Pro wrestling fans can be part of a tripleheader during VIEX weekend.
The Vancouver Island Exhibition will feature a pro wrestling show on each day of the fair Friday through Sunday (Aug. 19-21) at Beban Park.
Vancouver Island Pro Wrestling and Pure Wrestling Association are teaming up to put on the three shows. Promoter Brent LaPlante said VIPW looks forward to the outdoor wrestling every year.
“Basically it puts more eyes on us and it allows us to gain more interest and traction on the Island,” he said. “We just go there and we do our thing and if they’re interested, they’ll walk up and they’ll stop and they’ll watch for a bit, or they won’t.”
Each day has a different theme. Friday’s card is the King of the Ex tournament, Saturday’s main event is a battle royal and Sunday’s finale puts every championship belt on the line.
Nanaimo wrestler B.J. Laredo is a past winner of the King of the Ex crown and is entered in the tourney again.
“I won it the first year, the second year I was in the finals; this year, obviously, I’m gunning for top spot again,” he said.
Laredo’s tag team partner Scott Steel is also entered in the tournament, and some of the other competitors include Eddie Osbourne, Cremator Von Slasher and Krofton.
Saturday’s battle royal is for more than just bragging rights, as the winner earns a title shot for the belt of his choosing. Saturday's semi-main event sees VIPW women's champion Riea Von Slasher go against high-profile Lower Mainland opponent Nicole Matthews. It’s a rematch from this past spring, when a match in Nanaimo got so out of control that the referee was forced to call it a no contest.
On Sunday, Laredo and Steel will be defending their VIPW tag team championship, but they won’t know their opponents until the day before.
“You can’t prepare for something that you don’t know what you’re going into. It’s impossible to do that,” Laredo said. “You’ve just got to be at the top of your game.”
There is no charge to watch the wrestling other than the cost to attend the fair. Friday’s show starts at 6 p.m., Saturday’s show is also at 6 p.m. and Sunday’s show is at 1 p.m.