The Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center is known as a place where people come for help, but for one night only the center became a house of pain.
More than a dozen wrestlers battled each other Saturday, Dec. 20, during the Stringtown Wrestling Show to help feed families on the west side.
The proceeds raised will help the Stringtown Neighborhood Association buy groceries and toys for several families and their children this holiday season. According to the organization’s president, Frank Staples, about 70 people attended the show.
The match featured wrestlers from several midwestern promotions, including Indiana Powerhouse Wrestling and Midwest Championship International Wrestling.
Some, like “The Pitbull” Rodney Fultz, have heroic personas to inspire the crowd to cheer for them, while others, like Evansville native Jonathan Cooper, work to make the crowd root against them.
Cooper, 46, wrestles under the name “Pothead John.” He was inspired to become a wrestler by watching WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler when he was part of smaller promotions that would frequent Evansville and Louisville.
Cooper has been wrestling for 25 years and will go on as long as his body lets him.
“It hurts like hell. There’s no spring under there. There’s no big cushion. That’s metal, wood and flesh. We go home with the bumps and bruises, but we go to the next town and do it all over again,” Cooper said.
He said the fans inspire him to keep going despite the pain.
“There’s no better feeling than having the fans looking at you, cheering or booing you because you’re doing your job,” Cooper said. “I’ve connected with every single person in that building, and my main goal is to make sure that when I leave here, they remember who I am.”
Some fans, like Jacqueline Ardon and her grandsons Prince Copeland and Miah Gomezcea, quickly got into the spirit of the show and booed loud enough to grab the attention of the wrestlers, including “Big Whiskey” Jared Kripke, who was featured in Netflix’s Wrestlers show.
For others, like West Indianapolis resident Hilary Cain and her two kids, the Stringtown Wrestling Show was the first time they had a chance to see a match in person.
“The kids were super excited when they all came out,” she said. “I think it’s really awesome that they’re doing this for the neighborhood.”
Staples said he hopes to schedule more fundraising wrestling events at Mary Rigg next year.
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Mirror Indy reporter Enrique Saenz covers west Indianapolis. Contact him at 317-983-4203 or enrique.saenz@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on Bluesky at @enriquesaenz.bsky.social.
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