Professional All-Star Women Wrestling to debut this weekend

The Lioness Cup will feature six women wrestlers at CityReach Church in Charleroi.

By MATT PETRAS
For the MVI

Months ago, Mon Valley Pro Wrestling owner Jason Russo heard something that stuck with him.

“One of my nieces came up to me and said the exact phrase, ‘Some day I want to be a pro wrestler,’” Russo said. “That gave a place in my heart. It was like, well, now it’s time to show my niece that the world of women’s wrestling is vast. It’s something that she could see in the future. We wanted to allow that to be something young ladies could aspire for.”

Hearing this became the impetus for Professional All-Star Women Wrestling (PAW), an offshoot of Russo’s Mon Valley Pro Wrestling (MVP) that will debut with its first event this Saturday evening at CityReach Church in Charleroi.

Doors open at the church, located at 1006 Fallowfield Ave., at 5 p.m. for the 6 p.m. event, dubbed The Lioness Cup. Tickets cost $25 for general admission or $40 for front row seats. (Anyone who brings a canned good or non-perishable item for organizers to donate can purchase general admission tickets for $20 or front row seats for $30.)

Additionally, Gregory Iron, a popular professional wrestler who will be a guest announcer for the event, will also host a seminar at the same venue from 2 to 4 p.m. Admission for the talk, which will cover his experiences with cerebral palsy as well as inside knowledge and advice regarding the professional wrestling industry, costs $20.

“When Gregory Iron found out about PAW happening, he wanted to make sure that he was part of the event,” Russo said.

MVP featured women’s matches and some intergender matches, but primarily featured male talent.

The Lioness Cup will primarily highlight six wrestlers: Angel Metro, Alice Crowley, Gabby Gilbert, Mila Johnson, Arie Alexander and Stacy Lynn Patterson. In forming PAW, Russo wanted top names to be a priority.

“We wanted to not only bring the best in Pennsylvania but the best in the entire country here to the Mon Valley,” Russo said.

MVP has been bringing wrestling to the Mon Valley for years, and with PAW, Russo hopes the scene will grow and attract a wider range of audiences or even future participants.

“When looking at wrestling in general, we always want to strive for the best, but sometimes, we’ve gotta look at the option of, what are we able to bring to an area? The Mon Valley itself has roots in pro wrestling, and Pittsburgh in general has roots deep in pro wrestling,” Russo said. “And we wanted to not only have that heritage and that lineage, but we wanted to create something new for that lineage to continue off of.”