NWA Title Match, Card, Tickets

Grand Slam 2 will bring live professional wrestling back to Kokomo Municipal Stadium on Saturday, August 15, with two championship matches and hometown wrestler Chris Owens facing Jacob Brawn.

Owens told WrestlingHeadlines.com that the inaugural Grand Slam attracted approximately 600 people in August 2024. After recently teaming with Marti Belle in a winning effort at EMERGE 98: Back In The Saddle, Owens will return home as both a featured wrestler and one of the people responsible for assembling the event.

HOW GRAND SLAM BEGAN

The first Grand Slam took place at Kokomo Municipal Stadium on August 3, 2024.

A feature published before the inaugural event identified Owens, Nick Kranz and Nathan Martin as childhood friends who grew up sharing an interest in professional wrestling.

Owens explained that Kranz first approached Martin, who was serving as the stadium’s general manager, about bringing wrestling to the venue. Kranz then encouraged Owens to compete because his friends and family rarely had an opportunity to watch him wrestle in Kokomo.

“The idea for this show actually came from Nick. He had got with Nathan, who was the GM of the stadium at the time, to talk about doing a show there and asked what we needed to do to make it happen.”

“Nick came to me and said I should do a match there because it is my hometown and I had friends and family that wanted to come see me wrestle live, so the idea for the show kinda snowballed from there. Nick was the promoter, Nathan was the GM of the stadium and I was the wrestler, and I booked all of the talent.”

The venue had already captured Owens’ attention before the event was proposed.

Kokomo Municipal Stadium opened in 2015 at 400 S. Union Street. The facility has 3,000 fixed seats, grass seating for approximately 1,000 people and suites that bring its total capacity to approximately 4,500.

“We chose the Kokomo Municipal Stadium because I remember when it was first built. The first thought I had when I saw it was, ‘This would be a great place to do a wrestling show.’ It is a beautiful baseball stadium.”

Owens said the inaugural event drew approximately 600 people. The response he received afterward convinced him that Grand Slam should return.

“I determined the first show a success by the reaction we got from the audience and everyone that attended. The amount of messages I got telling me how much they enjoyed it and how they can’t wait for the next one.”

WHAT GRAND SLAM 2 WILL CHANGE

Presenting wrestling inside an outdoor baseball stadium gives Grand Slam a distinctive appearance, but it also creates challenges involving rain and summer heat.

Grand Slam 2 will begin later than the inaugural event to reduce the amount of time spectators spend sitting under the sun. Gates will open at 19:00 before the first match begins at 20:00.

“The most difficult part of doing a show at a baseball stadium, an outside venue, is just stressing over the weather. I have decided to make the start time a little later this time to avoid the heat.”

“I feel bad making the crowd sit in the hot sun for the first half of the show. Stressing about rain is a difficult part also.”

Owens wants the event to remain accessible to spectators who do not regularly follow independent wrestling. Each match is intended to tell a complete story without requiring the audience to understand months of previous developments.

“I want Grand Slam 2 to just offer a more coherent and smooth-looking show that a lot of indie shows do not have. We do not like to make storylines difficult to understand.”

“Everything is open and shut that night. No cliffhangers.”

Owens personally selected the wrestlers and matches. Marketability, athletic presentation and professional experience were among the qualities he considered while assembling the card.

“The wrestlers and matches were hand-picked by me based on how marketable they are. Do they have a good look? We want guys that people will look at and say, ‘They are the real deal,’ and you can tell they take it seriously.”

“We are portraying athletes out there. People want to see guys that look like they take this seriously. Everyone on the show has at some point or another been on TV.”

TWO CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES SET FOR KOKOMO

Jake Omen defeated Bob Backus at the inaugural Grand Slam to become the event’s first champion.

Owens confirmed that the championship was created exclusively for Grand Slam and has not been defended during the two years between events. Omen will make his first defense against Elijah Eros, a fellow Kokomo native and one of his former students.

“Jake Omen has not defended this belt anywhere else. It is an exclusive Grand Slam belt.”

“Elijah was selected for a couple of reasons. Kokomo is actually his hometown as well, and he is a former student of Jake Omen’s and has come a long way since being Jake’s student.”

“There is a lot of history between them. Omen has described Eros as one of his best students.”

The Hardway’s match against The Trifecta has also become a championship contest.

Jack Vaughn and Dalton McKenzie defeated The Slimeballz on the August 1 episode of NWA Powerrr to capture the NWA United States Tag Team Championship. The title change is confirmed in the NWA’s official results.

The official Grand Slam page subsequently announced that The Hardway will defend the championship against The Trifecta in Kokomo.

LEELA FEIST RECEIVES HER DELAYED OPPORTUNITY

Leela Feist was scheduled to compete at the inaugural Grand Slam before a collarbone injury prevented her from wrestling.

Feist still attended the event and watched from ringside. She will finally make her Grand Slam debut against Shawna Reed.

“It was important to me to bring back Leela because she did not get that chance at the first one. She still attended the show and watched from ringside, and I know she wanted to be in there.”

“She has recovered and came back strong, so I knew it was only right to bring her back.”

GRAND SLAM 2 CARD

• Grand Slam Championship: Jake Omen vs. Elijah Eros
• NWA United States Tag Team Championship: The Hardway vs. The Trifecta
• Singles Match: Chris Owens vs. Jacob Brawn
• Singles Match: Shawna Reed vs. Leela Feist
• Triple Threat Match: War Ready Maleko vs. Erik Surge vs. Anthony Toatele
• Special Guest Host: Jeremy Hadley

Carl Randers and Isaiah Moore are also advertised for Grand Slam 2, although their specific assignments have not been publicly announced.

GRAND SLAM 2 EVENT INFORMATION

• Date: Saturday, August 15, 2026
• Venue: Kokomo Municipal Stadium
• Address: 400 S. Union Street, Kokomo, Indiana
• Gates: 19:00
• Bell time: 20:00
• Ringside tickets: $25
• General admission: $15
• Advance tickets: Official Grand Slam 2 ticket portal
• Day-of tickets: Available at the stadium
• Parking: Stadium parking lot and surrounding downtown streets
• Drinks: The stadium bar will be open
• Event sponsor: Dan Weirauch
• Official updates: Grand Slam on Facebook

Owens wants Grand Slam 2 to attract both established wrestling followers and Kokomo residents who may be attending their first independent event.

“The goal at the first one was to appeal to everyone, wrestling fan or not, and we succeeded in doing that. I got a lot of messages from people saying they are not actual wrestling fans, but that show made them a fan.”

“I want people to leave the show with a newfound appreciation for pro wrestling.”

The response to Grand Slam 2 will determine whether the stadium show becomes a regular Kokomo event.

“To make it an annual event, we will need to hit another home run.”

If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Chris Owens and provide a h/t to Wrestling Headlines for the exclusive interview.