It will be a great night for tag teams.
Not only will it include arguably the best tag team in the history of professional wrestling, it’s being run by another incredible tag team, however this duo is a tag team everywhere but in the ring.
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Steve Maclin and his wife Deonna Purrazzo will bring Battle For The Brave: Showcase for Heroes on June 6 at the Rahway Rec Center.
The show will serve as a fundraiser in partnership with Tunnels to Towers to raise money to help first responders and veterans.
It’s a passion project for Purrazzo and Maclin, a Marine.
“I think with Steve and I think it’s that military mindset, to give 100 percent of ourselves to our job,” said Purrazzo, who wrestles for All Elite Wrestling and Ring of Honor, where she was a pioneer to bring women’s wrestling to the promotion. “He sat on top of a tank and manned the machine gun. He needed to know exactly what to do to stay alive. In wrestling, he gives 100 percent of himself to wrestling. Tunnel to towers, a second passion. 10 percent something else. As his wife. Watching him indulge in his passion along with his military buddies. Seeing him dive into something new has been fun for me as his wife.
“We were asked ‘I wonder if there’s an opportunity to run a wrestling show to raise money. We were on board 100 percent. It’s a great way to help. We were jumping in head first. I don’t think we ever thought we’d run a wrestling event, but this was a perfect opportunity to blend one passion with the other, and we jumped at the opportunity.”
While the husband and wife tag team are a great starting point for talent, with each member of the marriage holding championships in major promotions, but they’re coming with Matt and Jeff Hardy.
The legendary tag team who have been wrestling in Total Non-stop Action with Maclin has sold out shows all over the country. They’ve stolen the show at WrestleMania. And now they’re coming to Rahway to put on a show.
“We reached out to Matt and he was so excited when we proposed it,” Purrazzo said. “He said 100 percent, Jeff is on board, it was crazy when we got off the phone, we were so excited. We are running a wrestling event and we just booked the Hardys.
“The response has been so good. So many people from New Jersey and New York and Connecticut jumped at the opportunity to support me and Steve. It means a lot.”
Maclin and Purrazzo will do their thing in the ring, but unlike when they work for a promotion, they are the promotion. That means doing a little bit of everything.
“It’s been so fun,” Purrazzo said. “Things like just doing graphics, confirming the talent that we have, to be able to do that, it’s a learning curve, we’ve never done it. We usually get reached out too, it’s so interesting to learn the process. Great graphics, great ring announcers, great lighting, we needed a ring. So much to do, but it’s fun.”
While wrestling and helping are two of their favorite things, another thing these couple is passionate about is New Jersey.
Maclin is from Rutherford. Purrazzo grew up in Livingston.
And while they were cutting their teeth on the independent circuit, they would wrestle at buildings all over New Jersey.
Since going on to larger promotions, they’ve wrestled all over.
They’re holding this at the Rahway Rec Center, one of the best buildings for wrestling in New Jersey.
Just like Jersey, it’s home.
“It means a lot, really there’s nowhere else to have it,” Purrazzo said. “We looked in New York City. Rahway was a place we knew wrestling works at, we wrestled there at the Rahway Rec center. New Jersey is a hotbed for independent wrestlers. It’s right by Newark Airport. And I think being so close to ground zero and those impacted by 9/11 makes all the difference.
“We’re Jersey kids. Our families will be there, they’re proud of the work we’re doing. We were so fortunate to have wrestled there so many times. If we do it in New Jersey, this is the place to do it. I pressed hard for Rahway. The whole town of Rahway, the police station, fire station, Main street has all the food and restaurants, it’s all right there. We will be able to engage the entire town, not just the rec center.”
It all adds up to the perfect night of action.
And more than anything, a perfect cause.
“We’ve watched how hard it is to get help when people need it,” she said. “The VA isn’t always the easiest thing to navigate. Tunnels to Towers is a great organization. We want to help. And we’re able to do it through wrestling.”
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This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Wrestling stars Maclin, Purrazzo sign Hardys for NJ charity event