IWF - April 28th - Before the Bell

by Mike Bradford

This Saturday night, April 28, the Independent Wrestling Federation is hosting an event at the Parks and Recreation building (44 Park Ave) in Nutley, NJ. There is a fan access event that starts 7:00pm and bell time is listed as 7:45. The event is a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. If you attend, not only are you supporting independent wrestling, you’re also supporting a damn good cause. There are tickets still available and I encourage everyone who can attend to show up and have a good time. Fun fact about IWF: the man known as Darren Young on NXT and Smackdown trained and competed there, as did Angelina from the Jersey Shore.

While WWE legends Tito Santana, Marty Jannetty, and Jim Powers are all slated to make appearences, there is one homegrown IWF star that I’m looking forward to watching, and that is Mr. Casino. I’ve been to quite a few independent shows in my time, but this is first time I’m getting the chance to see someone I grew up with perform in the ring. Mr. Casino and I have known each other since grade school, and although he was trained by IWF, Mr. Casino got his first taste of "in ring action" in my backyard. As did many other teenage boys during WWE’s Attitude Era, Mr. Casino, Alex Archer, and myself participated in backyard wrestling. It definitely wasn’t the prettiest wrestling, or the smartest way to kill time as a kid, but we thought we were awesome. (A note from Alex: We were awesome, damnit!

It is with great pride that I will be sitting front row to watch an old friend follow a dream. He and his tag team partner, All-Star Austin Williams, will be going up against The Master Frank Scoleri and Absolutely Edwin for the IWF Tag Team titles. I’ve been excited for Saturday night since the moment he told me that he’d be wrestling, and I’m going to mark out like never before when he’s announced. For a full line up of matches, and schedule of events please visit www.campiwf.com

Good luck, Mr. Casino Do PCW proud.

Contact me on Twitter to discuss this article or anything wrestling : @Bradford_FTLOW | #FTLOW