FORMER WWE SUPERSTARS TO BE FEATURED IN NORTH TONAWANDA – The Honky Tonk Man and Hornswoggle set to appear alongside local wrestling talent.
Fresh off the heels of its biggest show of the year, Empire State Wrestling (ESW) will return to the St. Johnsburg Fire Hall, located at 7165 Ward Road, North Tonawanda, NY on Saturday, June 18 featuring World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) legend The Honky Tonk Man and former WWE superstar Hornswoggle. The bell time is set for 6 p.m. with doors opening at 5 p.m. Pre-sale tickets are $12 and can be purchased ahead of time online at eswwrestling.com. Tickets can also be bought at the door on the day of the event for $15.
Well-known for this guitar playing, Elvis Presley inspired persona, the Honky Tonk Man was a major star in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) during the late 1980s and early 1990s. During this time, Honky Tonk Man held the WWF Intercontinental Championship for a record 64 weeks. Hornswoggle is best known for his 10-year run with WWE as a leprechaun character involved in numerous over-the-top storylines, including being revealed as Vince McMahon’s son and the anonymous General Manager of WWE’s flagship television show Monday Night Raw.
Several locally-based wrestlers will also be a part of the event. The main event includes two of Empire State Wrestling’s longest running members of its roster, as Jonny Puma challenges Will Calrissian for the ESW Heavyweight Championship. North Tonawanda’s own Kevin Bennett will be teaming with the Oliver Street Connection (Randy Philbrick and Andrew Cravatta) against Chris Cooper and the ESW Tag Team Champions, the Rochester Wrecking Crew (Hellcat and Rob Sweet).
Some of the top wrestlers currently on the national independent wrestling scene are booked, too. Cleveland, Ohio’s Gregory Iron will square off versus Buffalo-native Brandon Thurston. In a special attraction match showcasing two of fastest rising stars in the North East, Alex Daniels, also of Cleveland, will take on James “Rude Boy” Riley from Staten Island.
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, 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 or to schedule an interview with anyone mentioned above, please reach out to [email protected].