♪♪ Olivo: I'm a server at The Dandy Lion.

-Got this one here for you.

-Thank you.

Any condiments that I can get you?

Any ketchup, hot sauce?

I am originally from Guatemala City, Guatemala.

I immigrated here when I was around five years old in 2008.

Been in Iowa ever since.

There's not many Spanish channels on TV.

Spanish was my first language, so getting used to that was a bit hard.

I couldn't really connect to much stuff on TV.

But one thing that I do remember connecting with was professional wrestling.

[ Indistinct shouting in distance ] [ Bell rings ] Aaah!

[ Applause ] One!

Two!

Two!

♪♪ Oliva: Time moves so slow right before a match.

♪♪ What makes a good wrestling personality is yourself, honestly.

It's just you tuning it up to a thousand.

I stick by my real name, Carlos Oliva, but I go by the Guatemalan Dragon.

I wanted to bring a piece with me to the ring as well, representing who I am, and this was the best way to do it.

Pro wrestling is physical theater.

At its core, we're trying to tell a story.

Meza: My name is Marcos Meza.

I wrestle as Dante Leon.

It's an art form.

It's, you know -- it's same as writing or painting or music.

It's just a little bit more physical.

[ Cheers and applause ] Announcer: From Guatemala City, Guatemala, the Guatemalan Dragon -- Carlos Oliva!

Oliva: Once I hear my music play out and then I go out through that curtain, there's nothing in my brain besides just wanting to have fun.

Aaah!

[ Crowd shouting indistinctly ] Aaah!

They use their body as their language in the ring, and I connected with that immediately.

I was hooked ever since.

The second you walk out those curtains, we're telling a story, and you want to connect with the audience.

You want the audience to remember you.

-[ Ring floor bangs ] -There we go!

[ Shouting indistinctly ] Oliva: You may think the goal would be to win the match.

The main priority in every match is to connect with the audience.

Meza: It becomes about the crowd and about giving them what they want.

If they want to boo, then give them something to boo.

If they want to high-five and cheer, do some cool stuff.

Crowd: Four!

Five!

Six!

Seven!

Eight!

[ Indistinct shouting ] -[ Ring floor bangs ] -Oh!

One!

Two!

Three!

-[ Crowd cheering ] -[ Bell ringing ] Announcer: The Guatemalan Dragon -- Carlos Oliva!

One thing I really wanted to do deeply was to be a wrestler, but that was never a thought that occurred in my head.

So I looked online, Googled "how to be a pro wrestler," and then I stumbled upon Black and Brave Wrestling Academy up in Davenport, and I was like, "This is a gold mine.

I have to do it."

So I immediately signed up.

No hesitation whatsoever.

We're both graduates of the school.

And usually when you graduate, you stick around and you train and try to become better.

Man: Okay.

All right.

So you got to sit to your butt when... Oliva: I was just training in the ring.

He was also training in the ring.

And then we did a couple moves on each other.

Next week we did it again.

The following week we did it again.

And then it just kept going and going and going, and we created a bond together, a good mentorship vibe.

Meza: So many people come and go and some people stick around, and I realized Carlos was one of the ones that stuck around and really wanted to try.

The way me and Carlos train is, we practice how we play.

You know, we bring the aggressiveness, the, uh -- the hard hitting that we would do in front of a crowd.

We do that in front of no one.

It's not all fun and games all the time.

Your body hurts.

Your body will break down.

Oliva: I get hurt a lot in this business.

Even though some people can say it's fake, the stuff we do really hurts.

Many people's careers end very early in this profession.

If you don't have a heart for it, you're just not gonna be a professional wrestler.

[ Indistinct conversations, music playing in distance ] Announcer: And finally, Iowa City, Iowa!

[ Cheers and applause ] Oliva: I see my friends pop out, I see my family pop out, and I see how excited they are in the audience, how passionate they are, how much they're screaming.

I could mess up so many times and they're still like, "Just get back up!"

you know?

I love it every single time.

And that's what drives me.

You know, just seeing the support, the local support.

Crowd: [ Chanting ] Carlos!

Carlos!

Carlos!

Carlos!

Meza: He wants to help not just with wrestling, but if you ever met Carlos, you know that he is a genuine, sincere person.

You know he cares.

And Iowa professional wrestling is better off for it.

[ Cheers and applause ] Oliva: We're just trying to connect to the Iowa City crowd.

You know, we want to bring wrestling everywhere.

[ Crowd cheering ]