The first Friday of every month, hundreds of rabid fans shuffle into the Oakland Metro Operahouse. As bell time approaches, chants of “This is real!” fill the venue, just blocks from the city’s Jack London Square. So begins another sold-out night of Hoodslam wrestling.
“It’s a departure from any other genre of wrestling that I think has ever been around — ever, maybe,” said AJ Kirsch, who joined the Bay Area underground staple shortly after his 2011 tenure on World Wrestling Entertainment reality television competition Tough Enough.
AJ Kirsch, an alumnus of WWE’s reality series Tough Enough, is now a San Francisco favorite with Hoodslam Wrestling.
In a terrain packed with outlandish characters, occasionally supernatural elements and stories to rival any daytime soap opera, it takes a special pro wrestling company — and Hoodslam is — to truly stand out. Much of the credit goes to its fans, Kirsch admitted on Arm Drag Takedown with Pollo Del Mar.
“What makes Hoodslam different from any other wrestling promotion out there is we do have such a variety of people in the crowd — all genders, orientations, nationalities and ages,” Kirsch told the weekly pro wrestling podcast. “Everybody just has a smile on their face, ear-to-ear.”
Indeed, the promotion’s diverse appeal is obvious after even a single visit. Whether at monthly shows in the promotion’s Oakland home base or its less frequent outings at DNA Lounge in San Francisco’s South of Market Area, capacity crowds defy classification.
Hardcore wrestling fans mix with those who “just want a story to tell” the next day, said Kirsch. Straight men who unquestionably identify completely with his in-ring persona “Broseph” Joe Brody — “the bro-iest, frat boy douchebag you’ve ever seen” — stand shoulder-to-shoulder with members of the Bay Area’s LGBTQ community, amassed perhaps through the company’s annual appearances at San Francisco’s debaucherous Folsom Street Fair kinkfest.
“People are comfortable enough at Hoodslam to just be whoever they want to be, which is not necessarily true at a bunch of professional wrestling shows,” said Kirsch. “I think everybody at Hoodslam — and everybody who’s ever been to a Hoodslam show — is really proud of that.”
The crowd definitely has several things in common though, the multi-talented 34-year-old noted. For one, they appreciate the entertainment value of Hoodslam favorites like Drugz Bunny, Brittany Wonder, El Chupacabra, Shotzi Blackheart and Doc Atrocity. Secondly, they are quite cognizant of the promotion’s tongue-in-cheek nature. Take for example, Kirsch says, that very popular “This is real!” chant.
“Everybody is in on the joke at this point that professional wrestling is a performance; it is not a genuine athletic competition,” said Kirsch.
LISTEN: AJ’s ‘Arm Drag Takedown with Pollo Del Mar’ Interview
“So when ‘This is real!’ is yelled by hundreds of people at the beginning of the show, it is a wink and a nudge to people who are still on that tired bandwagon of, ‘Oh, you know wrestling is fake, right?’” he explained. “This is us going, ‘Well, no shit! Why don’t you just stop being such a stick up the ass and have a good time?’”
Despite being known for generations as “sports entertainment” -- a term derived from its scripted outcomes -- Hoodslam perhaps acknowledges more openly than most companies pro wrestling’s predetermined nature. That doesn’t stop top independent names like “The Machine” Brian Cage and Joey Ryan from frequently adding star power and credibility to the company’s shows and stories.
It’s largely Kirsch’s responsibility as the ring announcer and literal voice of the company to convey those tales. In keeping with the fact “Hoodslam does everything just a little bit differently than your typical pro wrestling show,” “Broseph” Joe Brody maintains a running, live commentary via the in-house announce system throughout every show.
“I just try to echo the fans’ thoughts; I want them to hear what they’re thinking, as they’re thinking it, to bring them along on the journey of whatever crazy fucking story we’re telling in the ring,” said Kirsch, who believes doing so “makes it easier for the crowd to leave their expectations at the door and say, ‘This is the ride I’m going on tonight.’”
“It’s not just the action in the ring. The stories told at Hoodslam are sometimes months, years in the making,” said Kirsch of what he’s tasked with getting across to those in attendance. “The performers in the ring have a kind of freedom I haven’t experienced in any other promotion — or dare I say any other performance endeavor — in my life.”
WATCH & LISTEN: AJ Kirsch (”Broseph” Joe Brody) Calls Hoodslam Action
That might change soon, though, when Kirsch brings The Curtain Calls to the Oakland Metro Operahouse stage this weekend. For his first-ever foray into event production, the grappler brings together array of art forms with which he has become intimately involved in recent years.
“Since my time on Tough Enough, I’ve gone into a number of other performance ventures,” said Kirsch, who has dabbled in hosting MMA and boxing events, concerts and comedy shows as well as performances with local male burlesque troupes.
“The San Francisco Bay Area is so rich in performance arts,” he pointed out. “Everyone is so fucking talented!”
On Sat., Jan. 13, Kirsch collects personal favorites from numerous disciplines for a five-act “variety show” of sorts. To begin the evening, he will introduce audiences to local band Devil in California, aerialist JonBenet Butterbuns, Manarchy burlesque performer Jet Noir, stand-up comedian Irene Tu, the Hubba Hubba Revue’s Kingfish and, of course, the stars of Hoodslam.
First, through live interviews, performers will divulge stories of why he or she was drawn to their respective crafts. Then, to close the night, each will perform.
Sharing “personal triumphs and tragedies,” “moments of glory and failure,” Kirsch suggested, will not only foster “a greater appreciation for performing arts they may not otherwise go out of their way to see” among the audience. Ideally, he said, those in attendance will question their own passions
“I want to make a show that is as motivating and inspiring to artists as it is spectacular to spectators,” he said. “I think I have that here with these amazing artists.”
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LISTEN: AJ Kirsch Talks Hoodslam, WWE Tough Enough, Winning ‘Rock the Promo’