Hit Me with Your Best Shot

By Kim Dunbar

The glory days of chair-hitting, trash-can-throwing, table-bashing wrestling are back, thanks to Powerhouse Wrestling (PHW), a Worcester-based underground wrestling league.

PHW, founded a decade ago by Chris Setaro, has always had a steady fan following. However, the organization is emerging as the area’s biggest wrestling and entertainment organization due in part to its dedication to the return of old-style wrestling.

“We are about entertainment, but don’t take anything away from the wrestlers,” Setaro said. He added that PHW is the new version of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), focusing on a more hardcore, underground style, and not nearly as fake as the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). “We are working on getting bigger, better, stronger athletes,” he said.

PHW will showcase these athletes and old-style wrestling ~ which Setaro describes as the kind of wrestling fans haven’t seen in a long time ~ during their next live show on May 22. The upcoming “Hardcore Reunion III” show is one of three live events the company hosts during the year (each drawing crowds of 800-plus fans), in addition to a bi-weekly television show airing on Charter TV Channel 25.

PHW’s May show will feature seven matches, including a Tag team, Iron Man, and female championship defense event.

“The $20 you spend on the ticket will be well worth it,” Setaro promised. “Even those who aren’t wrestling fans will be by the end of the night.”

Setaro has big hopes for PHW’s future, including the possible opening of a wrestling school in Worcester and plans to start bringing his show on the road.

“Hopefully we will be touring next year,” he said. Potential sites include New Hampshire, New York and Montreal.

“We’ve been around for ten years and we’re just going to get better and better,” Setaro said.

For details on PHW, log on to powerhousene.tripod.com.