FOLLANSBEE — Joe Rogers has promoted pro wrestling shows around the area for years. However, he has not put on a show in the local area like the one he will be putting on today (Saturday).

National Championship Wrestling will be returning to the BlueWave Center for “Night Of Superstars.” The show will feature five former WWE superstars — Matt Cardona, Brian Meyers, Erick Redbeard and the tag team The Awakening. Cardona wrestled in the WWE as Zack Ryder, Myers wrestled as Curt Hawkins, Redbeard wrestled as Erick Rowan, who at one time was a member of the Wyatt Family and The Awakening was known as The Ascension.

A meet and greet session is scheduled to get underway at 5 p.m., while the bell time is set for 7 p.m.

“Well, this show is by far the biggest show we’ve done in this area ever,” Rogers said. “That goes back 10 years ago when I ran here before. You know I hear it all the time, ‘This area isn’t big enough for these types of big events, it will fail.’ Well, I just decided to prove these bigger events can happen here.

“I feel like this is a good area to have these events in. You got Pittsburgh 30 minutes away, you got Ohio over the bridge and Wheeling is not too far from here. I would agree if this area was stuck in the middle of nowhere not close to a bigger city or area, but this is not the case.”

All five former WWE guys will be taking part in the meet and great session, and they also will be wrestling at the show.

Tonight’s show will be the first time Cardona has worked for NCW.

“I’m excited to wrestle for companies all over the world and wrestle new opponents,” Cardona said. “You never know who is going to be the next breakout star.”

“I’ve never met Joe in person,” Myers said. “He contacted me through Konnor of the Ascension, and I jumped at the opportunity to be part of such a huge show.”

Cardona, Myers and Redbeard will be competing in singles matches, while The Awakening will be competing in a tag team match.

“It’s not every day that WWE guys are coming to your area, let alone guys that just came off TV in the last couple of years,” Rogers said. “I said in the beginning we had some big plans for this area and this was one of them. We would like to do annual events in the area with WWE-type talent for the fans.

“I have not worked with any of the headliners before. I know some other people within wrestlers that either know or work with some of them and recommended them to me. Matt Cardona and Brian Myers are probably two of the hottest names in wrestling right now.”

There are 10 matches on the card, including a battle royal. The winner will get a spot in the Golden Ticket Ladder Match.

“During Brian Myers’ time in WWE, he was known as Curt Hawkins,” Rogers said. “He is a very talented guy, and he is very popular with fans. He is now with Impact Wrestling, and you start to see his value a bit more and we can not be thrilled to have him on this show. I think WWE missed the boat with Cardona. He was so so over with the fans, but they never seemed to go all in on him but now he’s doing shows around the country. You can just see that was a mistake on WWE part by letting him go.

“Erick Redbeard was named Eric Rowan in WWE. He is one of the best current big man and monster characters pro wrestling has today. The Ascension, now known as The Awakening, are former NXT tag champions. They are very talented team that I think they have a lot left to offer.”

Cardona will be wrestling Desean Pratt.

“I love my fans and I love performing in front of them,” Cardona said. “I feed off their energy. Without my fans, I’d be nothing.”

Myers will be in action against Breaux Keller.

“I think people coming out of COVID people are extra excited,” Myers said. “They are excited to leave their houses and enjoy themselves. They are excited to participate in something that’s nothing but fun like a live pro wrestling show. Don’t miss it.”

Redbeard will be taking on Beastman. The Awakening will be competing in a four-way tag match against Abraham Khan and Zakar Shah, Grapital Vices and Alpha Inc.

“Companies like NCW are important because it gives talent of all ages and levels the ability to showcase what they are capable of in a closer environment that really helps talent grow,” Vik of The Awakening said. “The bigger companies, despite performing in front of so many, feels more impersonal and farther away to me with fan interaction. So, especially after the last while and dealing with the pandemic, its pretty great to be going out and performing in places like NCW where we once again get to return to action and fan interaction which really is what the business thrives on.

“It is not easy wrestling in a empty room without any fans. The energy isn’t the same and the reaction just isn’t there. It has definitely been great getting back out with the fans and experiencing the energy of performing in front of a live audience again.”

All of the headliners became fans of pro wrestling at an early age.”

Vik has been wrestling for more than 20 years and knows what it is like to be a young fan.

“I was actually around 5 or 6 when I first began watching the then WWF and Stampede Wrestling,” he said. “It is funny now looking back because I just remember being enthralled with all the larger than life personalities and just everything about it. Wrestling seemed like a comic book or super hero show come to life to me and I would make sure I was glued to my tv sets every Saturday and Sunday morning back then when it was on.

“What made me want to be a pro wrestler was the desire to do something different. I grew up in a small town in Northern Alberta, Canada and always felt I was made to do something different than what I was growing up around. I was a huge fan of the legendary Hart family not being too far from where they were and watching them all from Stampede to the WWF.”

Myers became hooked after watching a pay-per-view event.

“I watched WrestleMania VI on VHS with my older brother and was hooked ever since,” he said. “Just loved everything about it — the sport, showmanship, the spectacle, pro wrestling has it all.

“I’ve been wrestling 18 years at this point. I’ve been able to travel the world over many times, I’ve wrestled in 49 states, I’ve held the WWE Tag Team Championships twice and I was a part of many WrestleManias.”

Cardona’s top WWE highlight was when he captured the Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania 32 in a seven-way ladder match.

There are three other men’s singles matches on the card. NCW champion Sless Taylor will defend his title against Rayo, Santana Diamondz will wrestle Prince Noah and Clay Jacobs will take on Michael Walker

“So far I think Rayo and Santana Diamondz are big fan favorites,” Rogers said.

There will also be a four-way match featuring Chris Slade, Encore, Diego Hill and Action Andretti.”

The June show was the first NCW one to feature a women’s match, and Saturday’s show also will feature one as JC Storm will wrestle Eden Von Engeland.

“Yes, of course the women’s match was a big hit, and we got another female on this card as well,” Rogers said. “The card overall is going to be really good. I am excited to see it happen.”

Last month’s women’s match was just one of the highlights of the June show.

“Last month’s show was good,” Rogers said. “The crowd seemed to enjoy the show. You can always tell when a crowd does not like something. Yeah, fans seem to be more relieved not having to wear masks that much any more. There are some new fans with returning fans. It’s interesting to see which fans return from show to show.”

Many of the top names in the business get their feet wet at independents and companies like NCW.

“The indies are the ground floor of pro wrestling,” Myers said. “Shows like this have it all – up and coming stars before they make it big as well as established stars that you’ve already seen on TV. Plus, it is in an intimate setting where you as a fan can be up close and personal with all the action and superstars.”