A group of larger-than-life wrestling superheroes and villains waged battle at the Royal Canadian Legion in Estevan on Thursday in front of a cheering crowd of young supporters.
About 40 kids and parents at the Ringside Wrestling event were treated to three undercard matches to start the evening of fun and mayhem. Once the crowd was riled up, two contenders for the Ringside Wrestling championship belt stepped into the ring with title holder Joey Vendetta for a three-way bout before they were joined by 10 other wrestlers for the main event Battle Royal.
“It was entertaining,” said Barrett Simon, who brought his seven-year-old son Bradley to the event. Bradley added his favourite part of the night was witnessing the Screaming Eagle outlast the villainous Kobra Kai and Nite in the Battle Royal.
“When you can do what it is you like to do and you can see that it gets everybody else going and they're behind you too it's like you're not even on the ground anymore,” said Screaming Eagle about the support he received in Estevan. “It's not all skill and technique. Sometimes it's luck. Sometimes it's adrenaline. Sometimes it's all of those things. So to have the crowd on my side definitely was a big factor coming out on top of that Battle Royal.”
Screaming Eagle lost his and Ringside Wrestling's first match of the night to Kobra Kai. The opening bout set the stage for the heroes and villains theme of the event with Kobra Kai continually playing up his evil role by taunting the crowd and even stealing a lollipop from a child's mouth at one point.
“Whether I'm a villain or a hero out there I just like to make sure that the audience is well aware of it in a very (exclamatory) way,” said Kobra Kai. “Being a hero, there is definitely nothing like having a crowd of people really getting behind you and cheering you on and wanting you to do well. At the same time, the boos and screams and stuff are equally satisfying for the villain. I play the part. I have a couple ex's that would say I live the part.”
Sinn Bodhi, who was disqualified with Nite in the title bout for using a foreign object, said his getup as a scary clown complete with a blood splattered apron, red foam nose and purple face paint may not be the most kid-friendly costume. But like all wrestlers, the various images they portray are employed solely to put smiles on people's faces.
“It's a family-oriented show,” said Rex Roberts, who defeated the nasty Mutato with the help of “The Greatest Manager in Professional Wrestling” Crazyhorse on one undercard bout. “It's for the kids. I directly asked a five-year-old girl, do you want me to do this (move and) she agreed with it and that's part of Ringside Wrestling. We want families to come and enjoy wrestling.”
“You want to cheer, you want to boo, you want to have fun, that's what we're here for,” added Crazyhorse.
Joey Vendetta said the experience in Estevan proved wonderful for both the wrestlers and the fans on Thursday night. He said they hope to replicate it in a few months time with a return to the Energy City later this winter.
“I thought it went great,” said Joey Vendetta. “I'm happy everybody had a good time.”
