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Nanaimo wrestler defeats three opponents with his career on the line

B.J. Laredo wins handicap match in the VIPW main event Saturday at the Departure Bay Activity Centre
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Pro wrestler B.J. Laredo hits his package piledriver finishing manoeuvre on opponent Flex Matthews for the three count during Saturday’s Vancouver Island Pro Wrestling show at the Departure Bay Activity Centre. (GREG SAKAKI/The News Bulletin)

Fans were fired up for Vancouver Island Pro Wrestling’s four-year anniversary show.

One of VIPW’s biggest and most engaged crowds packed the Departure Bay Activity Centre on Saturday for hours of professional wrestling action.

The main event was the match of the night as Nanaimo’s B.J. Laredo was able to defeat three men – Flex Matthews, Eli Surge and Judas Icarus of the Uprising faction – in a handicap match with his wrestling career on the line.

“I had to dig deep, man,” Laredo said. “With everything on the line, it kind of changes it … They would have had to kill me in there to beat me, and obviously they didn’t.”

Laredo was put through a table and then put two opponents through a table leading up to the end of the match. Just when looked like the hometown favourite was about to be defeated, the injured Zakk Merrick emerged from the locker room and in a surprise move, knocked out his former Uprising teammates with a steel chair to help his old training partner Laredo.

In the semi-main event, Eddie Osbourne defeated Gorgeous Michelle Starr.

Brent LaPlante, show promoter, said Saturday’s show was something special and thanked fans, who he said are the reason VIPW thrives.

“This was probably one of my favourite shows ever that we’ve done, and we’re just going to get bigger, we’re just going to get louder,” he said.

In other action Saturday, the VIPW tag-team champions, Surge and Icarus, successfully defended the belts against Riea Von Slasher and Liiza Hall.

Also, Cremator Von Slasher defended his VIPW championship against Krofton due to interference from Nolan James. Lak Siddartha, Scott Steel and Shreddz were some of the other VIPW stars who fought on the eight-match card.

The next VIPW show in Nanaimo will be Nov. 25.

sports@nanaimobulletin.com