There were thrills, chills and shills in the town with mills as pro wrasslin made a stop in Port Alberni.
More than 80 fans filled Cherry Creek Hall to watch a championship match, tag team, lady brawlers and flying leaps off the top ropes. The action was non-stop but there was no gore to be seen.
"You're not going to see any blood here. We rely on athleticism, skill and showmanship to entertain the crowd, a lot of which are kids and families," Cody Washington, aka the Cremator said. "I don't think that they left disappointed tonight."
Washington knows what it's like to be a fan in a hall watching the action. He first saw pro wrestling at the old Alberni Athletic Hall on Beaver Creek Road in 1997 and watched the heroes he only saw on TV.
"I saw Hubert "The Terminator" Sester, Diamond Timothy Flowers, and Bad News Allan," Washington said. "There were some big names that came through Port Alberni. Nice guys too."
At Cherry Creek Hall, wrestlers wandered about the crowd chatting and playing it up. "The ECCW is different in that way. We have more contact with the fans. You can get close and talk," Washington said.
After the match, wrestlers and staff kibitzed among themselves and helped take down the ring before heading to a local watering hole to wind down before heading back to their lives. "A lot of us work regular jobs and are you're average nine-to-five Joes' and Janes'," Washington said.
From the ticket clerk, to the announcer, to the wrestlers the group gave the impression they are on the fringe of society but not in wrestling. "We're like outcasts that don't fit in anywhere else. We're like those characters in the island of misfit toy's," Washington said. "We fit together here though and are like a tribe: mess with one and you mess with all."
Washington said he likes what he saw in Alberni. He wants to return with another ECCW card in March and hopes to draw 100's of fans.
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