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Professional wrestlers come to city

Posted: Mar 12th 2007 By: mikeiles

TORRINGTON - More than 1,000 people attended a sold-out pro wrestling show the middle school Saturday night to benefit the wife of a city police officer.

"It was a great event and showed the support of the community," Mayor Ryan Bingham said.
The event was sponsored by Northeast Wrestling and featured such stars as Jerry "The King" Lawler and Samoa Joe. Proceeds are to benefit Lisa Guerrera, 37, who is battling leukemia and is the wife of seven-year police veteran officer John Guerrera.

Some 200 people were turned away from the event because the fire code capacity of the gym at Torrington Middle School had been reached.

"FYE (electronics store) was still selling tickets (Saturday night)," event organizer Michael O'Brien said. "The Torrington police were good enough to send an officer down there to ask them to stop selling tickets."

Attendees got a chance to meet with several of the wrestlers prior to the matches and were able to get photographs and autographs with their favorites.

"We came to see the wrestlers," David Korot of Torrington said after his sons Daniel, 7, and Joseph, 6, posed for a photo with Jim "Anvil" Niedhart. "They are the best."

Bingham and his administrative assistant, Stephen Nocera, took a more active role in the event by managing opposing wrestlers in the second match of the evening, a mixed tag-team affair.
"I was stripping wallpaper at my house for several hours today," Bingham said of his preparation to be a ringside manager.

Two of the four wrestlers on opposing sides of that match, Ariel, a female wrestler and Shortsleeve Sampson, a midget wrestler, said they enjoy their vocation and were looking forward to getting into the ring.

Sampson, 33, of Providence, RI, has been wrestling professionally for eight years and said it is a sport that can show off his talents and abilities.

"I can't go for the NBA or NFL, but I can definitely wrestle in the ring," Sampson said. "What you put in is what you get out of it. It is a blast."

Ariel, 22, just got back into the United States from Mexico Saturday afternoon after competing for a lightweight belt in that country.

"I just got into Boston at 2:30 p.m.," Ariel, who has been wrestling professionally for six years, said. "Then, I came right here."

Ariel said she had a little explaining to do when she put her championship belt through the detectors at the airport.

"We travel all over (to wrestle)," Ariel said.

O'Brien said he was pleased with the turnout and hopes to return to the city again next year at a bigger venue. "I can't wait to come back (to Torrington)," O'Brien said.