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In 2013, Matthew Tickner was just another lifelong World Wrestling Entertainment fan who happened to attend open tryouts at a wrestling school after seeing an advertisement on Facebook.
As he puts it, after that first tryout session, “I just never stopped going.”
More than a decade later, Tickner performs on the independent wrestling circuit as “Mattick” and, most recently, won the Mud Creek Stampede Championship. He also just celebrated the third year of Ground Zero Wrestling, a school he co-founded with several other Rochester-based wrestlers, including his mentor Colin Delaney, who wrestled in the WWE and All Elite Wrestling.
Ground Zero’s latest event, “Chapter Nine,” is a six-match series taking place on Sunday, which will include a fight for the Ground Zero championship belt and a tag team competition. New Jersey-based wrestlers LSG and Ava Everett will be featured in matches against the current champion, Chael Connors, and Hellbird, respectively.
“Filling out an eight-match card is tough. So we decided as coaches to start doing home events for our hard-working students and see how they do. Give them that stage to show what they’ve been working on,” Tickner says of the mentality behind the eight previous match events.
“Chapter Nine” will also feature a variety of wrestling styles for attendees, in part because of the knowledge base he and the other five Ground Zero coaches bring to the school.
“We try to teach all the styles here because, between all of us, we can teach and emulate all the different types of wrestling,” Tickner explains. “It’s like music. You have your hip-hop, your rap, your rock, your country. In wrestling, we have hardcore wrestling, comedy wrestling, lucha libre, technical wrestling. So I try to sprinkle a little bit of everything (for an event).”
Between the Ground Zero coaches, there is over 50 years of wrestling experience and a clear passion for the unique, niche sport. The school’s motto, “Respect the Craft,” is a reminder of those elements, Tickner remarks.
The school currently has 24 students training to be wrestlers, with several already going to events around the region. In its three years of teaching students, some have already taken matches outside the state and are working with top-tier indie wrestling companies.
There is also the opportunity for training as referees, managers, or match commentators, with Ground Zero as well.
Practices are typically held two days a week, going through basic drills and warm-ups before teaching more specific skills and holding open-ring session time as well. About once a month, the school invites local schools to train as well. Tickner mentions that they have participants from as far away as New York City, Massachusetts and Ohio some days.
During those larger sessions, Gound Zero films between 12 and 20 matches, recording matches for wrestlers to send out or use for promos or highlight reels. Tickner describes this type of footage as a “resume for wrestlers.”
While all students are over the age of 18, Tickner has found that since starting the school, they come from a wide variety of backgrounds, age groups, and familiarity with wrestling. Many work out on their own, outside of Ground Zero, at a gym or by taking an acting class, both steps he encourages people interested in the craft to take.
“It’s a really good thing to have a variety of experiences because I would describe (wrestling) as ‘an athletic soap opera.’ There’s a lot of drama that goes into it. There’s a lot of story, a lot of characters,” Tickner outlines. “A background in athletics can help, but it’s not mandatory. The best students are the ones that show up consistently and have a real passion for the sport.”
Ground Zero Wrestling’s “Chapter Nine” event will be on Sunday, March 8 at Aeriel Arts of Rochester. Doors will open at 3:30 with the starting match set for 4:00. Tickets are available online. Individuals interested in taking classes can learn more here.
Jacob Schermerhorn is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer and data journalist.
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