Metal View – By Mike Vanek Pro Wrestling in Modesto and the Legend of Bobby Hart
This month I will not be writing about Heavy Metal. I will be writing about something I love very much that has a very deep history in Modesto. It’s called Professional Wrestling and I am obsessed with it.
Pro Wrestling has a grand history here in Modesto over the years and this month, I’d like to shed a little light on Modesto’s Wrestling past and present. In the 70’s Roy Shires “Big Time Wrestling” a territory of the NWA which was the National Wrestling Alliance and had territory’s all around the United States. BTW held regular Wrestling matches at City Arena located on 9th Street (Just before the 9th St. Bridge. Coming into Modesto from the Ceres side of the bridge you can see an old 7up mural on its wall.) These matches Featured legends such as Rocky Johnson (The Rock’s Dad) Super Star Billy Graham ( Former WWE Champ), The Crippler Ray Stevens and Pat Patterson (WWE HOF’er) and Modesto was a regular part of the BTW circuit and the BTW had a Regular show on Ch 40 broadcast out of Sacramento until the company stopped production in 1979. In the Mid to late 80’s The World Wrestling Federation would stop in Modesto at local High School Gyms. I actually saw 2 of these shows, one at Davis and one at Downey and I heard there was one at Modesto High where Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior and the Super Stars of the 80’s were all featured.
Now-a-days, wrestling has once again settled here in Modesto. In 2009 Modesto based Pro Wrestler Bobby Hart started his own company right here in Mo Town “I was looking to bring something different to Nor Cal wrestling, I wanted to bring more of a Japanese style of Wrestling to Nor Cal” said Bobby in a recent conversation. So Bobby started PRO WRESTLING BUSHIDO in December of 2009 and since then PWB has become a staple of the Nor Cal Indie Wrestling circuit, not only holding Wrestling shows here in Modesto but in Stockton and other locations all over Nor-Cal and they have built alliances with Supreme Pro Wrestling in Sacramento and Fighting Spirit Pro Wrestling Based in Merced. Since 2009 BPW has hosted dozens of awesome shows featuring wrestlers from all over the world including Former and Current WWE, WCW, ECW, ROH, and TNA Wrestlers Such as Gangrel, Christopher Daniels, Paul London, Jerry Lynn, Loki and many more!!
PWB has also opened a wrestling school where the future of Modesto Wrestling can train and hone their craft. PWB Students Daniel Torch & Savannah Riley have gone on to not only wrestle all across California but nationally as well, plus PWB does events like The Nor Cal Wrestling Hall of Fame where people that opened the doors for Nor-Cal Pro Wrestling have been honored. The X-Fest Battle Royal every year at X-Fest is where the X-Fest Championship is defended. This is a great local company upholding a great legacy of Pro Wrestling in Modesto and is great family entertainment as I proudly take my son to PWB shows!! Please check out “ProWrestling Bushido” on facebook and Support Local Independent Pro Wrestling!!
That’s all for me This Month!! As always “KEEP ONE FOOT IN THE GUTTER AND ONE FIST IN THE GOLD” Mike Vanek
