In the world of strength sports, it’s almost easier to list the sports Larry “Wheels” Williams hasn’t competed in. The social media sensation — famous for his ability to hoist mind-boggling weights — has competed in powerlifting, strongman, bodybuilding. Now, the 26-year-old is entering the big stage in his newest venture — arm wrestling.
On May 28, 2021, Core Sports is presenting an arm-wrestling pay-per-view event called King of the Table. The competitions will take place at Conrad Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and are sanctioned by the World Armwrestling League. The main event of that show will be Michael Todd versus Devon Larratt, who will be facing off for the third time. The undercard of this event will be Wheels facing Aleksandr Toproll, also known as “Schoolboy.” The announcement of the event and Wheels’ participation was shared by CoreSports on April 15, 2021, via their Instagram page.
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The WAL event will be known as a “right-handed super match.” Athletes in arm wrestling compete based on which hand they use. Wheels and Toproll are both right-handed competitors. Super matches are “best of five” contests. The contestants must keep their opposite hand on his or her peg, and one foot must remain on the floor at all times. Once the referee starts the match, the competitor must touch the pin pad with any portion of the opponent’s wrist to fingertips area. A win is also called by a parallel pin, which means the opponent’s hand or wrist breaks the pin line. There will be a 60 second break between pins. The first competitor to score three wins is the victor.
This particular matchup serves as something of a rematch for Wheels, who had faced Toproll in the past and came up on the losing end.
“Simply put, this is going to be the biggest Arm Wrestling night of the year,” Don Idrees, owner of Core Sports, tells BarBend. “The pre-sale pay per buys have already exceeded our expectations which clearly tells us one thing: King of the Table is poised to elevate arm wrestling from being an underground and niche sport right up into the mainstream and who better to do this than Larry. Niche to mainstream seems to be our ethos at Core Sports, doesn’t it?”
Core Sports may be best associated with strongman because of their work with World’s Ultimate Strongman, which began in 2018 and is now considered one of the top leagues in that sport. They are also responsible for the upcoming boxing match between Hafthor Björnsson and Eddie Hall that will take place in September 2021 in Las Vegas, NV.
“Arm wrestling is currently my main discipline,” Wheels explains to BarBend. “I am in a position where I have the attention of millions, and the opportunity to take this niche sport mainstream. That’s exactly what I intend to do while educating people how to do it safely.”
While arm wrestling is Wheels’ current focus, it isn’t like he has been slacking off in the gym. In January, he deadlifted 855 pounds for a triple in training. He strict curled 209 pounds last summer in response to a James Harrison callout. He has also incline pressed 275 pound dumbbells, which set an unofficial world record for that lift.
Featured Image: coresportsworld on Instagram.