ASWA returns Saturday with "Saturday Night Slam!"

.MANSFIELD - Pro wrestling returns to Mansfield Saturday as the American States Wrestling Alliance presents "Saturday Night Slam!" at Malabar Intermediate School . The nine-match card includes three championship bouts, a "Loser Leaves Town" match and the ASWA debut of Sherman Tank.

"The fanbase is amazing, some of the best we've encountered," head trainer Jimmie Lee said. "Everybody enjoys what they see so we keep coming."

The roster includes former WWE, WCW and ECW veterans along with the students of the ASWA's training school.

"It's like a mixture of old and young," Lee said. "We can pass the torch to them, give them experience and let them know what it's all about. It's about the fans, not about egos or championships."

Two of Lee's students have recently made it into WWE's developmental system. Sawyer Fulton, real name Jacob Southwick, is currently a tag team wrestler on "NXT." Dallas Harper, who wrestled as "Big Ticket" Marcus Scott in ASWA, recently started training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.

"It's kind of cool," Lee said. "I feel like a proud dad with my students getting looked at and signed."

Saturday's main event will feature ASWA Heavyweight Champion "Mr. Insanity" Toby Cline in his first title defense against The Great Akuma. Other major matches include Nick Brutal defending the ASWA Universal Championship against up-and-comer Robby Collins and the culmination of a long-running feud between Izzy Lambert and JJ DeVille.

With the family-friendly direction of televised wrestling like the WWE, many independent promotions have opted to crank up the violence with excessive use of blood and weapons from wrestlers. Lee said that isn't the case with ASWA.

"We keep it family friendly," Lee said. "Kids of all ages can come and enjoy it. We stay away from the blood, guts and vulgarity."

Along with the matches the show will feature prize giveaways and a fan meet-and-greet with the wrestlers. General admission tickets are $10, doors open at 6 p.m and the show starts at 7 p.m.