ROCKINGHAM — The local band booster club is tag-teaming with an independent wrestling promotion to bring entertainment to the community and revenue to help support the Marching Raiders.
Raider Band Fans will be running concessions this year at shows put on by World Class Extreme Wrestling to raise money for the upcoming band season, which starts in July, according to booster president Randy Stubbs.
“We are trying to purchase a trailer this year to haul our band equipment to and from the games and competitions,” Stubbs said. “We have to rent a truck for every away game and every competition. So this will help start the season off right.”
Among the food being sold will be the group’s “famous Friday night football hot dogs,” Stubbs said.
Stubbs is also a co-owner of the promotion, along with Jeff Patton and Trey Webb.
Patton, who used to wrestle under the name Aaron Devil, said the promotion was first formed around 2000 and ran for about a decade.
Throughout his career, Patton shared the ring with wrestling legends like Abudullah the Butcher and Ricky Morton of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express.
Patton, of Hamlet, moved to Pennsylvania for several years and recently returned home. He, Stubbs and Webb restarted WCEW and have been putting on shows in Anson County since January.
The first Richmond County show, “Rockingham Rumble,” will be this Saturday at the National Guard Armory.
The promotion has three big names on the card for this weekend’s event: TNA/Impact Wrestling’s Suicide; Chris Hamrick, who wresteld with ECW; and former NWA, WCW and WWE (previously the World Wrestling Federation) star the Barbarian.
“As far as our independent talent, we’ve probably got the best locker room we’ve ever had,” Patton said.
In all, there are eight matches on the card.
The promoter added that they have a no profanity rule for their wrestlers to make the shows family friendly.
Doors open at 6 p.m. and the bell rings at 7:15.
