Everyone wants to be a star, but usually those dreams of fame
and fortune taper off as age grabs hold and reality sets in. For
some people, even though they know stardom is out of reach, they
still hold on to those dreams and persevere.
Ken Crowe a lifelong Hollister resident, had dreams of being a
professional wrestler from the first time his father took him to
see legends such as Pat Paterson, Pepper Gomez and Moon Dog Mane
when he was 4 years old.
Everyone wants to be a star, but usually those dreams of fame and fortune taper off as age grabs hold and reality sets in. For some people, even though they know stardom is out of reach, they still hold on to those dreams and persevere.
Ken Crowe a lifelong Hollister resident, had dreams of being a professional wrestler from the first time his father took him to see legends such as Pat Paterson, Pepper Gomez and Moon Dog Mane when he was 4 years old.
After years of dreaming and training, Crowe’s dreams came true when he was 15 and he began training and wrestling with professionals.
“The first time I went to train, I got the living shit beat out of me,” he said, “but I kept coming back for more so they started being easier on me.”
After breaking into the business, Crowe’s parents had mixed reactions about his obsession he planned to turn into a profession.
“My dad introduced me to wrestling and when he saw me rubbing elbows with guys he saw on TV, he was like, ‘Oh my God,'” he said. “My mother was the one who kind of freaked out about it.”
Crowe worked at several different jobs while going on the road, wrestling at shows. The traveling wrestling circuit could be very brutal, driving 5 to 10 hours to a show, performing, and then receiving a very small stipend for the effort.
“There’s little or no money involved unless you’re a big star,” he said. “Most guys do it because they love it.”
In 1996, Crowe got involved with Big Time Wrestling, a company he helped to launch. He held his shows at Marguerite Maze Middle School, but didn’t feel welcome there, so he took his training school and company to Newark, at the Newark Pavilion.
Crowe worked as a tree cutter for 11 years to supplement his wrestling career, but in 1998 he suffered an almost fatal accident at work that dashed his dreams of ever making it big.
“It’s just not in the cards for me to make it big,” he said. “It was taken from me, but I’m not bitter about it.”
After several surgeries, Crowe went through a bout of depression. He credits his friends with bringing him out of that depression by suggesting he get into wrestling promotion.
“I’ve realized there’s a lot to deal with in promotion, but it’s worth it,” he said. “My goal is to hit pay-per-view and to have a show right downtown during the 4th of July Rally.”
On the independent level, people get to see the superstars of yesterday and the superstars of tomorrow, but Crowe is working on bringing in the superstars of today to his venues, he said. At his next show, Friday Oct. 10 at the Newark Pavilion, he booked Jeff Hardy of the Hardy Boyz – one of the biggest stars for the WWE.
“He’s an expensive guy to bring in, but I just want to provide an entertaining show to our town,” he said. “That’s what I live for – making sure people get their money’s worth.”
Crowe has been in the gym, training for something he’s been working towards for a long time – to be able to get back in the ring and do what he loves, he said.
“If everything works out, in January I’ll be hitting the ring again,” he said. “It’s a little bit harder when you get older, though.”
Performing is what has driven Crowe his entire life. “When you perform well and the crowd pops, it’s such a high. It doesn’t matter whether it’s 200 people or 25,000 people.”
Crowe’s alias in the ring is a secret until he actually gets back in it, but some people have compared him to a wrestler named “Crush” in the past.
“He wore make-up and shoulder pads and to this day they still make that comparison when they look at me,” he said. “I just smile at them – but it’s kinda nice in a way.”
