Are you ready to rumble?

Okanagan-based Thrash Wrestling held its 'Full Steam' event this weekend.

Staff was rushing to bring out additional seating, as more viewers than expected poured into the venue to watch the event. Among those hard at work was the group's promoter, Nick Szalanski, helping set up for the increase in patrons.

The large crowd is a boon for these events, garnering a bigger response to the clash of the wrestlers.

“You get a loud crowd,” Szalanski told Kelowna10. “You get people booing, and heckling, and cheering and, you know, spitting, they’re so angry.”

The wrestlers work the crowd to gain support or even to antagonize and show themselves to be a villain.

“The wrestlers really draw to the crowd,” he explained. “They can really bring what they want out of the people.”

In the opening bout, contender Hayden Cope fought “The Audacity” Danni Deeds for the title of BC Interior Champion.

It was a hard-fought battle, but Deeds held the title, defeating Cope in the ring, to an intense reaction from the audience.

“You don’t have a crowd, you don’t have wrestling, that’s what makes it,” Cope stated. “I think that’s the magic of pro wrestling; you’ve got a sport where it’s encouraged to have the crowd be a part of it.”

He says the audience response can elevate a match immensely, creating a much more intense spectacle.

That response comes from the wrestler’s persona, their crowd work, and their passion for the sport.

“You need kind of a creative spark, a passion honestly, you got to love this,” Cope explained. “I guarantee you everybody in that building right now loves it.”

Thrash Wrestling’s next Kelowna event will be held on Nov 19.

More info can be found here.