Tag: Mall Of America

Indie promotion returning to Mall of America for second straight year

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Pro wrestling is returning to the Mall of America for the second straight year.

F1RST Wrestling, an independent promotion based out of Minnesota, has announced that it will be back at the Mall of America for Saturday Night Nitro on September 9. It will be the third time that a pro wrestling event has ever taken place at the Mall of America.

In September 1995, WCW Monday Nitro made its debut with the first episode taking place at the Mall of America. It would then be 27 years before wrestling returned to the Bloomington, Minnesota venue. Last year’s F1RST Wrestling Saturday Night Nitro also took place in September and aired via Fite TV. The show was held at the Huntington Bank Rotunda inside of the mall.

Last year’s Saturday Night Nitro was headlined by Dante Martin & Rob Van Dam defeating Ari Daivari & Sonny Kiss in a tag team match.

F1RST Wrestling is owned by wrestler Arik Cannon.

Ethan Page recently uploaded a backstage vlog documenting his experience wrestling at Saturday Night Nitro 2022:

Pro wrestling returns to Mall of America at F1RST Wrestling Saturday Night Nitro

Posted on by Ian Carey

F1RST Wrestling presented the first pro-wrestling event at the Mall of America in 27 years with Saturday Night Nitro. 

WCW Nitro’s first-ever episode aired from the venue on September 4, 1995, kicking off The Monday Night War.  The event saw Hulk Hogan retain the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in a match against Big Bubba Rogers. It also featured the surprise appearance of Lex Luger, who had been with WWE up until a house show the night before. 

27 years and six days later, Orange Cassidy, Rob Van Dam, Dante Martin, Ethan Page, Colt Cabana, and more were on the card for wrestling’s return to the Mall of America. The event aired live on FITE TV. 

Ethan Page was on the show and defeated Jah-C in the second match. 

Billie Starkz dropped the fourth match on the card to Free-Range Kara. She then took a Widow’s Peak from special guest referee, Lisa Marie Varon. 

Effy and Orange Cassidy squared off in singles competition. 

Colt Cabana defeated Dak Draper on the show. He would later post on social media about the experience. 

Dante Martin had his brother Darius in his corner for the main event against Rob Van Dam. 

The Trustbusters team of Ari Daivari and Sonny Kiss interrupted the main event, resulting in an impromptu tag team match. 

Rob Van Dam & Dante Martin defeated The Trustbusters in the main event. 

F1RST Wrestling Saturday Night Nitro took place September 10 from the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. Full results from the show are below: 

  • Arik Cannon defeated Darin Corbin
  • Ethan Page defeated Jah-C
  • F1rst Wrestling Uptown VFW Champion Devon Monroe defeated Brandon Gore, Lince Dorado, and Rylie Jackson in a four-way match to defend his title
  • Free-Range Kara defeated Billie Starkz with Lisa Marie Varon as special referee
  • Orange Cassidy defeated Effy
  • ThunderFrog won a Rumble Match against Warhorse, Dark Sheik, Badger Briggs, Black Stallion, ESQ, Kal Creed, Ryan Cruz, Shane Black, and Lore
  • Colt Cabana defeated Dak Draper
  • Rob Van Dam vs. Dante Martin w/Darius Martin went to a no-contest
  • Dante Martin & Rob Van Dam defeated The Trustbusters (Sonny Kiss & Ari Daivari)

Indie promotion to hold ‘Saturday Night Nitro’ at the Mall of America

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Nearly three decades after the premiere episode of WCW Nitro, pro wrestling is returning to the Mall of America.

Independent wrestling promotion F1RST Wrestling announced on Sunday night that it will be holding a show at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota on Saturday, September 10. The event is named “Saturday Night Nitro,” a reference to the first Nitro having taken place at the Mall of America in 1995.

Pro Wrestling Dot Net reports that F1RST Wrestling, which is based in Minnesota, originally wanted to run a show at the Mall of America in honor of the 25th anniversary of the first Nitro in 2020, but that couldn’t happen due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first Nitro took place at the Mall of America on September 4, 1995 and famously included Lex Luger’s surprise WCW debut.

The Mall of America tweeted that the F1RST Wrestling show will be held at the Huntington Bank Rotunda, which is near the mall’s East entrance

“The countless number of requests from fans throughout the years to bring professional wrestling back to our iconic Rotunda space have now been heard, and we couldn’t be more thrilled,” said Mall of America’s Chris Grap.

“There is no better partner than F1RST Wrestling to deliver a night of action-packed awesomeness that fans will be talking about for the next 27 years.”

The event is part of the Mall of America’s 30th anniversary celebration.

Tickets for the show will go on sale this Friday.