WALLAND, Tenn. — It's not all about the headlocks, championship belts and body slams.
What happens outside the ring is what's most important to the guys with East Tennessee Championship Wrestling.
"If you have a fundraiser for your ball team or your church group, if you have got a mission trip or something you want to do, reach out to us," founder Roger Rex said.
Rex is a long-time wrestling fan, who's known as 'The Enforcer' in the ring, or as a long-time city of Alcoa Police officer by day.
He said he started the group more than ten years ago and the wrestlers hold fundraisers each match to encourage their fans to donate to various causes across the region, including Second Harvest Food Bank and Alcoa's Shop with a Cop program.
"We've wrestled for schools, we've wrestled for Boys and Girls Clubs, we've wrestled for ball clubs," he said. "One of the most recent fundraisers we did was for IBEW, for a little girl one-year-old that has cancer, and we ended up raising $5,200 for that one night for her."
East Tennessee Championship Wrestling wrestlers train at a facility in Walland, and Rex said they offer people an important escape.
"When you come to a two-hour show, we get to get rid of the outside world," he said. "All their problems go away. They get to cheer for who they want to cheer for. They get to love, and boo. And hate those they want to hate in the ring. For a two-hour time period in the show, it takes you to something you want to do."
Other wrestlers, like Rex Riley, known as 'The Ravishing Rex Riley', and Jonathan McMurray, known as 'J-MAC', produce the shows.
Riley's daughter, Penelope Riley, also plays a part in the matches.
Riley said it's the fans that keep the wrestlers going, and who motivate him to participate in the matches. He said he was hurt badly at one point, and was considering leaving wrestling until he heard a young fan was praying for him.
"He sits there and he prays for me every night," Riley said. "And once I heard that, I realized it wasn't about me, wasn't about (J-MAC) it's not about that, it's about these people that want to come out and they want to come to the show and see these guys. To me, that was everything to me. And that to me, is still the reason I'm still doing what I'm doing."
McMurray said he helps to plan the fundraisers they hold at matches, and that the troupe is working with Ole Ben Franklin Motors to provide bikes to kids at the annual Christmas Night match.
"We live our dream because of this community," McMurray said. "All of us, not just me and him — And all of the wrestlers as a whole, not just me and him. So it means so much."
Some of the wrestling storylines might be made up, but the heart of these guys is as real as can be.
"I spend weekly visits to the chiropractor, I meet my deductible every year in my insurance," a wrestler, known as 'The Goon', said. "Because I love it. This is not easy. If you think this is easy, I dare you to come up here, sign a release form and get into the ring with me. I'll show you how fake it is."
East Tennessee Championship Wrestling is hosting an event on Nov. 23 at the Rocky Branch Community Center in Walland. Doors are at 6 p.m. and people can drop off donations for Alcoa Police Shop with a Cop and ETCW's bike drive at the event.
