Laconia wrestler in title match in Injustice for Brawl 2

LACONIA — Tommy Mack is a Laconia High grad who has lived a double life for years. By day, the city resident is a friendly stone worker. But some nights he assumes the persona of Tommy “Master of Mayhem” Mack, stepping between the ropes of a wrestling ring while being serenaded by the cheers – and jeers – of the audience.

Mack has wrestled since 2010. His career included a tour of eastern Canada in which he wrestled every night of the week. He also worked as his own promoter, organizing events at Laconia High School and at Tower Hill.

Two years ago, after his last match at Tower Hill, he thought he might be ready to throw in the towel. That was, until he was approached by Bill Trevor, a local online marketing consultant, who offered to help him put on one more show.

The result was Injustice for Brawl, held about a year ago. The show featured several bouts, including several people well-known to wrestling fans. The event raised money for a local boy who was fighting cancer, and Mack was listed in the marquee match, against the “Wild Samoan” Afa Jr. They held it at the Whiskey Barrel on Main Street, and it was packed with around 500 fans.

The event was the biggest and best event that Mack had ever put on, and he and Trevor decided they needed to see if they were on to something that could be grown even larger.

“It was so successful, people that didn’t go were upset that they didn’t go, people that went asked when we were going again,” Trevor said.

So they decided to go for it again, and go even bigger. Injustice for Brawl 2 will be held on Sunday, March 31. Because they couldn’t find a venue big enough in the Lakes Region, the event is being held at the Everett Arena in Concord, which can fit 1,700 people.

Tickets are available online at www.injusticeforbrawl.com for $20, or at the door for a little more. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Veterans Count, a program of Easterseals which supports military members and their families.

“We’re trying to get a lot of people,” Mack said.

“We’re not looking at this as a local event, we’re looking at this as a New England event. There hasn’t been anything like this (in New Hampshire) since the 1980s,” Trevor said.

In the title match, Mack will take on Nick Aldis, world champion of the National Wrestling Alliance. That bout will be preceded by five other matches, which will include: Don Vega, Afa Jr., Cousin Larry, Tony Atlas, Tyler Nitro, Markus Burke and Chris Banks. There will also be two other wrestlers who won’t be revealed until the bell rings for their match. The night of wrestling will include a flag match, a tables match and a tag-team match.

With the talent on the bill – Atlas is in the WWE Hall of Fame and Gunn is going to be inducted later this year – Mack and Trevor say this is the biggest wrestling event in state history.

Like the first Injustice for Brawl, Mack said this event will be family-friendly, and will include hallmarks of professional wrestling’s 1980s heydey era.

“We like an old-school feel, with the characters, the good and the bad, we like to suspend belief for a couple of hours,” Mack said.

Mack and Trevor have bet big on this event, and if it succeeds, they’ll start planning for more large wrestling events – Mack would like to put one on for Laconia Motorcycle Week. If it flops, well, then they can say that they gave it a shot.

“Maybe we will have something here. This will tell us, this is a huge venue,” Mack said.

“I hope this goes well and we can bring this back to this area… it’s a form of entertainment you don’t really see,” Trevor said. “This will tell if there’s appetite in this state for something like this.”