The long awaited Universal Promotional Wrestling Federation (UPWF) world championship, which has attracted some of the best wrestlers in America and Europe, will finally slam off today at the Eko Hotel and Suites.

The championship, featuring 15 foreign wrestlers and 13 Nigerians, is billed to begin by 6.00 pm, according to the programme made available by the local organizing committee.

This championship, which has drawn interest from lovers of wrestling from as far away as Togo and Ghana because of the quality of wrestlers listed for the three-phase event, according to the LOC, will see the matsmen battling for honours in three categories, including the UPWF Word Heavyweight title bout, which will feature Nigeria’s Ultimate Commander  (the champion) against one of the invaders from America, the world heavyweight tag team title bout and the Commonwealth heavyweight championship fight.

Among the foreign wrestlers listed for the championship, which will also hold at the Teslim Balogun Stadium (tomorrow) and the Abuja National Stadium on August 26, are some of the strongest supermen from America, Canada, Britain and Mexico all interested in leaving Nigeria with their reputations intact, and for some, taking back to their countries some of the titles at stake in the three-phased competition.

Among the wrestlers in Nigeria for the championship are Shelton Benjamin, Jeff Lewis, Val Venis, The Barbarian and The Warlord.

The Universal Promotional Wrestling Federation  will help train any Nigerian found suitable for upscale professional wrestling, the president of the federation, Seini Vaillahi, has promised.

Speaking with journalists on Saturday when the wrestling team visited Eko Hotel and Suites, venue of this weekend’s world wrestling championship featuring 15 professionals from America and Europe, Vaillahi said she was impressed by the size of Nigerian wrestlers slated to participate in the championship, adding, however, that they still needed concentrated training to be at par with their foreign counterparts.

“Your man, Ultimate Commander, is an exceptional athlete, who has benefitted from the training he got from Super Fly and Barbarian in the United States. I believe that more Nigerians can be like Commander if they are exposed to modern trends in the sport,” she said.

On the forthcoming UPWF Championship, which will hold in Lagos and Abuja this weekend, Vallaihi said Nigerians would be exposed to some of the latest techniques in the game, adding, “We have here in Nigeria Val Venis, Booby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, Jeff Lewis, and Barbarian, among others.

“These are among the current superstars in the game and they are here o show Nigerians what professional wrestling is all about. When you pitch Commander against Bobby Lashley you are guaranteed the best bout you can get anywhere in the world.”

The UPWF wrestling championship will hold at the Eko Hotel on August 19 and Teslim Balogun Stadium on the 20th, while the Abuja National Stadium will host he grand finale, tagged Gathering of Champions on August 26.