Pro wrestling coming to Port Royal. ‘They asked me if they could jump out of trees’
Professional wrestling is coming to Shellring Ale Works in Port Royal Sunday, and James Barrett of the Phoenix Wrestling Experience promises a “big cast of characters.”
Dubbed the Riverside Rumble, the spectacle will feature four matches in a ring set up near Battery Creek.
The compelling lineup of performers will include the Top Tier Athlete, known for his impeccable nutrition habits; the flamboyant Saturday Night Scream, whose wardrobe includes a top hat and lots of feathers; and Barrett, whose ring persona is “Cowboy James Hunter.”
Tickets are available online at eventbrite.com. You can also buy them at the event. Doors open at 1:30 p.m., and the show starts at 3. General admission $10.
Expect 2 to 2 1/2 hours of “electrifying matches and adrenaline-pumping action” suitable for the entire family.
“We try to keep the entertainment level high so that way we can keep everybody coming back,” Barrett says. “You can totally bring your kids.”
Barrett, who has 24 years in the wrestling business, and some of his peers started the Augusta-based Phoenix Wrestling Experience last year.
The underlying mission of the professional wrestling organization is a little different from big-time pro wrestling organizations like the WWE, whose stars perform at huge venues and on TV.
PWE gives a portion of its proceeds from matches to good causes. Some of the ticket sales from the Shellring Ale Works matches, for example, will go to HELP of Beaufort, a not-for-profit providing food, clothing, household items and financial assistance to those in need.
PWE also is developing a school for wrestlers who are turning their lives around after hard times.
“A lot of my guys have come from different struggles and different things, including myself,” Barrett says.
The organization is named after the mythical Phoenix bird that obtains new life by rising from the ashes.
A couple of PWE performers have made it to the top tiers of professional wrestling, but most are up and coming or have worked in the background of the sport, Barrett says.
The Sunday show in Port Royal is the first stop in a Georgia Carolina Brewery Tour.
PWE will bring its own ring, which will be set up near Battery Creek, Shellring Ale Works owner Nick Borreggine said. He’s expecting an entertaining show based on his conversations with PWE officials.
“They asked me if they could jump out of the trees,” Borreginne said with a laugh. The ring, however, won’t be situated in a place that will allow a stunt like that, he said.
Borreggine compares the PWE to minor league sports. He reached out to the organization because he’s always looking for “something new and interesting.”
“Our mission is to bring the community together,” Borreggine says. “Anything that fits that, whether it’s politics to discuss a certain candidate, whether it’s green drinks to discuss how we can protect our environment to a wrestling match.”
