Pick your champion and listen for the bell to ring. Max Pro Wrestling is partnering up with Rock Solid Wrestling out of Sudbury to bring Timmins Gold Rush 2018. This wrestling show is kid friendly, and will feature some big names in the ring, including Maximum Pro Wrestling’s Heavy Weight Champion Tyler Tirva and ring vet Jake O’Reily. They’ll be in the ring facing Timmins rabble-rouser Tornado, and a mystery partner who even the organizers don’t know the identity of.

“I really don’t know who his partner’s going to be,” Rick Lemieux, organizer of the event said. “And I’m organizing the event with Marc Ethier and we still don’t know who it is. So I’m excited to find out who it is.”

The last time Tornado was in the ring in Timmins, he turned his back on the crowd and knocked out the champion out of jealousy. We’ll see what surprises he might have in store for this year’s event.

Other big names coming to the ring for this year’s event include Pro Wrestler, Notorious TID/Big Ben facing Scotty the Body/Kid Supremo. And the first match of the night goes to the ladies. KC Spinelli will face Gisele Shaw. Jack Damage will also be there, going up against the wily high-flyer, Anthony Darko.

It’s all happening at Ecole Secondaire Catholique Theriault this Saturday, and for the first time ever, the matches will be broadcast live on East Link TV. This will be the first live broadcast for an independant wrestling organization in Canada. And the organizers are stressing that this show is kid-friendly and for the whole family. “This is a clean wrestling show,” said Lemieux. “So you can bring your kids and have a good time watching some talent from Ontario.”

Though this event is going to be packing the punches, it was organized with a lot of heart. Marc Ethier and Rick Lemieux put this year’s event together after the original organizer, Mike Patry, passed away last year. Patry and Lemieux first brought wrestling to Timmins in the early 2000’s, and when Rick stepped back for other committments, Mike took over completely. When Mike passed away in 2017, Rick knew he and Ethier had to keep this going.

“After he passed away I remember thinking, ‘Well, I don’t want wrestling to be done here in Timmins,'” Rick said. “And without Mike pushing it, it was probably going to be done. So I got together with Marc Ethier and we decided that’s it, let’s keep bringing this back.”

There’s a title dedicated to Patry, with a belt that has his daughter’s name on the back. His business name, Crow Promotions is on the belt as well. There was a tournament for the title last year.

The event itself is supporting a heart-warming cause. The money raised at this event is going to the leadership camp, Camp Bickell for 100 teenagers in Timmins. The organizers are hoping to raise money for some guest speakers at the camp, which will hopefully be free for the local teens to attend.

Gold Rush 2018 is going to be fun, kid-friendly and packed with action and surprises. And the fans are who the organizers really want to see on the big night. “We want the loudest fans in Timmins to come out,” Lemieux said, “because that’s what it’s all about. We want the fans to cheer and boo. That’s the best thing about wrestling. So it’s just a fun night for the family.”

Gold Rush Live Pro Wrestling is this Saturday at Ecole Secondaire Theriault. Doors open at 6:30 and the bell time is 7 P.M. Tickets are available at Alfie’s Cigar store and Wicked Stuff in the Timmins Square, and online at the Rock Solid website. Tickets are $20 for ringside seats and $15 for general seating.