Butch vs. Gore Productions, the team of indie wrestler/promoter Billy Dixon and promoter Lolo McGrath (of Prime Time Pro Wrestling), announced late on Christmas Eve that on March 28, 2021 – the same day as WrestleMania 37 – they will be presenting The Cassandro Cup, an 8-person tournament featuring the best from the LGBTQ+ community, in co-production with the host service, IndependentWrestling.tv (IWTV). The inaugural event will feature the tournament’s namesake, exótico Lucha Libre legend Cassandro, on hand to present the trophy to the tournament winner, who will also win a future title match for the IWTV Independent Wrestling Championship, currently held by WARHORSE. In a Tweet by the Butch vs. Gore account, they stated the tournament is being held on the same day as WrestleMania “because the biggest day in wrestling belongs to everybody.”
https://twitter.com/TheBillyDixon/status/1342319247700205571
While 2020 has proven to be somewhat of a quiet year for the majority of indie professional wrestling as most regions saw Covid pandemic restrictions in place that prevented running shows, several promotions did manage to still run some shows, most notably the likes of Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), ICW No Holds Barred, AAW Pro, Paradigm Pro Wrestling, Synergy Pro Wrestling, High Tension Wrestling‘s Camp Leapfrog, and a few others. But despite the pandemic, 2020 proved to be a huge year for minorities in pro wrestling – primarily the African-American and LGBTQ+ community, both of whom saw a huge opportunity to showcase themselves through creativity and ingenuity. GCW ran events like For The Culture and EFFY’s Big Gay Brunch (which saw Cassandro face off against AEW’s Sonny Kiss), while several indie events catered specifically for and about the LGBTQ+ community, such as PTPW’s Butch vs. Gore event in March of 2020, Billy Dixon’s Paris Is Bumping in October, MV Young‘s Poly Am Cult Party events, and Uncanny Attractions‘ multiple events. All helped to showcase just how vibrant the LGBTQ+ community has become in the past few years, while shining a spotlight on the creativity of LGBTQ+ promoters and creatives to create something outside the normal parameters of what pro wrestling can achieve, particularly during the pandemic era.
We’re presenting the #CassandroCup on March 28th because the biggest day in wrestling belongs to everybody. 🏳️🌈
— Pro Wrestling VIBE (@PWVibe) December 25, 2020
Stay tuned to Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.
Looking to talk wrestling, pro football, or any number of sports? Head on over to the LWOS Boards to engage in conversation with fellow fans!
