5th Annual Ferraro Tournament Best Time For Hometown Opportunity

By Thomas Leturgey

At Battle Bowl IX on January, 14 at Spirit Hall in Lawrenceville, the largest audience to ever witness that event booed with Shane Starr tossed Kris Kash over the top rope and onto the concrete below. In the “Over The Top Rope” Battle Royal, it’s every man for himself. That sometimes means even long-time friends and former tag team champions will even teak every opportunity necessary to win.

Starr tossed Kash and ultimately earned a shot at the Keystone State Wrestling Alliance Heavyweight Championship. The belt, which Starr held from December 7, 2013 to March 28, 2015, has long been designated as the Commonwealth’s most important single’s title. And Starr wants it back.

So, with the Fifth Annual Mario Ferraro, Sr., Memorial Tournament just a few weeks away, Starr has taken the prospect of challenging for the championship in Sharpsburg, his home town.

This past weekend, Starr “cashed in” his chance at the KSWA Heavyweight Championship, currently held by two-time titleholder Mitch Napier. The match will be one of the highlights of the Tournament Saturday, November 11, 7:00 p.m. at the Sharpsburg VFD Station 265, 1611 Main Street, Sharpsburg. Starr and Napier are friends in and out of the squared circle, but tangling over a title recognized by the U.S. Senate, Governor, State House, Allegheny County, City Council and Pittsburgh Mayor’s Office all mean that bonds can be stretched for an evening.

“It’s something I’ve waited for all year,” Starr said recently. “To try and win the belt back in my home town.”

For his part, Napier, 33, quickly accepted the challenge. Defending the KSWA Championship has been nearly a full-time job for Napier. Since winning the title last December at FanFest in Lawrenceville, he has been victorious against Jay Flash, Bobby Badfingers (twice), Lou Martin (twice), Shawn Blanchard, David Lawless, BROhemoth, Mike Malachi, Dennis Gregory and Harley T. Morris (twice). All of Napier’s matches have been hard-hitting and exciting for the fans.

Meanwhile, Starr, 30, has been involved in more tag team matches in 2017, than single’s contests. Whether it be in tag team competitions alongside Kash, or in six-man contests with the likes of Party Gras or Kash and Anthony Alexander, Starr has been on the winning side of most of his matches in 2017. In fact, Starr has been on the losing of both singles matches he has participated in this year. Nevertheless, he will bring his experience and guile to the ring and face Napier.

Also, part of the evening will be the Mario Ferraro, Sr. Memorial Tournament. The annual event serves as a fundraiser for the Sharpsburg VFD. All proceeds from the event will go to that department. In the tournament, rookie “Big Country” Matt McGraw has already earned a position in the four-man, single-elimination tourney. Kris Kash won the first tournament in 2013. Lou Martin won the next year. Lord Zoltan, who celebrated the “first” 40 years of his career was victorious in 2015 and Napier himself won the event last year. The KSWA Championship Committee has not announced who else will be in the tournament this year.