With aspirations to continue extending its footprint throughout Western New York, Empire State Wrestling (ESW) will debut in a new town this weekend in a legendary way with Collision in Cuba as ESW presents Deschfest III.
ESW will hold it’s first-ever show in Cuba, N.Y. at The Old Grey Hound on Saturday, June 15for “Deschfest III: Collision in Cuba” – a charity event. World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Famer Bushwacker Luke will headline the show alongside many of the regular stars of ESW.
Deschfest III: Collision in Cuba is held in memory of Cuba native Zach Deschler, who passed away from cancer a few years ago. The event was founded by fellow Cuba native Kip Doyle, who was Deschler’s close friend.
“I’ve been a fan of ESW for a few years now, and Zach and I used to attend NWA Upstate shows years ago,” Doyle said. “He was a big wrestling fan. The first time I ever saw him he was wearing a denim ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin vest in the hallway in school. He was a huge character and would have made a great fit in the wrestling world.”
ESW presents Deschfest III
The prior Deschfests featured bands. However, this installment will be the first to host professional wrestling. Doyle’s motivation to book pro wrestling on Deschfest is because he would have liked to attend this type of event while growing up in Cuba.
“I know ESW is a very entertaining and high-quality product, so I’m confident they’ll do Zach proud,” Doyle said. “I know some people might associate small town wrestling with low-quality wrestling. That won’t be the case on June 15. ESW maintains a very high standard for its talent. I think people who have never been to an independent wrestling event will be shocked by what they see and how much fun they have.”
Funds will be raised from beverage and food sales, raffles and a 50/50 for Erin Frank and Daniel Morgan – two local residents that are enduring personal health issues themselves. Among the items being raffled off is a football autographed by Buffalo Bills safety Micah Hyde, a handcrafted Buffalo Bills corn hole set, Buffalo Bisons tickets, and several gift baskets.
ESW Tag Team Champions James Sayga and Vince Valor will defend their titles against High Seas, which consists of “Your Captain” Nick Ando and ex-Ring of Honor star Cloudy.
Jerk Cockins will square off against Vinnie Moon of The Universal Era. This is a rematch between the two young up-and-comers from last October when Cockins scored the victory over Moon.
“Vinnie Moon is a strong competitor, Jerk will give him that,” Cockins said. “But history repeats itself and the world’s greatest Jerk has already beaten him once. There’s no doubt that Jerk will do it again. Watch out for the DDT, Vinnie!”
Among the other wrestlers scheduled to appear will be former IMPACT Wrestling star “The Adventurer” Stone Rockwell. It also includes; “The Remix” Kevin Bennett and current ESW Interstate Champion Frankie Feathers.
Pre-sale general admission tickets are $15. Front and second-row tickets are $20. VIP tickets are $35. VIP ticket packages include an event ticket, food and an autograph and photo with Bushwacker Luke.
The show will be held in conjunction with Cuba Dairy Days which includes a local festival and parade. The event starts after the parade at 4 p.m. Live music will be played by classic rock band Stoneclad after the wresting portion of the show. This takes place from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Deschfest III: Collision in Cuba will available for viewing on ESW’s streaming service partners, such as Powerslam.TV, at a later date.
