Mayor Adam Stockford pinned his pro-Russia opponent Victor Petrov, the referee slapped the ground, and the Hillsdale County Fairgrounds erupted with cheers and applause.
Championship International Wrestling returned to Hillsdale Oct. 28, welcoming Stockford to the fight for a second year in a row.
This year’s Halloween themed event, “Haunted Havoc,” boasted six matchups, a children’s Halloween contest, multiple raffles, and even wrestlers autographing pictures.
Before the fight, the Modfather, the handler of Stockford’s opponent, bet Stockford the office of mayor for 30 days and the keys to the city.
After knocking Petrov to the ground, Stockford gave words of warning:
“Any other Cossack Commie that comes to Hillsdale can count on a flying clothesline.”
A flying clothesline is when a wrestler springs off the ring’s ropes and hits the opponent with an arm bar. Stockford said he was not sure the move would work.
“Those ropes are really tight,” Stockford said. “You do get some spring off of them. But yeah, I mean, I just went and put both of my arms out and hoped for the best.”
Before the fight, Petrov came out waving a Russian flag and circumvented the ring while glaring at a crowd who responded with resounding boos.
As Petrov got into the ring, Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” filled the arena and Stockford entered to cheers while he greeted fans, gave hive fives, shook hands, and kissed a baby.
When Stockford entered the ring, chants of “USA” drowned out any boasting Petrov attempted.
During the fight, the rivals each took each other down at least once.
“Come on Mr. Stockford, you got this,” one boy shouted while holding a sign that said “Good job Mr. Mayor!”
The fight turned against Stockford’s when a fighter from earlier in the night, Frank Isaac Anderson (F.I.A.), and his manager, Mr. Stubbs, unexpectedly entered the ring. Anderson smacked Stockford with a briefcase.
“I hate every single one of you people here in Hillsdale,” Anderson said after winning a fight earlier that night. Despite the number’s advantage, Anderson’s hatred for Hillsdale combined with Petrov’s hatred for America did not prove strong enough to take down Hillsdale’s mayor.
Defeating his opponents and laying the Russian flag to rest on top of the Modfather, Stockford raised his arms in
triumph as victor.
“We’re gonna go ahead and get moving as soon as we get rid of this garbage in the ring,” the emcee said after the fight, referring to the flag drapped over the loser.
Stockford said he loves CIW’s style of wrestling.
“You just got to be willing to fall down on your back,” Stockford said. “You know it’s not rocket science, but you could seriously get hurt. There are ways to land, and I wouldn’t do it if I was 60 years old. But there’s an art to it.”
Stockford said he expected to win the fight since portions of it were orchestrated, but there were surprises that threw him off. When Anderson, and Mr. Stubbs joined the fight, Stockford had to improvise even more.
“That’s not what we had planned out,” Stockford said. “But you know, when they do that stuff it adds even more realism to it.”
Stockford said he loves the excitement of the fight and his favorite part is seeing the audience and the kids loving it. Stockford said he particularly appreciated one fan named Travis, who has Down Syndrome.
“He’s always up right by the ring, he knows all the wrestlers, and he’s just totally into it,” Stockford said. “You can really see just how excited he is.”
Last year Travis even got the chance to pin Stockford’s opponent after the match, Stockford said
“Travis pinned the guy that me and my partner beat afterward,” Stockford said. “It’s stuff like that which is my favorite part of it.”
Stockford will continue to fight in the ring as long as he is young enough, he said.
“This year and last year, my wife was always rolling her eyes like, ‘What do you do this stuff for?’” Stockford said. “But you know, I’m in my mid-40s now So when there’s opportunities for me to do fun stuff like this, I take them. I won’t be able to forever.”
