Wade Keller (born May 22, 1971) is an American

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

journalist who runs the ''Pro Wrestling Torch'' newsletter. Keller has hosted ''The Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast'' on

PodcastOne LiveOne (formerly known as LiveXLive) is a music streaming platform that combines audio and (sometimes live) video available in the US and Canada. Users can access the service on the web through mobile apps on smartphones and over-the-air devic ...

since 2017.

''Pro Wrestling Torch''

Keller founded ''Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter'' (aka ''PWTorch'', or simply ''The Torch'') in October 1987, when he was a junior in high school. The newsletter is published weekly from his

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

home, with the content also published to an accompanying website which was launched in 1999. Keller's work includes weekly columns, news reporting and analysis, as well as interviews in both print and audio format. He works closely with wrestlers, promoters and wrestling fans to gather the information for his features. The ''Pro Wrestling Torch Livecast'' was broadcast via BlogTalkRadio until 2017. One of the first Keller's yearly features is the ''Torch Talk'', in which he conducts interviews with wrestlers. Keller is also the host of ''Pro Wrestling's Ultimate Insiders'', a series of interviews with prominent wrestling personalities that are released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

. The first edition featured

Vince Russo Vincent James Russo (born January 24, 1961) is an American professional wrestling booker, writer, and pundit. He is notable for his tenures with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Total Nonstop ...

and

Ed Ferrara Edward Ferrara (born November 22, 1966) is an American retired professional wrestler, writer and agent for the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling, often co-working alongside Vince Russo. He is most known for, in WCW, ...

, former writers for

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...

and WCW, while the second edition was conducted with

Jeff Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson or Jeffrey, which comes from a medieval variant of Geoffrey. Music * DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ/turntablist record producer Jeffrey Allen Townes * ...

and

Matt Hardy Matthew Moore Hardy (born September 23, 1974) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is best known for his time with WWE. With his real life brother Jeff, Hardy gained notoriety in WWF's tag t ...

. Another was conducted with ECW and XPW wrestler

New Jack Jerome Young (January 3, 1963 – May 14, 2021) was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name New Jack. He was best known for his time with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), where he became notorious for his willingn ...

''MMA Torch''

Wade Keller also created and oversees ''MMA Torch'', a website devoted to the world of

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

(MMA). The site has been around since the early 2000s and was one of the first sites to ever devote coverage to the world of MMA. He has interviewed

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...

, original

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

matchmaker

Art Davie Art Davie (born April 5, 1947) is a business executive and entrepreneur formerly active in Southern California advertising circles. In 1993, he created and co-produced the tournament which became the televised Ultimate Fighting Championship. In 19 ...

and UFC announcer

Mike Goldberg Mike Goldberg (born November 24, 1964) is an American play-by-play commentator, mainly known for his work with the Ultimate Fighting Championship from 1997 until his departure in 2017. He also worked for Bellator MMA from June 2017 until April 20 ...

. Before the ''MMA Torch'' website was launched, Keller's MMA coverage was included in the pages of the ''Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter'', including coverage of the very first UFC pay-per-view. The site provides news, interviews, analysis and opinions as well as a message board feature.

Personal life

Keller is openly gay. He and longtime partner Cory have a son named Bowie. Keller is also a lifelong practitioner of martial arts.

Awards and accomplishments

* George Tragos/Lou Thesz International Wrestling Institute ** Jim Melby Award (2015)

References

External links

Official website

Pro Wrestling Torch

The Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast
at