GILROY—When John LaRocca got the idea to start his own wrestling company, he had a specific vision for it. He wanted a high energy event that was entertaining, but not overly dramatic like its WWE counterpart. LaRocca wanted it to be a platform to teach good sportsmanship to a family friendly audience and with that, Premier Wrestling was born.
Gilroyans will get to experience Premier Wrestling and its values for themselves when it hosts its next event at 5 p.m. Aug. 10 at the IFDES Lodge-Portuguese Hall, 250 Old Gilroy St., Gilroy. It will feature nine matches, including the main event for the Premier Heavyweight Championship between current champion Jeff Cobb and challenger JR Kratos.
“The wrestlers are a mix of different experiences,” LaRocca said. “Some guys have been wrestling 10 years; some guys have been wrestling for one year. They’re all trained professionals. Our champion, Jeff Cobb, he wrestled in the 2004 Olympics and he represented Guam. He’s an unbelievable athlete. We’ve got all shapes and sizes.”
LaRocca got his start in pro wrestling in 1997, working for the Hayward-based All Pro Wrestling organization as a booker, manager and even a “bad guy” character. In 2013, he decided to start Premier to focus more on the sport of wrestling than anything else.
“It’s WWE-style, but instead of focusing on the theatrics, the goofiness that you normally see, we kind of scale it back to more of a sport,” LaRocca said. “It’s pro-wrestling with a mixed martial arts vibe. … We have the good guys, the bad guys and all that, but you also have matches with guys that’s good versus good and the match ends with a handshake. I want to teach kids the importance of good sportsmanship and competition and it doesn’t have to all be goofiness.”
LaRocca, a San Jose resident, decided to bring his vision to Gilroy after noticing a lack of events like his in the community. Premier has previously hosted events at the 9Lives Club in Gilroy—before it closed it’s doors—and at Portuguese Hall in March. He said he’s hoping more South County residents turn out to experience what Premier has to offer.
“They can expect family fun and action,” LaRocca said. “Premier events are for all ages. We like to have little kids out there and entertain them for a good two to three hours of action.”
Tickets are $15 at the door or can be bought online for $10 at http://embed.showclix.com/event/3859360.
