SLC Wars wrestling show and punk concert 

• Thomas Martinez
• Cody J Hesselgesser and Princess Deathwish

Professional wrestling and punk rock have more in common than most people realize. They both thrive on grittiness as opposed to anything polished, and both rely on the loyalty of hardcore fans.

Enter SLC Wars, the brainchild of local wrestler Princess Deathwish and concert promoter Cody J Hesselgesser. They started this venture for a growing fanbase interested in this mashup of mosh pit and mat wrestling, as shown in their early-February Metro Music Hall show "Operation Metro."

"I've loved wrestling since I was eight years old," Cody J said, "And I've been involved in the punk scene since I was about 13. So, with being involved with the punk scenes for more than half of my life now, it seemed like a no-brainer to combine my two passions with my friends. ... Princess Deathwish has been one of my friends for a while. Actually, [I] trained with a in UCW Zero [Ultra Championship Wrestling] ... in 2017, and I've stayed friends with Adan and are some people from there."

Which brings us to Princess Deathwish, who quips about his real name, "I don't like giving that out. But you can call me Adan. [As in] Adan Subtract."

Deathwish has been a staple of Utah wrestling for some time. "I started training when I was 16 with Stevie Slick [at UCW-Zero]," he said. "I had my first match at 18 in Tooele. I am now 33. So, I'm gonna have you guys do the math on that."

Deathwish has been a journeyman wrestler since 2009, and it was during these travels the idea of SLC Wars emerged. "It was from all the other seeing all these other crossover shows, across the country, east to west," Deathwish explained, "like in Portland with Metal Mania and Anarcho Pro, and in San Diego with Wandering Circus. They did these crossover shows with bands. And I would say the idea was implanted early on before those, but that's what cemented it. My first crossover show was with Drowning Pool. After that, I was hooked on concert wrestling shows."

"I wanted Cody to be my partner. Cody has a very good relationship in the punk and hardcore scene," Deathwish continued. "I have a lot of resources, whether it be wrestlers from throughout the years traveling, names that I've worked with. ... We brought our resources together to bring these crossover shows to Salt Lake City."

• Thomas Martinez
• Action from a Feb. 3 SLC Wars match

On this second SLC Wars night, the atmosphere was electric, as the wrestling ring was positioned almost six feet away from the stage. Typically, there is a bit of separation to prevent fans getting too close to the ring, for the fans' safety. Not so much here.

The setup has created some issues with overzealous fans. "I had to kind of push them off and say, 'Hey, you know, this has to be for the wrestlers,'" said head referee Jeremy Malik. "They just get excited, and I don't think they realize that they could get hurt."

While the night featured bands like Snufftape, Mummy, Spent and You're the Worst, the main event in the squared circle showcased a hardcore match between Ocean Avery and "The Luchador Scumbag" Chris Nasty. Alec Lange, lead singer from Snufftape, said of the show, "It is the first, [but] it definitely will not be the last."

What stood out the most during the night? "How pumped everybody got for the wrestling," Lange said. "I knew it was going to be crazy. But watching everybody explode around the ring and have such a good time. All the smiles, everybody cheering, and then to go on after that, after you know the wrestling and everything warmed everybody up, and they were so pumped and so ready to hear some heavy music? It was just so cool."

Nasty offered a similar perspective: "I'm not trying to blow smoke up my own ass," he said, "but I like to think they really loved it, and they were really into it. Oh, they were invested in the match."

So which fanbase is more hardcore: Punk fans or wrestling fans? "Oh, man, friggin' wrestling fans, because they like to be smart asses," Nasty said with a chuckle. "But you know at the end of the day, I love them."

"That's a tough one" said Lange with a laugh to the same question. "I would say it was an even 50/50 split today, so I'll have to go to another one of these to really get a feel for it."

After the show, Cody J added via email, "I look at Salt Lake like a little mini-Philadelphia," he explained. "We have one of the best hardcore punk scenes, and so does Philly. We have some of the best [independent] wrestling, and so does Philly. My goal is to have eyes open to Salt Lake City as both a hardcore punk staple and a top-notch [independent] wrestling staple in the nation. When people think punk and wrestling, I want them to think SLC."