Seattle Says Goodbye to Kung-Fu Banana, Semi-Pro Wrestling?

Seattle Semi-Pro Wrestling

Where do you draw the line between real fake wrestling and phony fake wrestling?

Seattle Semi-Pro (SSP) Wrestling performers and their fans await the answer from the Washington State Department of Licensing. The decision will determine whether their oddball institution goes down for the count.

The man who blew the whistle on them: a former SSP grappler-turned-real-archenemy known as The Banana.

A satirically trashy, riotous homage to TV pro wrestling, SSP has been in limbo since a January 7 emotional blowout that might have been its final show. The ultimate smackdown is scheduled for today, when the Department of Licensing will begin a hearing to determine if Ronald McFondle, Domestic Violence, Mascara Generico and their colleagues are a “fight-cabaret theater troupe,” as they claim, or professional athletes subject to regulations and fees that could put them out of business.

Revenge of the Bruised Banana

Ronald McFondle
Ronald McFondle

For about six years, the monthly events had drawn hundreds to King Cobra on Capitol Hill — where audience members threw empty beer cans at the performers and later, because of the occasional full can, less-painful plastic balls.

Enter The Banana—aka Paul Richards, 40. He had left the outfit disgruntled after about a year and a half of piledrivers, suplexes and leg drops. SSP co-founder Nathaniel Pinzon, 31—aka Deevious Silvertongue—said The Banana was meant to lighten up a roster of characters that were in the PG-13-to-R range. But Richards said Pinzon and the other organizers were turning The Banana into a joke…

[Story continued in The Seattle Times. Or watch The Stranger’s R-rated interview on YouTube.]

1 comment

  1. Mexican Masked Wrestling + Burlesque + Comedy = Lucha VaVOOM

    Lucha VaVOOM is a non-stop, action-packed scream-a-thon, where Mexican Masked wrestlers flip and fly, performing breathtaking acrobatic feats. It’s good vs. evil played out in a one fall, Lucha Libre exhibition-style match for maximum enjoyment.

    LuchaVaVoom is scheduled for Sunday at the Showbox, but will the show go on?

    Last year Washington State Department of Licensing successfully shut down a local fight cabaret troupe, formerly known as Seattle SemiPro Wrestling. There was a lot of press around the issue at the time, but ultimately the performance troupe, which had been entertaining Seattle for over 5 years with their tongue in cheek parody of mainstream “professional wrestling”, ran out of money for lawyers and number of appeals available to them. This Sunday, Lucha Va Voom is scheduled to play at Showbox SODO and the DOL is at it again, trying to classify this show as “sports entertainment” and forcing them to jump through all the same hoops as the Mariners have to to play. This classification is incorrect and causes show stopping ramifications… [continued]

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