Zelo Pro ready to play ball with Windy City ThunderBolts
By Mike Pankow
June 19, 2019
Minor league and independent league baseball are always trying to find fun and wacky promotions to help attendance and the Windy City ThunderBolts are no exception.
Laynie Luck, who defeated Elayna Black on April 28, will challenge Britt Baker for the Zelo Pro Women’s Championship during White Castle Wrestling Thursday at Ozinga Park. (Photo by Mike Pankow)
The independent baseball team from Crestwood, a South suburb of Chicago, has hosted pro wrestling in conjunction with local promotions on selected Thursday nights for the last several years.
This year, Chicago-based Zelo Pro Wrestling has stepped in to join the party for five postgame events this season with the first show this Thursday night (June 20) at Ozinga Field following the ThunderBolts doubleheader with the Southern Illinois Miners. First pitch for Game 1 is 5:05 p.m. and the one-hour wrestling show (White Castle Wrestling Thursday) will commence upon the conclusion of Game 2.
Thursday’s card features Britt Baker defending the Zelo Pro Women’s Championship against Laynie Luck. Both Baker and Luck were victorious at Zelo’s last show, Wrestling on Weed St. on April 28 in Chicago. Baker won the championship from Chicago’s Kylie Rae in the main event of that show while Luck pulled out a win over Elayna Black.
In addition, a five-man match will decide the White Castle Championship, featuring former WWE Superstar and Wisconsin native Swoggle (aka Hornswoggle) against Bryce Benjamin, Brubaker, Mason Conrad and Pat Monix. The Blackheart Battalion (led by Shotzi Blackheart), including Storm Grayson and Jason Hades, are also advertised.
The next show is scheduled for Thursday, July 25 with Monix facing former WWE Cruiserweight Champion T.J. Perkins (TJP) as the featured attraction. Other shows will take place August 1, August 15 and August 29.
Eric Priest, pictured at Sports N Signings SuperShow 2 last month, is the current Kaiju Attack Wrestling Champion. (Photo by Mike Pankow)
Kaiju fundraiser: Kaiju Attack Wrestling will hold a special show Saturday afternoon in Northwest suburban Lake in the Hills, the company’s first foray into McHenry County.
The Saturday show titled “We Are Legion!” is a fundraiser for the American Legion Post 1231. Kaiju Attack Wrestling Champion Eric Priest defends the title against Ari Akuma in the main event. In other bouts, Paloma Starr faces Missa Kate in a women’s match and DDS & Vanessa Azure take on Tylor Sullivan and Sierra in a mixed tag team match.
Kaiju was supposed to have a show Sunday afternoon in West suburban Aurora, but it was postponed due to “unforeseen circumstances,” according to its Facebook page. The company will be holding shows in Lemont in July and Glendale Heights in August before returning to The Wire in Berwyn in September.
Ringside chatter: Illiana Pro Wrestling is working with Rocket Pro Wrestling for an event called “Champions Brigade” on Sunday afternoon at the American Legion in Cedar Lake, Ind. Bell time is 5 p.m. and tickets are $10. … Midwest promotions POWW Entertainment, Great Lakes Championship Wrestling and Frontline Pro are teaming up for daily shows at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Ill., in July 3-5. The wrestling events are free with admission into the theme park. … Chicago native Scarlett Bordeaux is now a free agent after IMPACT Wrestling granted her release from the company. Bordeaux (@Lady_Scarlett13) tweeted out to her followers with the question, “Where do you want to see me #makewrestlingsexy again? So, she is fully available to take independent bookings.
