The next time your club is wrestling with fundraising ideas, you may want to borrow a page from the Rotary Club of Forked River, N.J., USA. Stop wrestling, and start wrestling!

On 31 May, more than 400 people filled the Lacey Township High School gymnasium for a night of professional wrestling. A decidedly youthful audience, including some who dressed up as their favorite wrestling characters, cheered and jeered such personalities as the Patriot, the Equalizer, Sal Sincere, and Saddam Insane. But the loudest cheers of the night were reserved for Rhett “The Threat” Titus, a graduate of Lacey and a rising star on the wrestling circuit.

The event raised more than $12,500 for the Rotary club and the high school’s Interact club. Forked River club member Kenneth Flatt notes that there was some initial reluctance, especially on the part of older club members, about whether professional wrestling was an appropriate association for Rotary, but club members Bruce Halliday, who originally suggested the fundraiser, Erin Davis, Lori Aceto, went to the mat in support of the idea.  

There were details to pin down and challenges to grapple with during the 10-month planning process. Organizers had to do a bit of arm twisting to gain permission from the high school’s administrators, but in the end, the club didn’t have to pay to use the gym, and the police department donated its time for security. Interactors helped to organize and clean up after the event.

Two-thirds of the funds raised came from sponsorships, Flatt says, and the rest from ticket sales and concessions.