It’s a rainy Saturday night in Kalkaska. Inside the Kaliseum Recreation Complex, wrestler Aaron Orion is about to defend his championship belt against a wrestler called “The Relentless Barbie” Rae Larson.
Larson makes her way to the ring, she’s pumping up the crowd and throwing high fives.
It’s the first time in MCPW’s history that a woman has challenged for the championship. Emotions are high as her opponent makes his appearance.
Aaron appears stoic and wide eyed. As he struts the ring he points to a kid holding up a sign with his name on it.
The bell rings. The match begins.
Aaron Orion is from Flint, born and raised. He's been wrestling since he was 15-years-old.
“I don’t remember a time where I didn’t love wrestling,” he said.
He and a friend wrestled wherever they could: on trampolines; in the yard on a mattress; eventually in the ring for a smaller backyard wrestling company.
“When we got to the point we were 17-18 years-old, and we wanted to pursue it professionally," he said. "So we went to an actual wrestling school and got training and that's kind of what led us here.”
But the person known as Aaron Richard (to people outside of wrestling) gravitated toward other careers. He got a job in the auto industry.
“And I kind of got to this point where I was like 'Man … something’s missing in my life,'” he said.
So he dropped everything and joined the Army. After five years of that he came back to his old job and started to really pursue wrestling.
Eventually, he was making a living off just wrestling, working countless shows. He even wrestled for WWE.
“Everything was going great," Aaron said. "And then the pandemic hit. My son was diagnosed with brain cancer around this time, too. So it’s like COVID, and his stuff, and then wrestling really died down — it was hard to mentally keep up with those things.”
That led him back to an engineering job in the auto industry. Times were hard, but his love for wrestling never waned.
When he was younger he dreamed of wrestling with Mr. Chainsaw Pro Wrestling in Kalkaska. So being here, now, means a lot.
“It’s probably my favorite place or top three," Aaron said. "The community up here is just so much more involved. Passionate. They are invested in who you are. They are invested in how you perform.”
And he’s the defending champion.
“I feel like I haven’t missed a show in years at this point. Even with all this stuff going on with my home life, my regular life," he said. "I can always look forward to coming here and knowing that we're gonna have a great show in store. I'm gonna have a great match. And then we're gonna have a great crowd.”
Aaron Orion's family also loves being here.
"They don’t give a damn about watching wrestling on TV. But the second that they have the opportunity to come to a show, they love it," he said. "They go to school and they can't wait to bring their friends they're like 'Can you go pick these guys up, and I can come watch you?' and like, it's just it's so different than watching on TV."
Mr. Chainsaw Pro Wrestling was started in 2007 by the one and only “Mr. Chainsaw,” or Mikey Zeroe. He wanted to bring high quality wrestling to his hometown.
Friend and showrunner Michael Zee from Ann Arbor has been there every step of the way. Zee said Zeroe gives them a lot of freedom to put on a great show.
“This may be a little insular, but I don’t want to present what is considered small town wrestling," Zee said. "I want to give them very high-quality shows like the ones they’ll see on AEW or Ring of Honor.”
It gives the wrestlers something they can be proud of from their time in Kalkaska.
And the fans seem to love it. They interact with the talent. They cheer for big moments. They wince at others. They even cheer for Gary the referee.
Fans chant "Kyng" and always give his "HIP-HIP" a roaring "HOORAY." (Photo: Nia Neeley/MCPW photographer.)
And there are quieter moments. Fans were paying rapt attention during Aaron Orion’s championship title defense against Rae Larson. Even though Orion ended up pinning Larson, the fans showed their admiration for Larson, chanting "you were awesome" for her performance.
“It's special," Aaron said. "I’ve jumped out of helicopters I’ve done a lot of really really cool things. Even that moment where Ray Larson hit me with Samoan drop in the crowd is just going bananas.
"I'm lying on the ground, trying to catch my breath. You're in it. Even in that moment, you're like, 'Man, ... I hated that just happened to me.' But you can feel it, you can feel the energy from the crowd and the fans here are beyond passionate."
Aaron Orion defends his belt again at “Battleground” May 11 at the Kaliseum in Kalkaska.
