SoCal News & Notes 05/03/2018

In today’s SoCal News & Notes we take a look at the passing of local lucha libre legend Gil Arellano, plus updates on Maverick Pro, PCW Ultra, Rey Mysterio Jr., Hulk Hogan, Cen Cal Pro, and a listing of all of this weekend’s Southern California pro-wrestling and MMA events.

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Gil Arellano, who wrestled as Falcon de Oro and El Aztec and operated Gil’s Garage, where countless local luchadors got their start, died on April 28, 2018. He had been in hospice care for several weeks.

Gil’s Garage, which was an actual auto repair facility, was located at the corner of Whittier Blvd. and Clela St. in East Los Angeles. In 1972 he had a wrestling ring added to the garage, and began training students in lucha libre. For the next 36 years, a who’s who of the local lucha scene trained at the gym including Louis Spicolli, who began his training there. Gil’s Garage had to close down in 2006 when the lease came up for renewal and the landlord raised the rent.

Just a small fraction of the wrestlers who had trained at Gil’s Garage, aside from Luis Spicolli, include Southern California Pro-Wrestling Hall of Famers Bill Anderson and Superboy, EWF Hall of Famers Kayam and Enigma de Oro, El Estudiante, Captain Oro, Principe Indu, Vandal Drummond, As Charro, Riki Atki, Stephen DeLeon, Hardkore Kidd Aaron Aguilera, Zokre and Phoenix Star.

There was a benefit show to help Arellano’s family this past weekend, and the call that he died actually came in as the show was ending. No funeral is currently planned.

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Maverick Pro has announced the additions of Amber Nova, Kylie Rae, and Laynie Luck to their May 5 show, Killing Time, in Burbank. This will be Amber Nova’s first wrestling appearance in Southern California.

Chelsea Green, who will already be in town for the May 4 PCW Ultra show, mentioned on Twitter that she will be appearing at Maverick Pro’s event as well.

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PCW Ultra added an appearance by Mick Foley to their pre-show meet and greet for May the 4th on May 4 in Wilmington. All money earned from Foley’s appearance will go to benefit Wings of Rescue, an organization that rescues animals from high-kill shelters and flies them to no-kill shelters.

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Rey Mysterio Jr. teamed up with local nonprofit Love Thy Neighbor Movement for special meet and greet and bike giveaway for the third graders at Smythe Elementary in San Ysidro on April 30.

Love Thy Neighbor and Rey Mysterio Jr. asked the third grade class to write an essay on what they can do to improve their community and how they would help end homelessness in San Ysidro. They selected 36 kids to receive a brand new bike, lock and helmet.

“We wanted to help create a mindset of giving back and building community at a young age. It’s not just about the bike they will receive for a well written essay, it’s about planting the seed of change” said Ruben Torres founder of Love Thy Neighbor Movement.

“This is my backyard” said Rey Mysterio Jr, “these bikes may not be the end solution to creating a better community but it does get the kids thinking about what they can do, with the little that they have to help others.”

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Hulk Hogan was in San Diego on May 2 to be inducted into the Boys & Girls Club Hall of Fame. The induction was part of the organization’s annual conference.

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Cen Cal Pro will be running on May 20 at the Graduate in San Luis Obispo. The main event is set to be a three-way dog collar match with Funnybone and Sledge challenging Sinn Bodhi for the Cen Cal Pro Heavyweight title.

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We will be doing a live stream experiment in the style of Table for 3 after Saturday’s Maverick Pro show on SCU’s Twitch channel. Currently scheduled to be taking part in the stream are Joshua Shibata, Katarina Leigh, and Killer Kross. Questions will be taken from the chat room as well. We don’t have an exact time that it will be starting, as it depends on what time the show ends. Be sure to follow our Twitch channel for updates.

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This week’s Southern California pro-wrestling and MMA events:

5/4:

Lucha VaVOOM presents Cinco de Mayan Gigante in Los Angeles, CA (21 & Over)

Venue Wrestling Entertainment presents Venuemania in Imperial, CA

King of the Cage in Alpine, CA (21 & Over)

Millennium Pro Wrestling in Moorpark, CA

PCW Ultra presents May the 4th in Wilmington, CA

Empire Wrestling Federation presents 22nd Anniversary Extravaganza in Covina, CA

5/5:

Championship Wrestling from Arizona’s Silver Spotlight Tournament in Port Hueneme, CA

Empire Wrestling Federation in Covina, CA