Alley Katz received a return visit Saturday from the local underground wrestling group Richmond Lucha Libre, which promptly converted the popular club into a wrestling ring that knew no bounds.
The event, titled “The Chairshot Heard ‘Round the World” featured a “doomsday deathmatch” between Horrorshow and Kamikaze Kid as the main event.
“We had a great turnout, the crowd was really hyped,” RLL owner Chris Hoyer said. “We’ve been really upping our turnout with each show.”
Hoyer, who wrestles as Horrorshow, was betrayed during the last outing by Kamikaze Kid (James Long), a senior printmaking major at VCU. The face-off between the two was for the Richmond Lucha Championship title.
It began with Kamikaze Kid being thrown into a folding table and ended amid fireballs and Kamikaze gaining the upper hand as his run-in buddies El Sucio and Adrian Blaze held Horrorshow on a table as Kamikaze Kid dove off the second-floor balcony.
“It was a last ditch effort to become the world champion,” Kamikaze explained.
Hoyer will bring Richmond Lucha Libre back to Alley Katz for its next event, but he has bigger plans in mind for the future.
“It’s hard to find good venues in Richmond,” he said. “I’d love to do the Siegel Center.”
Kamikaze feels that the events will continue to gain in popularity because of their intended audience: those who usually look down on professional wrestling.
“By creating a product that is cool and punk rock on the outside, we’re trying to harken back to the days of Hulk Hogan on the inside,” Kamikaze said, breaking with his character for a moment. “It strikes a chord in everybody, no matter who you are.”