A sudden crackdown by the Washington State Department of Licensing
(WSDOL) has put part-time wrestlers in the Seattle Semi-Pro Wrestling
league (SSP) in an awkward position. Last week, SSP wrestler Nathaniel Pinzon, 31—who wrestles
under the name Deevious Silvertongue—received word from WSDOL
that SSP would have to purchase wrestling participant licenses, obtain
insurance, and hire fire department medics for its events (at $520 a
pop) or face sanctions from the state. While SSP disputes that its
staged, scripted, and choreographed events constitute sporting events,
SSP’s all-volunteer membership may soon find itself down for the
count.
SSP celebrated its fifth anniversary with a record attendance show
at the club King Cobra on April 19. Pinzon says nearly 500 people
showed up to watch SSP wrestlers like Ronald McFondle and Weapon of
Mass Destruction—whom Pinzon describes as “George Bush as Captain
America, managed by the corpse of Ronald Reagan”—grapple for
glory. “It’s all performance art,” Pinzon says. “We’re a theater troupe
that portrays a fictional world of pro wrestling. We usually call
ourselves fight cabaret.”
While SSP’s fights draw a crowd, the physical contests are only part
of the fun. SSP matches involve heavy crowd participation, with
wrestlers encouraging attendees to throw their beer cans at villainous
characters and passing out lyric sheets to the crowd so they can join
wrestlers in belting out “We Are the World” and other musical numbers.
“If we do go along with all of [WSDOL’s] demands, the tone of our shows
would drastically change,” Pinzon says.
While SSP clearly isn’t a conventional sporting event, it still may
meet the state guidelines for wrestling, which defines the sport as “a
form of sports entertainment in which the participants… physical[ly]
struggle against each other in the ring and either the outcome may be
predetermined or the participants do not necessarily strive to win, or
both.” While Pinzon believes the language in the state law is “legally
vague,” WSDOL, naturally, doesn’t see it that way.
“The law is in place to help ensure the safety of those who are
participating,” says WSDOL administrator Trudie Touchette. Although SSP
matches do have the potential for injury, Pinzon says he’s only
received bruises and the occasional charley horse during his four years
in the league.
Touchette says the state is prepared to “take action” to get SSP
into compliance. “It could be a fine, it could be a statement of
charges,” Touchette says.
SSP’s next show is scheduled for Wednesday, July 2, at King Cobra.
Because most SSP members have jobs and families—and wrestling
matches usually only net a few hundred dollars, which go right back
into making costumes for the wrestlers—the loosely knit group is
struggling to find the time and resources to appeal the state’s
decision.
Pinzon and his fellow wrestlers are exploring legal means to get
their event reclassified. “We’re still pondering our options,” Pinzon
says. 