Wrestlers are ready to rumble at 4-H Fairgrounds in Orleans County
Professional wrestlers return May 4 with headliner Shannon Moore, a former WWE star
Photos by Tom Rivers: Wrestlers with Empire State Wrestling tighten the ropes in the ring for Saturday’s full card of matches. James Sayga, center, is part of a tag team that are the current champs. Gavin Glass of Medina is at left. He will be in action Saturday in one of the matches.
KNOWLESVILLE – The wrestlers are ready to put on a spectacle in Orleans County on Saturday. They were busy this evening setting up the ring, lights, video screens and sound system in the Lartz Building at the 4-H Fairgrounds, which last weekend hosted a home and garden show for the Chamber of Commerce.
Photo courtesy of Gavin Glass: Glass, 21, has been wrestling in independent leagues for the past four years. He recently added the mask, which resembles broken glass, as part of his entrance to the ring.
On Saturday, Empire State Wrestling is returning for the second year. The event is a fundraiser for the east Shelby Volunteer Fire Company.
The wrestlers usually are based at the St. Johnsburg Fire Hall in North Tonawanda. But the group has been going to other venues, building its fan base, said Brett Stymus, the promoter for Empire State Wrestling.
He was pleased with the debut at the Fairgrounds a year ago, when 330 people attended the matches.
“We gave them a show that they really enjoyed,” Stymus said.
Some of the crowd in Orleans County has been going to North Tonawanda and Rochester to watch Empire State Wrestling after seeing them for the first time at the fairgrounds in Knowlseville.
Saturday will be headlined by former WWE star Shannon Moore. He will face Anthony Gaines, a ESW star who went viral on the internet after he was catapulted 14 feet out of the ring in a match last June.
The wrestling card also includes a ladies match with Kate Carney of Portland, Ore. taking on Jody Threat of Toronto.
Local wrestler Gavin Glass, 21, of Medina also will be back. He has been wrestling professionally for four years. He said the wrestlers drew a big crowd last year.
“We knocked it out of the park last year,” he said this evening, while helping to set up the ring for Saturday’s matches. “We don’t have anything else like this in town that people can check out.”
There will be about 10 matches on the card with the action starting at 6 p.m. and going to about 8:30. The event will have an intergalactic feel with the theme, “May the Fourth Be With You.”
For more information about the matches and tickets, click here.
Gangrel, a vampiric character, entered the ring and did his signature pre-match routine of spitting “blood” at the finale on April 28, 2018, when Empire State Wrestling debuted at the Fairgrounds. Gangrel is the biggest name to wrestle so far in Orleans County.
