It was a "Rumble" to remember at Panorama Ridge Secondary, where close to $2,400 was raised for the school wrestling team on Sept. 26.
A second Rumble at the Ridge fundraiser saw pro wrestling fans gather in the Surrey gym for a Thursday night of entertainment organized by teacher and wrestling team coach Joseph Beland, who moonlights as wrestler Joe Funk at All Star Wrestling events.
"We had around 150 to 170 in attendance, a combination of students, staff and friends and family of the Panorama community," Beland reported.
In the main event, Funk defeated Matt Bronson of West Coast Heavies Ltd.
Other battles saw Thunder from Jalhundar beat Elliot Tyler, Magnum Mel defeat Cherry Blossom, BattleWasp top The Gambler and, in tag-team action, West Coast Heavies Ltd. (Todd Quality and Shawn Murphy, with Lance Skullz) beat Moral Panic (Ren Yoshino and Tommy Chan).
For Rumble at the Ridge 2, tickets were sold for $15 a student or $25 general admission.
Beland helped launch and promote last year's inaugural Rumble.
"The first one raised us just under $3,000 and helped get our team to Port Alberni as well as a couple of athletes who needed some help with getting equipment," he told the Now-Leader in September.
Beland has wrestled at All Star events across B.C. since 2012. He grew up in Surrey and became a teacher five years ago. A decade ago, into the wrestling ring he followed his father, “Freddy Funk,” who started wrestling when Beland was nine years old.
With wrestling in the family blood, Beland saw an opportunity to get students involved in the sport at Panorama Ridge Secondary.
"We started (in 2022) with 11 kids on the team,” the coach said last year. “You know, it was a really great learning experience for everybody, and we wanted to go to this big tournament on the Island that takes place every February. But with taking 11 kids, plus some adults, all on the ferry, multiple cars, plus hotels and all that, it was just a little bit too much to ask for everybody to do. So we weren’t able to go.”
