Jacob Dimond / jake@yelmonline.com
One of the world’s oldest and most unique forms of entertainment will continue its legacy in Thurston County, as Ascension Pro Wrestling is set to make its debut as a promotion with its first show, “Rise Up,” on Saturday, Aug. 15, in the Olympia Ballroom.
The event itself will run from 6 to 8 p.m., and you can purchase tickets online at https://tinyurl.com/AscensionOlympia.
Troy Kirby, owner of Ascension Pro Wrestling, told the Nisqually Valley News on Friday, July 31, that he’s worked previously in the professional wrestling world with Oblivion Pro Wrestling’s shows at Lacey’s Beat Drop Kitchen and Event Center.
With Oblivion Pro Wrestling set to leave Washington state at the end of 2026, and currently set to run a show in Seattle in August, Kirby wanted to fill the void of professional wrestling in Thurston County.
“We’re going to entertain people,” Kirby said, of Ascension Pro Wrestling. “I think that we’re going to continue to get a wide group of wrestling talent, based on the fact that we’re going to have a hot show. We have a lot of great pre-sales already. We’re two weeks out and we’re doing well. To me, the biggest avenue of that is when they come to a show they come back. We had a lot of believers in our Oblivion shows we did and we wanted to provide something that was local and a great opportunity for people to still experience the fun.”
According to Kirby, promoters in the entertainment business often “take the fun out of things” by trying to cater to adults — rather than catering to everyone. Dating back to the World Wrestling Federation’s “golden era” of the 1980s, marketing to everyone — primarily children — has often been the bread and butter of creating lifelong and diehard fans of professional wrestling.
Kirby is hopeful to follow that same blueprint.
“I have nothing against the wrestling side or the respect of wrestling and the respect of the game. But c’mon, only catering to 30 year-olds doesn’t jive with me,” Kirby said. “You have to cater to everyone. I get some of it, but we don’t need the Attitude Era. We’re PG-12. We’re not PG-13. The Attitude Era stuff has been played out. I want it to where kids can go.”
Kirby added that there will be an assortment of different sweet treats to choose from, along with different ticket packages varying from all-you-can-eat ice cream to an all-you-can-eat taco bar.
Additionally, Kirby speculated that Ascension Pro Wrestling has “a lot of great stuff planned.”
“We have wrestlers who are not only from this area, but there are a few who wrestled at Grit City Wrestling in Tacoma at the Armory,” Kirby said. “Our goal is to really have something that fosters something that a parent can do. When I ran the Lacey Pocketgophers, same function. We’re going to make it to where you have multiple opportunities to see stuff. That’s how we got 350 per-game for semi-pro soccer. We had E-gaming trailers, concessions, soccer balls at halftime for the kids to play with. We had fun stuff — t-shirt shooters.”
He added that other promotions who focus on one aspect of wrestling and claim it’s the only thing they can do “is ridiculous.” Kirby believes it’s important to feature multiple functions for all crowds, especially children. “To me, I saw it as a great opportunity to do something fun,” Kirby said. “I kept hearing from a lot of wrestlers that they didn’t like it when someone started a wrestling promotion because half the time, they wore their own (championship) belt. So it’s like, great, we’re here really for your ego. Instead, I want it to be where there’s a little bit of mystery in the storyline.”
Kirby said he is a big believer in a strong atmosphere, such as lighting enhancements and projection production. Additionally, each of the matches at Ascension Pro Wrestling will be filmed in 4K and uploaded on to its YouTube channel later for viewing.
Additionally, Ascension Pro Wrestling will eventually move to give pro wrestling upstarts a chance to break into the business.
“Since Ascension Pro Wrestling has a theatrical wrestling school license, what we’re going to do is have opportunities to bring in trainers,” Kirby said. “I don’t train. That allows me to have these opportunities for people to sign up and train if they want to become professional wrestlers.”
Ascension Pro Wrestling has two additional shows set for 6 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3, and Saturday, Nov. 28, in the Olympia Ballroom.
