Attendees at Toronto's gala fund-raisers are used to being feted with singing, dancing, and art, but 400 guests at the Rethink Rumble benefit on March 17 enjoyed live entertainment of an entirely different sort: WWE-style wrestling matches. The event is the brainchild of brothers Jian and Page Magen of Magen Boys Entertainment.
"We grew up going to wrestling shows at Maple Leaf Garden and watching wrestling on TV religiously," Jian Magen said. "So that grew into producing independent wrestling shows, which let us build a product that is really unique to our brand."
Magen Boys teamed up with Rethink Breast Cancer, whom the pair had worked with on the Boobie Ball, to throw a wrestling fund-raiser geared toward parents and children, held last week when many schools were on break. The night featured big wrestling stars from the 1980s, like the Million Dollar Man and the Bushwackers, along with a few oddballs such as Dustin Diamond, who played the character Screech on Saved by the Bell.
Held at the new Factory Lounge event space, the evening started with a V.I.P. hour that included a meet-and-greet with the stars of the show, who signed autographs and took photos in the ring.
"It was really cool, because you had a lot of fathers there with kids and they're seeing the same stars from the '80s that they used to go see wrestle when they were kids," Jian Magen said.
The room was dressed in pink for breast cancer awareness, with pink carpeting, lighting, and linens, while a professional ring was surrounded by stadium-style stands. Wrestlers entered down a massive ramp, and there was a video to introduce each one of them, along with lots of special effects like dry ice and dramatic music.
Throughout the night, the Magen brothers sought to emulate the professional shows of their youth as closely as possible, down to details such as retro-style promotional posters and food stands selling popcorn, cotton candy, and hot dogs, with all proceeds going to Rethink Breast Cancer.
