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Lakewood residents will be treated like royalty when the likes of Jake “the snake” Roberts and other professional wrestlers compete in the Firestorm Pro event which debuts September 12 at the Phantasy Theatre campus on the city’s east side. With the prospects of monthly shows in mind, Firestorm Pro seeks to be a springboard for wrestling in Lakewood and the greater Cleveland area from their recently unveiled Phantasy Theatre Campus.

Lakewood resident J.C. Koszewski, founder of the emerging Firestorm wrestling academy, is seeking to broaden the scope of professional wrestling in Lakewood. Koszweski first developed a love for local wrestling in his early teenage years. It was during this time that he first intuited the untapped potential which might give birth to a local scene of blood, sweat and theatrical displays of aggression.

“I really loved the sport and wanted to get more involved.” Although his size did not bode well with the giants of the sport, he found via a knack for business his niche in the organizational side of wrestling. After high school he took a professional approach to wrestling and decided to get back into the sport as a promoter.

“We were involved with Peabody’s in 2005, and were running every month with [them]. It was innovative and original, but times change and so do economies, and not that many people want to go downtown anymore. We wanted to work within a community.” With the depressed Cleveland economy and a draught of community-based options, Koszweski naturally chose Lakewood, the most value-laden community in northeast Ohio.

And true to the Lakewood tradition of maximum mixed-economy value, Firestorm Pro brings to the ‘Wood a big show drama fit for the wallet and sensibility of the fan. “We wanted to give Lakewood, then Cleveland, an opportunity to see a big production show without having to spend 40 to 50 dollars. We want people to go out on a Saturday night who want to watch a really good wrestling show.”

The Firestorm Pro opener on September 12 is a charity event that will benefit the Fallen Riders, an organization which helps victims of fatal motorcycle accidents. From an early age Koszewski spent a great deal of time surrounded by Biker culture. His deep sympathy for the Fallen Riders led him to choose their charity for the opening event on September 12.

From Greek culture to the Roman Empire, athletics have been a part of historic traditions. Lakewood is in the midst of an athletic renaissance with the construction of the baseball field at Harding, the new football stadium behind Garfield, and the upgraded baseball diamond at the High School. This renaissance is not complete without Firestorm University in the fold. A rebirth for Lakewood recreation, the emergence of Firestorm also opens the doors to an integration of sport, theatrics, and the already robust bar scene in the 'Wood. Through professional displays of theatrical aggression, Koszweski says, “we’re supplying the bar fight for their anger.”

How the energies of a college town without a college and the no-holds-bar education of Firestorm might fire stoners and drunks to displace latent bar fight aggression in the ring remains to be seen.

Although it's not the academic university that was originally proposed in the Lakewood Visionary Alignment, this should help fill the void left years ago. As editor Dan Slife puts it "several years back, when the cafe-university initiative with University of Akron fell through, we had given up hope on that aspect of the Visionary Alignment (see Observation Deck). But now, with Firestorm Professional Wrestling school, Lakewood has been delivered higher education, with profs and curricula fit for the demos.”

Indeed, the Firestorm school provides a royal rumble type education that prepares Lakewood's recreation dwellers for success in athletic endeavors. However, Firestorm is not completely foreign to Lakewood's chthonic dreamscape.

During high school friends and I created the EBBA (Eadeh-Budzar Boxing Association).

Headquartered at my parent’s house on Larchmont Ave, their back porch served as the bleachers, my screaming mother was our only vocal fan. The hose was our drinking fountain. Our ring was comprised of dirt and grass.

The vivid memory has served as a backdrop to Parker “The Polish Prince” Warren's adolescent years. “There is nothing like facing off against a friend and getting a chance to punch him in the face in a controlled environment.”

Warren claims to be the undisputed middleweight champion of Lakewood. The experience of prize fighting in the EBBA has not faded from his memory. “Larchmont Avenue was the Mecca of boxing in Lakewood. We had contracted fights. It was quite popular with classmates.”

Though the EBBA did not last long, memories of backyard brawling remain deeply entrenched in the psyches of those who entered the ring. During the same time, other groups of Lakewood teens were organizing backyard fights as well as fights sponsored and officiated by the Armed Services recruiting center in Lakewood's epicenter on Detroit Avenue.

The Visionary Alignment's transition from high hopes for academic alliance with Akron University to the rugged nature of the Firestorm school has Lakewood civic leaders talking.

Ken Warren, director of the Lakewood Public Library and a strong advocate for the CAFÉ University initiative thinks this is a great idea. “Lakewood’s Visionary Alignment is nothing if not a robust temple for concept vehicles needed to make practical and soulful sense of economic development phenomena that piggyback on third order DIY cultural and educational institutions,” states Warren. “While the University of Akron and Café U remain phantoms in Lakewood’s Visionary Alignment, the city’s old school mano a mano phys-ed tradition is morphing one more time with a DIY college of wrestling located on the Phantasy Theatre Campus. Although I’m a long in the tooth Bruno Sammartino kind of guy, I recognize the wheel of time is turning and that Jake the Snake will bring needed reptilian energies to the Phantasy Theatre Campus and the spectacle of 21st century lifelong learning.”

“We are extremely happy to call Lakewood our new home and are excited by the prospects of getting more involved in the community.” With this in mind, I asked J.C if a program could be tailored for interested athletes through the recreation department. “I would be interested in holding classes but their parents would have to be involved.” Kosweski states parents would have to know what their kids are getting involved with before moving forward.

Though it may be difficult to judge whether parents would allow their kids to wrestle, the potential remains intact for those who wish to enter the wrestling ring.

Can Lakewood produce the next “Macho Man” Randy Savage, the next Jim “Hacksaw” Duggan? It could if veteran wrestler J-Rocc “The Big Daddy of Destruction” gets the chance to train you. Big daddy has performed on WWE’s Monday Night Raw and Smack down.

While training wrestlers on the side, J-Rocc has been established as a professional wrestler. The sweat drenched wrestlers practice hard and seek ways to perform at an elite level. J-Rocc, 27, has been involved with professional wrestling for 10 years and has wrestled in the WWE, ECW and other professional venues.

“Wrestling is an art form. Wrestling is like a movie that comes to life right in front of people and nothing else has that kind of interaction.”

With movies in mind, Ward 2 councilman Tom “Pit Bull Conquistador” Bullock thinks wrestling in Lakewood is a great idea. “My favorite wrestler is Governor Jesse “The Body” Ventura, who Bullock thinks is the patron saint wrestler of elected officials, “I idolized him in movies.” Bullock adds, “It makes sense. Pro-wrestling in Lakewood is the logical extension of the Lakewood Observer discussion forum. I plan to sign up so I can learn the pile-driver and the clothes-line so I can win more face-offs on the Observation Deck."

The event on September 12th will mark a new beginning for Lakewood’s newest University.

The event is free to those who have military ID’s. The event begins at 7:00 pm. Tickets are $10.00 and can be purchased online through the Firestorm Pro Myspace page at a buy one/get one promotion or can be purchased at Ticket Master.