There are some heavy hitters in the wrestling industry slated for this event, including Mick Foley (known for his “three faces of Foley” in the WWE — Mankind, Cactus Jack, and Dude Love), Awesome Kong, Powers of Pain, Matt Riddle, Mustafa Ali, Madman Fulton, Big Kon, UPW Women’s Champion Dani Mo, Leva Bates, UPW Heavyweight Champion Sampson and UPW American Champion Melvin Hayes.

MarquetteMania IV is set for Saturday, April 25 at Lakeview Arena in Marquette. Event times are as follows:

4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. — MarquetteMania IV meet and greet ticket holders only 

5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. — doors open

UPW Heavyweight Champion Sampson is pictured. (Courtesy photo)

6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. — pre-show battle royal

7 p.m. — first bell

“MarquetteMania remains UPW’s premiere annual event,” said Lloyd Sarrel, owner and promoter of UPW Pro Wrestling.

“For these events, we bring talent seen on national television broadcasts through the major wrestling promotions. We couple that with talent seen on a regional basis and our own local talent. With a roster comprised of talent from Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay and Milwaukee as well as those from the U.P., including UPW’s Heavyweight Champion Sampson (Marquette) and UPW’s American Champion Melvin Hayes (Iron Mountain), the entertainment value is second to none on the indie rasslin’ scene. For MarquetteMania IV, the locker room includes those that have worked for WWE/WWF, NWA, AWA, ECW, AEW, TNA, ROH, NXT, OVW and JCW.”

The event will once again kick off with the fourth annual Mike Shaw Memorial Battle Royal. Shaw lived locally in Skandia and was well known in the Upper Peninsula, especially in and around Marquette. Shaw worked for the WWF as Bastion Booger and Friar Ferguson, as well as WCW (Norman the Lunatic) and Canada’s Stampede Wrestling (Makhan Singh).

A full arena is seen during the third annual Mike Shaw Memorial Battle Royal at a previous MarquetteMania event. This year’s event is set for April 25. (Courtesy photo)

“We honor Mike Shaw’s legacy through the Memorial Battle Royal,” said Sarrel.

He added that events like this are important, because it offers an experience that is not otherwise readily available to Yoopers.

“Our die-hard fans know that we put on spectacular events, whether our regularly, scheduled house shows or MarquetteMania,” he said. “I am looking to broaden our audience and make memories for all those in attendance as well as those in the locker room.”

UPW Heavyweight Champion Sampson said, “the guests that we have, like Mick Foley, (who) is one of the biggest names in the history of the business, as well as guys like Matt Riddle and Mustafa Ali, who have had prominent rolls in top companies in the industry.” 

Sampson said these events are all about family fun and offer unique, overall great experiences whether or not the guests are die-hard fans of pro wrestling or not, with storylines lasting multiple years.

When asked who the greatest local wrestler is, Sampson said that’s the easiest question of the interview so far.

“Me, Sampson,” he said.

Prices for the event are outlined on the NMU Ticket Office website at Tickets.NMU.EDU. For more information on the event, visit www.upwprowrestling.com or follow the UPW on social media: Facebook.com/UPWProWrestling and on Instagram @UPW_prowrestling.