Israeli Pro Wrestling Association

Founded when Roif said Israel had no domestic wrestling promotion, IPWA became a center of the country's small professional-wrestling scene.[4] Its model combined live events and character-driven entertainment with wrestler training.[4][5] IPWA has been identified as Israel's first wrestling organization and, by 2023, as the country's largest wrestling promotion.[2][3]

IPWA was established in 2001 in Netanya after Gery Roif — a former computer technician and subtitler who had also worked on the wrestling section of the Sport5 website — concluded that Israel had no domestic wrestling promotion worth the name.[1] Roif trained with New York-area wrestler Thunderbolt Norton and also received fitness and bodybuilding preparation at Wingate.[4][1] After returning to Israel, he amassed, by his own account, probably thousands of recorded wrestling matches in his collection.[4]

Roif performed inside the ring under the persona "Rabbi Swissa," a character he described as a tribute to Rabbi Rafael Halperin, an Israeli wrestling pioneer known as the "Rasslin Rabbi."[4] IPWA held its first show in 2002, with several more following in subsequent years.[4] From the outset, Roif's stated aim was to create a genuine wrestling culture in Israel rather than simply importing foreign performers, a goal that shaped the promotion's long-term identity.[1]

IPWA's first significant break came in 2005, when its roster appeared in Makat Medina (State Blow), a wrestling-satire television series produced with Israeli channel Beep and described as Israel's first wrestling program.[4][2] The series ran for one season before budget problems ended it, but it brought the promotion greater recognition across the country.[4] Roif's "Rabbi Swissa" persona was among the characters created specifically for the program.[5]

In 2006, IPWA's Wrestlenovella event was broadcast on The Wrestling Channel, a British combat-sports channel later known as The Fight Network, giving the promotion its first international broadcast platform.[4] In the years that followed, IPWA organized live shows throughout Israel and operated a training center aimed at developing new Israeli wrestling talent.[4] Seasonal events formed part of its regular calendar, including the summer outdoor tournament Makat Shemesh ("Sun Blow"); Roif noted that summer outdoor events could draw around 200 people, while smaller winter shows held in sports halls attracted more modest crowds.[5]

Alongside its live events, IPWA operated a training school with Roif serving as founder, wrestler, and coach.[5] One of his trainees, Maharan Abd al-Hai, went on to found a separate organization — the AWO — in 2012.[1] In 2012, veteran American wrestler Tatanka also appeared in the Israeli Wrestling League, identified parenthetically in a 2017 report as IPWA.[6]

Despite these efforts, a 2014 report observed that the Israeli wrestling market faced persistent difficulties drawing more than 100 people to a show at that time, a steep decline from an earlier era when the sport had attracted tens of thousands.[1] IPWA's smaller events served not only as competitive outlets but also as exercises in character work and audience engagement — a deliberate part of developing well-rounded Israeli wrestlers.[5]

Financial difficulties eventually forced Roif to close the promotion temporarily, though no specific date for the hiatus was recorded in contemporaneous reporting.[4] IPWA returned in 2019, hosting Jay Lethal — then described as a record-setting world champion of Ring of Honor — alongside local talent, with Roif defending the IPWA title against Matt Sydal at the comeback event.[4]

Later in 2019, a separate IPWA card featured a 20-wrestler battle royal whose winner, local wrestler Yuval Goldschmit, earned a championship match against reigning titleholder Matt Sydal, a former WWE performer.[7] Sydal defeated Goldschmit and retained the title, which was decorated with a Star of David.[7] Roif, describing his role as both event initiator and trainer of the Israeli wrestlers, noted that while the outcomes of matches were scripted, the physical demands were genuine and Israeli wrestlers trained and competed with full commitment.[7]

In October 2019, IPWA announced a multi-event partnership with Cinema City after staging its Passover Bash and Wrestling Party events at Bearle Club in Lehavot Haviva.[8] A planned Cinema City Wrestling show was scheduled for December 15 at Cinema City Glilot's 900-seat auditorium, with IPWA champion Matt Sydal set to defend his title against Billy Gunn.[8] Roif called the planned event "probably the most important event in Israeli wrestling history" and expressed hope that it could lead to more large shows, prominent wrestlers, and broader recognition for the sport in Israel.[8]

COVID-19 delayed a number of IPWA's planned activities, but the promotion eventually staged its WrestleMitzvah event, which marked several milestones.[4] The card included the promotion's first women's championship match, a bout between Yuval Goldshmit and British wrestler Cara Noir for the right to become the number-one contender for the IPWA title, and Roif's retirement match performed under his Rabbi Swissa persona.[4]

Roif's decision to step away from in-ring competition was linked to a serious injury sustained in 2019. "I shattered vertebrae in my spine; my guts pretty much exploded," he recalled of the incident.[4] A 2022 account reported that financial pressures and his retirement had taken a toll on IPWA and that the promotion appeared to be up for sale, though no completed transaction had been reported.[4] A separate 2022 report confirmed that Yuval Goldschmit had competed in an IPWA event at Cinema City Glilot around that time, suggesting ongoing activity.[9]

IPWA has been identified as Israel's first wrestling organization, and its 2005 collaboration with Beep, Makat Medina, as the country's first wrestling program.[2] By 2023, it was described as the country's largest wrestling promotion; wrestlers associated with its roster, including Yuval Goldshmit, had also competed on the European independent circuit.[3]

The promotion's history reflects broader challenges facing niche combat sports in a small market, from persistent financial strain to the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but also the sustained commitment of a founder who built an institution from scratch out of a passion for a sport that had virtually no organized presence in Israel when he began.[4][1]

A 2014 report described a dispute between IPWA training manager Doron Dagani and former trainee Maharan Abd al-Hai over statements attributed to Abd al-Hai regarding the identity of his later AWO organization. Abd al-Hai denied making the statement in question, and Roif stated that he had permitted Abd al-Hai to train under him before establishing his own promotion.[1] The matter reflected the broader organizational tensions that accompanied the growth of a small, fragmented wrestling scene in Israel.