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s e r v i n g tay l or , ol d f or g e , moosic & surrounding areas triborobanner.com | march 9, 2017
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Learning the ropes
Up-and-coming pro wrestlers will grapple at the Moosic Youth Center next weekend By Josh McAuliffe
sPeciAl To The TRiBoRo BANNeR St. Patrick’s Day evokes images of leprechauns, shamrocks and all things Irish. But the Moosic Youth Center will be giving off an entirely different vibe that night — one of head butts, body slams and other flights of well choreographed mayhem. On Friday, March 17, the youth center will host “Starting Point,” a night of professional wrestling presented by Independence Pro Wrestling, which is owned by Wilkes-Barre pro wrestler and promoter Bill Owens. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., with the preshow at 7 and the main show beginning at 7:30. Tickets are $15 general admission and $20 ringside. A family four-pack is $50 and includes four general-admission tickets, plus hot dogs and drinks. For $70, a family of four can get all that but with ringside seats. For tickets or more information, visit Independence Pro Wrestling’s Facebook page, facebook.com/Independencepro. A part of the proceeds from the event will go to Moosic Youth Center, according to Owens. “With the Moosic Youth Center, I found out that they needed a new floor. They’ve really been helping out with promoting it,” Owens said. “It’s a very
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family-oriented show. There’s not going to be any violence or blood. There might be a thrown chair or two, but I don’t know about that.” “It should be a good event,” Moosic Youth Center executive director George Weitz said. “Whatever he gives back to the center is a big plus for us.” The night’s main event will be a match between Matt Cross and Lio Rush, upand- comers on the independent circuit who will no doubt be familiar to those who follow the scene, Owens said. Owens himself will be wrestling under his stage name, Lucifer Grimm. Other grapplers on the card include Private Party, Colin Delany, Fluffy the Love Bunny, Space Monkey, Mad Russian, King Kahula, “Bulldozer” Matt Tremont, Ricky Shane Page and women wrestlers Shotzi Blackheat and Angel Dust. “I’m bringing in a lot of hot talent from out on the independent scene,” Owens said. “We’ve got wrestlers coming from Canada, Cleveland, Wilkes-Barre, Chicago, New Jersey and New York. I’m hoping we get some people coming from out of town to see it.” Owens said that a lot of the assembled wrestlers are talented enough to end up in the upper reaches of the sport within the next couple of years. “Lio Rush I guarantee will be in the WWE in two years,” he said. Owens has been in the pro wrestling game for over 20 years, both as a wrestler and a promoter. He trained with the Wild Samoans in Hazleton and has wrestled
10:30 | CORNELLCHR
From left, bottom row: Lio Rush and Matt Cross. Second row: Rickey Shane Page, Space Monkey and Matt Tremont. Third row: Gregory Iron, Alex Daniels and Lucifer Grimm. Top row: the duo known as Private Party.
in Canada and Mexico as Lucifer Grimm, whom he describes as your classic bad guy, or “heel,” as they’re referred to in the pro wrestling world. Eventually, Owens got into the promotion game. He’s helped put together a number of shows in recent years, including one in Wilkes-Barre that drew 350 people. This is the second time Owens is promoting a show entirely on his own. With any luck, there will be many more to come, he said. “Hopefully, if this is a successful thing, we’ll be doing them every six to eight weeks,” he said.
if you go
What: “Starting Point,” a night of professional wrestling presented by Independence Pro Wrestling When: Friday, March 17, doors opening at 6:30 p.m. and wrestling beginning at 7 Where: Moosic Youth Center, 606 Main St., Moosic details: Tickets are $15 general admission, $20 ringside, $50 for a family four-pack and $70 for a ringside family four-pack. For tickets or more information, visit www.facebook.com/ Independencepro.