WORCESTER—If there was an official professional wrestling capital of New England, Worcester would certainly be the number one contender.
From periodic stops of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) tour at the DCU Center to wildly popular amateur matches every Thursday night at the White Eagle, this city sure loves its wrestling, even when it’s held outdoors.
The minor league baseball season might be over, but there were still plenty of big hits at Polar Park last week when Big Time Wrestling body slammed its way into town.
A cool and misty evening provided the backdrop for a star-studded grappling card that featured guest appearances from three members of the WWE Hall of Fame: Sting, “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan and The Godfather.
Sting, a wrestling icon who gained worldwide popularity, is a 15-time champion in World Championship Wrestling (WCW). When the World Wrestling Federation was led by Hulk Hogan in the 1980s and 1990s, the WCW countered with Ric Flair and Sting. Clad in his traditional all-black wardrobe and signature black and white face paint, Sting opened the event by welcoming the crowd and thanking them for all their support throughout the years. He even tried his hand at pronouncing Worcester.
“It’s good to be in Woostah,” he said to the delight of many local wrestling fanatics in attendance, predominantly Gen Xers who came out to support their childhood heroes from days gone by.
After Tommy Dreamer disposed of Channing Thomas in the opening match, Duggan made his way to the ring carrying his traditional wooden two-by-four while periodically yelling his signature call of “Hooooooooooooooo!”
“A lot of people in this world don’t understand, the reason this is the land of the free is because it’s the home of the brave,” Duggan patriotically bellowed before leading the crowd in a chant of “U-S-A!”
Wearing a blue and red Worcester Red Sox jacket and black fedora, The Godfather took center stage next as a guest ring announcer for a women’s matchup between Kelsey Heather and Tina San Antonio. He emphatically and humorously reminded the crowd of his blunt but trademark life advice that “Pimpin’ ain’t easy.”
The action picked up with a high-flying, acrobatic match between masked opponents Kalisto and Ichiban. Despite a valiant effort from Ichiban, the student could not outdo the teacher as Kalisto, the former WWE star and member of the Lucha Dragons, earned the three-count for the victory.
As an appetizer to the evening’s main event, a matchup of Massachusetts natives Danny Miles (Palmer) and Teddy Goodz (Fall River) for the Big Time Wrestling (BTW) championship followed. Guest referee Flex Armstrong presided over a technically sound performance from each competitor, but in the end it was Goodz who outlasted Miles to lay claim to the BTW championship belt.
The night came to a dramatic close when former WWE stars Matt Riddle and Elias squared off in the prime time slot. Riddle, known more affectionately as “The Original Bro,” is an athletic and agile wrestler who began his career as a competitor in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) before participating in the WWE from 2018 to 2023. Elias, a guitar-playing drifter, earned notoriety for his successful stints in NXT and the WWE beginning in 2014.
In addition to his acoustic guitar, Elias wore something of local significance into the ring—a red W6 WooSox jersey that commemorates the passing of six Worcester firefighters who lost their lives in a fire nearly 25-years ago on Dec. 3, 1999. Riddle opted for his traditional laid-back, “surfer” appearance of a gold and black sequined jacket with matching wrestling trunks, a black baseball cap and flip flops.
During the match, the W6 jersey changed hands from Elias to Riddle, who acted like he needed to put it on to warm up from the chilly temperature. Both Elias and Riddle displayed their youth and professional prowess with a bevy of impressive and dangerous aerial maneuvers. The match went back and forth until Riddle ultimately capitalized with a Randy Orton style “RKO” to put Elias away for good. Avid wrestling fans are sure to recall that Riddle and Orton formed the popular tag team of RK-Bro in the WWE.
At the end of the match, Riddle took to the microphone and presented the signed W6 jersey to Angelo Bongovio, a former member of the Worcester Fire Department who responded to the devastating fire back in 1999. Bongovio now works security at Polar Park.
Between iconic professional wrestlers and brave firefighters, the event provided quite a memorable night of heroes in the commonwealth’s heart of wrestling.
Mike Vigneux is a freelance writer in Worcester with more than 20 years of experience in the fields of municipal government, communications, and public relations. An avid fan of all sports, Mike enjoys telling the stories of local athletes and their teams. He holds two degrees from Clark University, a bachelor of arts in Communication and a master of science in Professional Communication. He can be reached at Mikevigs@gmail.com
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