Wildwood has always been known for professional wrestling.
Whether it was the World Wrestling Federation stopping by Wildwood Convention Hall a few times each summer or the hottest independent wrestling promotions holding shows at the building, whenever wrestling is held at the arena, the fans come out.
And nobody has brought more shows to Wildwood over the past 30 years than Tommy Fierro.
The Lincoln Park native who grew up in Paterson has been promoting shows at the Shore town since the 1990s, and after a long hiatus, he started coming back to Wildwood boardwalk a few years back.
It was a once-a-summer treat for fans, but after a huge event in July, they’re back again in August with another huge show.
“We had a great turnout,” Fierro said about his promotion, Independent Stars of Pro Wrestling, which held a show in July in Wildwood. “The amazing part about doing these events is that it's in a huge tourist area in New Jersey. Wildwood is probably the No. 1 town to vacation at for families. There's a different crowd every week.
“Back in the late 90s, I would do weekly events at the old Convention Center every week. So after our event on July 23, I asked the Convention Center if I can do another one the following month. I have a great relationship with them; their staff is incredible and some of the nicest people you will ever meet. So we quickly put everything together for another installment of Legends of Wrestling Thursday, Aug. 20 at the Wildwoods Convention Center.”
It’s a night for the fans, but it’s also a fun night for the wrestlers.
Fierro routinely holds wrestling cards across New Jersey, featuring some of the best young talent and experienced veterans from the area.
But when he does his shows in Wildwood, he always brings out some of the biggest legends of the game and this week is no different.
Appearing at the event to sign autographs will be Sgt. Slaughter, Demolition, Gangrel, Doink, Snitsky, the Sandman, the Headbangers, Justin Credible, Bushwhacker Luke and Dawn Marie.
Bringing to old school stars help make the night fun for the parents who bring their kids to the show.
“I own 80s Wrestling Con, 90s Wrestling Con, and The Wrestling Collector store in Sussex County, so I am always working with the bigger stars,” Fierro said. “I love when I can combine them all together and use the older stars to draw in the crowd and then once the fans are in the building- I hook them on our young, current, and hungry Independent stars. The goal for these events are getting fans to come to see the Legends of Wrestling and they leave as fans of ISPW after seeing some of the best unsigned talent in the wrestling business on this planet.
“It's incredible. I grew up going to old WWF shows at the old Convention Center in Wildwood every summer as a kid. I saw Sgt. Slaughter at a show there in the 80s in Wildwood and now next Thursday he's the headline talent for my event. It's always surreal for me when I have all my childhood heroes working my events; I had all their action figures, shirts, and posters as a kid growing up.”
It’s a great night for fans and Fierro, but also a great night for the wrestlers who return to the arena (well, it’s a new arena across from the old one, but the same block) where they starred in their younger days.
“The Headbangers won the ISPW Tag Team Titles at the show last month in Wildwood and they are retiring at the end of this year on our big Christmas show on Dec. 26 at the Parsippany PAL in Parsippany,” Fierro said. “To be able to have them as our tag team champions in their final months of in-ring competition is extremely special for me, especially because I have known those guys forever and they are Jersey Boys! Same with Dawn Marie! She's a Jersey girl. I have known her since the day she broke into the wrestling business. One of the sweetest, nicest people you will ever meet in your entire life. She went on to have a great career in ECW and WWE. She's also all in the news right now because her OnlyFans page that just debuted, so it's amazing timing having her at the event next week. It's always super cool to work with people you knew when they were just breaking in that went on top become big stars in our industry.”
On top of seeing the stars of yesterday, there will be eight matches, including Justin Corino vs. GKM vs. Ricky Pryce vs. Alex Reiman vs. Vargas vs. LSG for the ISPW championship. The Headbangers will defend the tag team championship and Justin Credible will battle Gangrel.
Tickets will be sold at the door and are available online.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Wrestling legends return to the Wildwood boardwalk