Missouri Wrestling Revival

Wrestling matches find devoted followers

August 14, 2011 5:00 PM
By FRED POLLARD

If there is one thing that makes Matt McDarby, founder and co-owner of Metro East Championship Wrestling cringe, it is the word “rasslin’.”

“I hate that word,” McDarby, 26, said. “That is not what we do and that is not what we are about.”

McDarby, along with fellow co-owner Daniel Guffey and sponsorship and advertising rep Shawn Soto, has provided family-friendly wrestling events at the K of C Hall in Wood River since 2007.

“We market ourselves as a family-friendly show,” McDarby said. “This is cheap family entertainment. We don’t have outrageous prices on concessions. Many people who come to our shows cannot afford to drop a lot of money on food and tickets, so we keep our prices low.”

McDarby, who is from St. Louis, previously ran a wrestling school across the river, in the old Globe Democrat building. He met Daniel Guffey and Shawn Soto through the school.

“Daniel came in to be trained,” McDarby said. “Within three months he was ready for his first match.”

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