OWA is a wrestling company that has been having amazing shows featuring some of the top wrestlers in the independent scene today. On top of this, they also like to make sure that they give back to the community of Columbus, OH, make sure the wrestling scene there is thriving and showcase some of the top talent from marginalized groups in wrestling. OWA has done this in the past with their Good Trouble shows, which have featured some of the best black wrestlers in the country. There have been 4 Good Trouble shows so far and they are currently available on IWTV. The name for these shows comes from a quote from the great civil rights leader John Lewis, who said, “Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”
On November 11th OWA looks to start a new chapter and celebrate the LGBTQ community with “Fight 4 Pride”. This event will feature some of the top LGBTQ wrestlers in the country and will do so in support of The Kaleidoscope Youth Center. At a sit-in at The House of Representatives after the shooting at the LGBTQ nightclub, Pulse, in Orlando, John Lewis said, “We have been too quiet for too long. There comes a time when you have to say something. You have to make a little noise. You have to move your feet. This is the time.”
You may not think that a wrestling show has the power to change anything, but whenever kids, young adults or anyone sees someone that looks like them, lives like them, loves like them, and sees them in a powerful position and living their dream, it gives hope. So, on November 11 OWA will be making some noise, moving their feet and supporting the LGBTQ community.
In action on this night, you will see both members of the former GCW tag team champions Effy and Allie Katch. Effy is an absolute star in and out of the ring. Outside of the ring Effy has a very successful Twitch channel where he is often joined by his boyfriend and adorable dog. On Mondays Effy hosts Monday Not Raw, where he watches independent wrestling with his viewers with a focus on LGBTQ wrestlers. Effy also has a podcast called Weekend at Effy’s where he recaps some of his adventures that he encounters being a pro wrestler. On top of all of that Effy is the voice of the demonic wrestler Asmodeus on the incredible Netflix show Dead End: Paranormal Park. This show is based on the graphic novel series DeadEndia and focuses on the adventures of Barney Guttman, a gay transgender teen who gets a job at a haunted amusement park.
Effy has done all kinds of things to make wrestling better for LGBTQ wrestlers and fans alike, like hosting EFFY’S BIG GAY BRUNCH, an event that has happened at multiple WrestleMania weekend events. He also has a clothing line simply called Wrestling is Gay. However, once “Yellow Brick Road” by Elton John hits and Effy comes to the ring in his leather studded jacket he is all business and is one of the toughest wrestlers on the planet.
Effy is going to need to use all that toughness and experience in the main event at Fight 4 Pride as he is going to be challenging AC Mack for the OWA Championship. AC Mack has been very busy making history himself. When AC Mack defeated Alex Shelley, who has been a champion all over the world in places like IMPACT Wrestling, Ring of Honor and New Japan, he became the IWTV Champion. This made AC Mack the first openly gay male wrestler to hold a World Championship.
AC was not happy with just winning that championship, he took on all challenges once he won the belt in January, defending it against everyone from 17-year-old indie wrestling superstar Billie Starkz to 51 year old legend Scoot Andrews. In this match AC Mack is putting the OWA title on the line against Effy. This is a title that he won in a triple threat match against Cole Radrick and Tre Lamar in April. AC is very talented in the ring, and he will let you know this, as he tells the crowd to SHUSH, but we will see if he will be able to quiet the very boisterous and loud Effy in a main event between not just two of the best queer wrestlers, but two of THE BEST wrestlers in the world today.
Taking on Effy’s tag team partner Allie Katch will be a rising star, who has been making a name for herself all over the Midwest in Joseline Navarro. Joseline is an incredibly tough wrestler, but she may be in the ring with one of the toughest competitors in wrestling today. Allie has ditched her former Kat persona and has taken a more serious approach to wrestling. In the past year Allie has taken on the likes of the current AEW Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa, AEW star Ruby Soho and former WWE and IMPACT champion Mickie James. Allie has also competed against some of the toughest men and women that professional wrestling has to offer, often in hardcore and death matches, including a Monster’s Ball match against Masha Slamavich on Impact Wrestling. Allie does this all while looking amazing. Her looks run the spectrum from stunning Lady Gaga inspired gear to a tee shirt and a cigarette when she portrayed Al Katch at The Cassandro Cup.
While Allie may be the favorite to win the match, she is entering the home of Joseline Navarro, who is coming off a win at Good Trouble Volume 4 against Matt Diesel. Joseline is someone who has an incredibly flashy look and is all smiles and dancing whenever she comes to the ring, but once that bell rings, she is as tough as anyone. Joseline has been wrestling since 2016, but her career really started to catch fire once she started training at the AIW Academy in 2021 and forced herself onto their main roster by defeating everyone that was put in her way. This should be an amazing match, as Joseline will attempt to prove that she deserves the big matches that Allie is getting.
Joseline’s partner, in and out of the ring, Isaiah Broner will be looking to use his power to take out Ashton Starr. Ashton is a very entertaining and athletic wrestler who mixes his training as a wrestler from AR Fox and QT Marshall with his love of the Divas Era of wrestling and all Divas in general. Ashton has been ranked in the Pro Wrestling Illustrated top 500 wrestlers in the past 3 years and was number 9 in Outsports top 200 queer wrestlers of 2021. Brian Bell from Outsports said of Ashton, “Starrfire in the flesh, Overkill in the ring, Ashton Starr put everyone on notice with exemplary performances from coast to coast.”
Ashton will have to use all of his athleticism and ring smarts to counter the devastating power from Isaiah Broner. Broner is a former college football player, who has been known as The Midwest’s Best Kept Secret, however over the past two years his name has been more well known in the independent wrestling scene. Broner has captured the Paradigm Pro Heavy Hitter’s title, stood toe to toe with the legend Minoru Suzuki and appeared on AEW Dark. This match is going to be a clash of styles and each combatant brings their own very unique and deadly skills to the ring.
In addition to those matches OWA will have 2 triple threat matches. The first is sure to be a hard-hitting match, where Matthew Justice, Manders and Joshua Bishop will trade punches, clotheslines and probably some chair shots too. The other triple threat match, Lobo Okami will look to slow down the incredible quickness and athleticism of Don’t Die Miles and Rico Gonzalez. In tag team action The Ody will go up against Pretty Flawless.
In a statement promoting the event OWA stated that one of the reasons that they started the company was to introduce pro wrestling to communities that aren’t typically seen as wrestling fans. They believe the best way to do this is to show them that people in their community already exist in this world. Therefore, OWA is working with the Kaleidoscope Youth Center to bring a group of young, potentially at-risk LGBTQ wrestlers to the show and have them meet the wrestlers.
This event will be a unique and fun experience for everyone that attends.
For more information on OWA check out their website at ohiowrestlingA1.com or on Twitter at @OhioWrestlingA1.
More information on Kaleidoscope Youth Center is available at kycohio.org