After closing out 2016 with a standing room only show in Niagara Falls, N.Y., Empire State Wrestling (ESW) returns to the St. Johnsburg Fire Hall, 7165 Ward Road, North Tonawanda, on Saturday, Jan. 21 featuring current Total Nonstop Action (TNA) star Braxton Sutter, former TNA star T.J. Dunn and Ring of Honor (ROH) star Silas Young.
Doors open at 5 p.m. with a bell time set for 6 p.m. Tickets are $20 for front row and $12 for general admission. All tickets increase $3 at the door.
Billed as “The Last Real Man,” Young is notable for his current stint in ROH in which he faced some of the company’s top talent such as Jay Lethal, Jushin Thunder Liger, The Briscoes, Matt Taven and current World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) superstar Kevin Owens.
Young will take on West Seneca’s own Braxton Sutter. Sutter returns to ESW after participating in the Ilio DiPaolo Cup match in November. He was the last person eliminated in the bout which was won by Toronto’s R.J. City, who can now cash in the trophy for a shot at the ESW Heavyweight Championship whenever City chooses.
Dunn is one of the biggest names on the independent wrestling scene, having wrestled for numerous independent organizations such as Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), Beyond Wrestling and Full Impact Pro (FIP). He also teamed with fellow independent star Chuck Taylor while competing in TNA last summer. Dunn is set to face North Tonawanda native Kevin Bennett.
The event will also showcase several of Western New York’s top independent wrestlers. Rochester’s Coconut Jones will defend the ESW Interstate Championship in a triple threat match versus former ROH star Cloudy and young upstart Anthony Gaines from Cheektowaga.
The Oliver Street Express will face the Rochester Wrecking Crew in a rematch from the last show. The Oliver Street Express won the prior match by disqualification, but was unable to secure the tag team titles from the Rochester Wrecking Crew due to a technicality.
Rounding out the card, after months of feuding, Ron Falco will finally get to face Big Cat Lemmer in a singles match as Falco seeks revenge on Big Cat for turning his own son against him. ESW Heavyweight champion Bill Collier is also scheduled to be in action.
ESW will also be working in conjunction with professional wrestling school Grapplers Anonymous (GA) to provide a trial for people interested in training to become a pro wrestler. The trial will be held at St. Johnsburg Fire Hall on the same day of the event at 12 p.m. and costs $25. Participants that pass the trial will be permitted to train at GA’s facility in Lackawanna.
ESW promotes eight shows a year, primarily held at the St. Johnsburg Fire Hall in North Tonawanda, boasting crowds of over 400 wrestling fans who come to cheer the good guys and boo the bad guys of the sport. Twice a year, larger “super show” events are held at the Kenan Center in Lockport and the Frontier Fire Hall in Niagara Falls, N.Y., drawing crowds of up to 1,000. Founded in 2002, ESW is an independent professional wrestling promotion run by Brett Stymus of Lockport. Over half of the performers involved in ESW reside in the Western New York area. For more information, please email es*******@ya***.com.
