In the center of a gymnasium located inside the 137-year old Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Annunciation church in Williamsburg, is where spandex-wearing warriors throw down and put on a show for the attendees who come to watch some good old-fashioned indie wrestling.
This past Friday night, seven hundred people gathered in the church to see choreographed brawls being held.
Some of the performing wrestlers include ones with names like Manbun Jesus and Mikey Whipwreck, who spent almost four hours acting out various forms of foot-stomping, eye-scratching, groin-kicking, and body flipping for the excited fans.
Outlaw Wrestling is one of at least a hundred indie wrestling groups that host shows at locations around the tri-state area. Performers are generally paid per appearance by the company that organized the event, and wrestlers may also receive the opportunity to sign a multiyear contract with groups like Outlaw and work their shows exclusively.
Bull James, a former WWE wrestler and a church parishioner, founded Outlaw Wrestling in 2017. Indie wrestling is essentially a minor league form of wrestling where athletes can start out and either get picked up by a major organization or enjoy a more relaxed athletic career while still earning a decent living.
Industry insiders say the scene has picked up significantly in recent years, particularly as restrictions from the COVID pandemic have been lifted.
“Get ready for a circus,” said Sonny Kiss, one of the many wrestlers who performed. “It’s Broadway with body slams.”
While every event has a winner, the matches aren’t actually a real competition, as there is no prize money, bracket, or advancement.
The Friday event in Williamsburg contained a mix of first-time visitors and die-hard wrestling fans from Long Island and New Jersey who got to mingle with newer Brooklyn transplants who mostly didn’t know much about the wrestling scene.
James, who grew up in Northern Brooklyn, said the neighborhood changes have been challenging as the once considerable Italian-American population he grew up with has dwindled down with waves of hipster transplants driving up living costs.
Changes notwithstanding, he still appreciates the eclectic mix of people in the crowd, which is mixed with younger hipster types and die-hard wrestling fans that travel from all over.
All in all, it’s great entertainment.
