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AMATEUR WRESTLERS BODY SLAM
THE JERSEY SHORE
By Keith Hagarty
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| Photo By Keith Hagarty Local wrestlers from Jackson, Toms River, Howell, Forked River and beyond clashed recently at Seaside Heights American Legion Post 351. |
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As a stream of kids swarmed around repeatedly shouting "Biggie! Biggie! Can I get your autograph?" wrestler "Biggie Biggs" tried his best to brush off a recent crack to the back of his head courtesy of a metal folding chair, sucked up a couple bruised ribs, grabbed a Sharpie marker and pleased his most avid little fans.
"Being in the ring is the greatest feeling there is," said the monstrous Biggs, who when he's out of the ring, is more commonly known as Nick Podsvirow, a Howell native who's been wrestling for over a decade and relishes every minute of the contagious action.
"I started training in the fall of 1993. I had my first pro match in the summer of 1994, and I'm starting my 13th year now," he said. "My first match was a Battle Royal and to me it was like WrestleMania. It was the best feeling ever!"
Biggs joined dozens of other wrestlers in Seaside Heights last week for the debut of the "Era of AWESOMEness" held by the American Wrestling Elite Stars of Mat Wrestling (AWESOME) as a chance to introduce the shore area to the exciting world of pro wrestling.
"Everyone who comes to a wrestling show wants to be a wrestler or be a part of the show," said Podsvirow. "However, most of the people in the crowd never take that next step to get into the ring. That's why you get such a rush being in the ring because you know exactly how everyone in the crowd feels. You control the emotions of the crowd. I can make them love me, hate me, feel sympathy, or empathy. I can control what happens. It's really cool."
With much of the Jersey Shore quiet until Memorial Day, flying dropkicks and pile drivers are just the thing to bring some life to the vacant boardwalk, according to Bill Miller, general manger of AWESOME, a subsidiary of its parent company, a Philadelphia-based American Wrestling Fundraisers in existence for over 20 years.
"This is like a new brand of that company that's now being brought to the Jersey Shore," said Miller. "There isn't a lot of pro wrestling on the Jersey Shore, so when I got a chance to bring wrestling down here, I wanted to showcase our local talent as much as I could."
Giving area residents another form of entertainment during the normally subdued winter months is a great opportunity for AWESOME and a new legion of wrestling fans.
"We offer a little something for everybody," he continued. "We have the highflying cruiserweights. We've got the ladies challenge. We've got tag team matches. We've got heavyweights. We've got brand new rookie stars, and we've got superstars like the Patriot, who is on television, so no matter what kind of wrestling you like, we think there will at least be one or two matches in that style for you- a complete show that offers something for everyone."
Traveling the country for over a year has been an illuminating experience for Rhett Titus, of Forked River.
"It's what I always wanted to do since I was a little kid," he said. "My teenage years were when wrestling really started to take off for me. Of course I was a big fan of Hulk Hogan, everyone loves him, and I was also a big fan of Steve Corino. People like that were good inspirations for me to want to keep going."
With menacing eyes lurking behind his camouflaged mask, Section 8 (a.k.a., Corey Kline) has been a huge fan of professional wrestling since 1983, and after watching a wrestling match as a teenager in a comic book shop, fate led him to enroll in Iron Mike Sharpe's School of Pro Wrestling in Asbury Park.
"I paid my five bucks, got in, got hooked, and started training four months later," said the Howell native.
Typically quiet and reserved, playing a masked lunatic has allowed Kline to tap into another aspect of his personality he loves to explore.
"Normally I'm not as outgoing," he said. "But when I'm out there and high-fiving the kids, and just out there having fun, it's a lot of fun."
At only 16 years old and a student at Toms River North High School, some may think Mark Garofalo, aka Mark Modest, is too young to be competing in the ring, but that doesn't phase Modest.
"So far it's going really good," said Garofalo, who went by his wrestling name, Modest. "I'm getting experience now and learning more and more because you never stop learning in wrestling."
With the full support of his parents, Modest said he's been an avid fan of pro wrestling since he was four years old, practicing maneuvers with his father, and now keeps a keen eye on harnessing new ways to hone his skills, including the development of his geographically signature move, the Lariat Silverton.
"Tonight, I'm just hoping to win the 25- man Battle Royal." Modest said as got his game face on.
Making the decision to go full force in becoming a professional wrestler was an easy decision for the mysterious "Dr. K," of Jackson.
"I've been doing it since 2003, and have been a huge fan since I was a little kid," he said. "I began training, and have just loved every minute of it. You've got to love it if you're going to get into it. This is like our pick-up games when people love playing baseball or basketball- there's just no better feeling. This is it."
Getting the usual laughs and snickers from people after they learn about his passion is something Dr. K, whose real name is Rich McNicholas, takes in stride each day.
"You don't know you're going to see a wrestler everyday," McNicholas said. "A lot of people don't think wrestlers are normal people. They think we're all crazy in the head and are going to hit them over the head with a chair."
With concussions, cracked ribs and black eyes common during matches, McNicholas wants to put the rest the notion that professional wrestling isn't real.
"A lot of people have no clue how much physical training and ability that goes into this," the masked Jacksonite said. "Some people look at it and say, 'oh, it's all fake,' but you're running around for 20 minutes, picking up people, dropping them, getting hit. The amount of energy and strength it takes to do this is just ridiculous."
With hundreds of matches under his belt, Podsvirow recalled numerous injuries he's received, including a multitude of concussions, primarily one notable head-rattling incident coming courtesy of a power bomb maneuver.
"A guy lifts me up, so I'm basically sitting on his shoulders and I get driven down, and I just wacked my noodle," he said. Despite seeing stars on more than one occasion, serious injuries are a rare occurrence in the sport, and Podsvirow believes it can best be attributed to proper training, experience and a focus on safety.
"All of us here were trained properly. We went to the schools. We invested the money. When you do these things over and over again, it becomes second nature," he said. "But I've seen guys who've just started out who don't know what they're doing, and they get hurt. They either end up doing too much, or try to do something they've seen on TV that they're not properly trained to do."
Extreme pro wrestling action will come to the Jersey Shore again at the next AWESOME event on February 3 at 7 p.m., which will once again be held at the Seaside Heights American Legion Post 351 on Bay Boulevard. For more information, visit their website at www.awesomewrestlingonline.com.
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