Sault fans cheer local Italian wrestlers (21 photos)

It was an action-packed card at the Tarentorus Sports club Sunday night as local Italian fans came out to cheer the New Italian Gangsters (Joe Chiverelli and Diego da Vinci) and Italian-Canadian sensation Vinnie da Vinci.

Even before the Sault Area Wrestling (SAW) show began, local Italian-Canadian freelancer Pete Vere was called in at the last minute to replace SooToday.com's award-winning wrestling journalist Mark D. Mouth.

The controversial D. Mouth was still in an unnamed Michigan hospital after a suspicious incident Friday night during a pre-match interview with local wrestler Joe "Chiv" Chiverelli.

The card began with Mr. Business pinning Fozzy McQueen to take over ownership of the SAW.

It then moved to dueling interviews as Vinnie di Vinci crashed Brad Hexum's Lime-n-Aid stand to host his own Sin City Lounge. This set the stage for their ladder match later in the night.

Kris White beat Sergeant Commando in a disputed pin.

WWE trainee Kris Thorn, a native of North Bay, easily dispensed with "Supreme" Brett Powers, who still lives in his mother's basement apartment.

Fans chanted "Basement Brett" throughout the match.

Josh "Brokeback" Bennett ran the time limit to retain his hardcore title in a hardcore invitational featuring himself, Danny Magnum, DC Wyld, and several other wrestlers.

Following the intermission, the New Italian Gangsters (Joe Chiverelli and Diego da Vinci) drew upon fan support to win a hard-fought tag-team battle with the Primetime Playaz.

Sudbury's Paul Wright retained his SAW Heavyweight Title with the help of outside interference, pinning Rip Impact.

In retaliation for calling him "Pansy Paul" throughout the match, Wright attacked a fan after the match before referring to the Sault's female population as "a bunch of hairy Italians who couldn't find husbands in Sudbury."

This infuriated Thorn, who, upon rescuing the fan, called Sault fans "the hottest crowd in Northern Ontario" and challenged Wright for the heavyweight title.

The evening culminated with Vinnie di Vinci climbing an eight-foot ladder and grabbing the SAW Adrenaline Title suspended over the ring to end his best-of-three feud with Sault Michigan's Brad "Sinfully Sexy" Hexum.