If you walked into the Stuart Middle School large gym on the Friday before winter break, you would've seen an unusual sight: a wrestling ring. No, not a wrestling mat you'd find at a middle/high school wrestling meet. Instead, students discovered a professional setup, like what they'd see on TV under the brand of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) or All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
Stuart Principal Darren Dawson took to the microphone, talking to the students, hyping them up, saying, "Never, ever, has there been a wrestling match inside a school, and here it is today!"
So, why exactly is there a wrestling ring in the middle of the gym?
"We just try to think of different ways to incentivize the kids," Dawson said. "[Assistant Principal Rashauna] Brodnax is the one who actually had the idea. But, we're always just coming up with different ways to have fun and celebrate the kids' success."
The school had a big win to celebrate: students drastically improved their Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) scores, a standardized state test.
Here's the breakdown from Principal Dawson:
Sixth grade saw 114 students grow in both reading and math, with 145 grow in math, and 167 grow in reading.
Seventh grade saw 106 students improve in both reading and math, while 156 improved in math and 157 improved in reading.
Eighth grade had 92 students growing in both reading and math, with 153 improving in math and 154 growing in reading.
"I think it's important to do because it celebrates the kids for their hard work and their improvement in their MAP scores," Dawson said. "So, we want to honor that."
Sixth grader Ezar is a wrestling fan, with his favorite wrestler being Jey Uso. He said, "It's amazing. It's basically just like a free wrestling match that you get to see. It's very cool."
The faculty and staff wanted a unique way to reward the students, so why not put on a wrestling show? Fortunately, there's a teacher on the staff who knows a thing or two about professional wrestling.
"The administration pitched it to me to have a wrestling match as a pep rally, and they asked me who my contacts were, which was Grindhouse [Pro Wrestling]," Stuart ISAP teacher Korey Craddock said. "So, I did kind of say, 'Hey, you know, if we're going to get this together, I got to be a part of this,' but I think they already had that idea before I even said anything."
Craddock is a professional wrestler and has been for about seven years.
"I turned 40 last January," he said. "So, I kind of toned it down a little bit."
His last match was about four months ago, but he was being called out and decided to return to the ring.
As the show went on, the Stuart student body saw five matches before their teacher entered the ring for the main event. In the ring, Mr. Craddock wasn't an ISAP teacher; he was Clayton Cannon, a two-time Grindhouse Heavyweight Champion.
As the match went on, roughly 1,000 of the 1,200 Stuart students were cheering on their teacher with every slam and slap. At one point, the students started chanting "ISAP."
As the dismissal bell rang and students slowly started to leave the gym to catch their bus, Craddock pinned his opponent, 1, 2, 3, and the students erupted.
"I've had matches with guys who have been in the WWE, guys who have been in AEW, won championships, but definitely, this tops them all, and for sure, the energy, the kids going nuts," Craddock said. "We probably had over a thousand people jammed in this gym. They were all into it, you know, and let them just have an escape for an hour and a half."