for the foreseeable future. That features Al Snow (actual name Al Sarven), a former WWE and ECW performer who has led OVW’s television program and training academy since 2018.
Jones underlined that OVW will keep its Louisville origins, with himself, Greenberg, Confluent Health founder Larry Benz, and Argi Financial’s Joe Reeves being minority stakeholders and advisors to MSM.
“I fully believe that MSM is the perfect management entity to help OVW continue to grow and expand the boundaries of its support into new and exciting markets,” Jones said in a statement.
This article appears in Mar 28 – Apr 3, 2025.