Empire State Keystone presents Crisis. Empire State Wrestling will hold its first event of 2025 this Saturday. The event will be under its Keystone brand in Erie, Penn. at the Saga Club. The event, called “Crisis”, will feature a mix of Erie-based wrestlers and wrestlers from ESW’s main roster.
However, this event will also be a last. Upon news that the Saga Club was acquired by new ownership, this will be the final ESW Keystone event held there. The closing occurs nearly one calendar year since ESW expanded into Pennsylvania by buying the previous home promotion at the venue, Pro Wrestling Rampage, and converted it into ESW Keystone.
The main event is scheduled for “The Black Sheep” Benett Cole to take on Zach Nystrom. Cole is a very familiar name to the Erie wrestling scene who frequently competed at previous Saga Club wrestling events. This will be the first time he’s wrestled a match under the ESW banner.
Cole spoke about Crisis in an interview on Erie News Now this Monday which you can watch here:
Empire State Keystone presents Crisis
Nystrom last wrestled for ESW at its April 2024 event in Medina, N.Y. as part of a scramble match. A regular of the Pittsburgh, Penn. independent wrestling scene, this will also be Nystrom’s first appearance with the Keystone brand. He called Cole out in this video clip: here
Since then, Cole responded to Nystrom in this strongly worded promo. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1AjoGCe59C/
The Lake Erie Championship will be on the line when current champion Dakoda Orion squares off against Aiden Hall. Orion defeated Delsin Alekzander in his last title defense in October 2024. At the same event, Hall was victorious while teaming with Matthew Jaeger versus Kash Inc.
A new No. 1 contender for the Lake Erie Title will be determined at Crisis. A four-way elimination scramble match will be held between “The Gashed” Darren Crowe, “Buckwild” Tommy K, “The Collector” Dave Bentley and Ryze.
Crowe channeled an even darker side of himself in preparation for this match. You can view this spooky clip here:
Meanwhile, Tommy K spoke about how he will look to continue to leave his mark on the wrestling business in this match in this video: here
Bentley entered the title scene after beating Dan Macchio in October. Ryze scored a win over Jeremiah Richter on the same bill.
Richter will look to bounce back at Crisis when he squares off against longtime Erie staple J.J. Rumham. This will be Rumham’s first time wrestling for ESW.
Another singles bout will be Matt McCoy versus “The Shot” Cal Keaton. McCoy will attempt to build off his victory in October when he tagged with Tommy K against Williams Gaines and Groff in an Erie Street Fight. Keaton faced Brennan The First in singles action on the same night.
Gaines and Groff are scheduled to appear at Crisis. Also set to appear is ESW Keystone newcomer “The Parlay” Jack Isaac. A product of the Buffalo Wrestling Academy, Isaac is a youngster that hails from Erie who is hungry to leave his mark on the wrestling scene.
Ticket prices were lowered for Crisis. Front row seats are $15 and general admission is $12. Physical tickets are available at Actiontoyman in Erie. Online tickets are sold on ESWTIX.com, where service fees apply. Ticket prices rise by $5 at the door.
Doors open at the Saga Club at 5 p.m. with the opening bell set for 6 p.m.
Moving forward, a search for new venues for ESW Keystone events to be held is already under way. The focus is not just in Erie itself, but also areas within its metro area and Northwest Pennsylvania as a whole. Stay tuned to ESW Keystone’s social media platforms for further developments.
