Wrestling Stars Wow Devoted Wisconsin Fans

Wrestlers line the outer edges of the Waukesha County Expo Center. Some are legends of the business. Some are local stars paving their way. Eager fans crowd around their tables ready to shell out for autographs and photos. The crowd is here for Blizzard Brawl, a professional wrestling event put on by Great Lakes Championship Wrestling.

“Dude, I just met Demolition,” said one excited fan, with an autographed photo in hand.

 Professional wrestling is different from the sport of wrestling. While amateur wrestling is a sporting event, professional wrestling is often referred to as sports entertainment. The matches are scripted, and the focus is on the theatrics and feats of strength that make the product fun to watch. It’s a business on the rise, according to GLCW Promoter David Herro.

“With multiple billion-dollar TV deals in place and the fact that WWE is selling out football stadiums, tells me that the brand and the sport of professional wrestling is no longer the red headed stepchild of sports,” said Herro.

Herro is the man responsible for setting up the event. He’s in charge of getting the venue, finding wrestlers, scheduling and advertising it. It’s a process he’s familiar with because he’s been in the business since 1998.

“That’s also when I started producing Great Lakes Championship Wrestling events,” said Herro. “First show was at Texx’s Victory Hall in Cudahy.”

Herro’s hard work and experience in the business have paid off. His GLCW promotion has gone from small venues like Texx’s to venues like Waukesha County Expo Center, where they hosted Blizzard Brawl on December 2.

Blizzard Brawl featured nine matches with a colorful cast of wrestlers; Characters like “Iron Mike” Curkov, who by day is CBS 58 reporter Mike Curkov. Curkov and his tag-team partner Cash Flo wrestled against the team of Koda Jacobs and Dinero.

Jacobs is what is known in professional wrestling as a heel, or bad guy. His character is a corrupt politician who will do anything to win, including breaking all the rules. When Kurkov pinned him to end the match, he took to the mic in a Trump-style rant about how the media caused him to lose the match. Jacobs would be scared away from the ring after former WWE tag team Demolition emerged from the tunnel.

Many title belts were on the line at the event. GLCW champion Backwoods Brown faced off against Shawn Spears, who formerly wrestled in WWE under the name Tye Dillinger. Spears won the match and took Brown’s title. Spears finished the match by hitting Brown with a Pedigree, a move that involves taking the opponent’s head between the knees, jumping and driving it into the mat. Brown is a humongous human, so pulling off the move required a lot of muscle.

“To Pedigree a 400-pound man, that takes a lot of strength,” said fan Anthony Fox. “For a guy like Shawn Spears, that just impressed me big time.”

Many fans were eager to watch the main event, Matt Cardona vs EC3. Cardona was once a WWE fan-favorite under the moniker Zack Ryder, but he eventually left due to creative differences. Once on the independent circuit, he went on a tear, becoming a big draw for promotions.

“I love seeing Matt Cardona,” said fan Joshua Oakley. “Like it’s funny to see a guy like that who was in WWE go and become this thing that’s polarizing.”

Cardona’s opponent had a history with the WWE as well. EC3 was once signed to WWE but struggled to find his role. He followed the same path that Cardona did, leaving and finding his footing on the independent circuit.

EC3 came into the match holding three titles, including the National Wrestling Alliance Heavyweight Championship. NWA title is one of the most illustrious in professional wrestling. It traces its lineage back to the first-ever wrestling belt, first awarded in 1905. Its modern iteration was established in 1948 and has been held by legendary wrestlers like Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes.

EC3’s NWA title was not on the line in the match. However, his Premier Streaming Men’s Title was. The match involved some typical professional wrestling shenanigans with the referee getting knocked out. This allowed ringside guest Aron Stevens to slide into the ring and hit both EC3 and Cardona over the head with the NWA belt. Stevens then dragged the incapacitated EC3 on top his opponent before dashing back up the tunnel, and the referee awoke just in time to count the pin.

Herro ended the event by pushing Stevens back out into the ring where Cardona and EC3 would hit him with their finishing moves. Herro said offering talent and opportunity to make it big means a lot to him.

“I love it,” he said. “I am very proud of so many talents. Over the last several years at Blizzard Brawl we have seen Thea Trinidad go on to become Zelina Vega and Sefa Fatu become Solo Sikoa.  You never know who will be the next person to leave a GLCW ring and wind up at WrestleMania.”