Inspired by the spectacle and performance that is inherent to professional wrestling, the League of Lady Wrestlers is a community-engaged art collective responding to gendered stereotypes and inequalities, traditional socio-cultural values and are at once both a celebration of feminine identity and subversion of those stereotypes. The wrestling ring is a stage where the spectacle is embraced and expected, leaving, naturally, a place for the comedic.

The League was officially created in 1898 in Dawson City, Yukon Territory by Klondike Kate and Martha Blackaye at the height of the Goldrush, initially called the Dawson City League of Lady Wrestlers. When boom turned to bust, the league folded, but was revived in the summer of 2013. After it's first successful event, the league has moved to Toronto where it has formed as a national collective.

Featuring visiting fighters from the Dawson City League of Lady Wrestlers as well as local talent, the HOGTOWN THROWDOWN will showcase fierce fights, intense rivalries, elaborate entrances and dramatic knock-outs!

Other highlights include a halftime show featuring NEW FRIES (http://newfries.bandcamp.com/album/they-i)

$10 ADVANCE | PWYC DOOR (space permitting)

The Polish Combatants Hall (206 Beverley St.)

DOORS 7pm | 1st MATCH 8pm

THE ROSTER:

Shreeeka, The Dredge Pond Siren - Part witch, part siren and all evil, she lives in the dredge ponds outside of Dawson City where she lures unsuspecting miners to their pebbly deaths. Know for her eardrum-bursting shrieks and elaborate incantations, this bitch witch came to Toronto for one reason: to wreak havoc.

Big Jody Mufferaw from Ottawa - Born with a black eye, Big Jody is a crowd favourite. A lumber-obsessed powerhouse from the Ottawa Valley, Jody is a Canadian hero known for her finishing move "The Log Driver's Waltz" when she rolls opponents off of the ring like a log of white pine.

Dirty Ol’ Maude - A gunslingin' whiskey chugging , heavy footed old broad, an ex-prospector who spat on the cheap dreams of men digging for gold in the dirt. Maude is visiting from Dawson City, and she ain't impressed.

Barbara Shalala - Sickened by the constant visual assault of hot yoga’s sweaty uglies, Barbara Shalala sought solace in the Klondike where she could teach yoga the way she wanted to: COLD. Nourished by caribou whey protein, Shalala has come back to the Big Smoke to smite the hollow-cheeked, soulless hippie. Put a contact lens on your third eye and liberate yourself from the lavender-infused cult of boogie shorts and #fit updates or Shalala will put you in corpse pose for good, Nams(t)ay'in?

Lady Boy - A gender-bending bad-ass from the Big City. This androgynous fighter will crush your perceptions of a traditional "Lady Wrestler". Empowered and ready to rage, Lady boy is looking to smash gender binaries and annihilate the competition.

Domina Kalika - High Priestess of the Montreal night and underbelly, she will show you how to submit yourself with grace. Feel love in cruelty and do not bother with the fight. With a gentle hand or stinging lash, she will instill the piety of Enheduanna in you- righteous saint of sex and war. Repent and lay full and spent in the arms of a decadent Goddess.

Beaver Fever- Giardiasis, commonly known as the dreaded Beaver Fever, infected this unsuspecting swimmer taking a dip in the Klondike River. Now she is slowly turning into an undead beaver, unable to control her insatiable need to gnaw on anything resembling a tree, including human limbs. Giant, rabid, and disgustingly ill, can anyone reverse the curse before it's too late?!

Sweetie! - Sweetie! is the girl next door who wouldn't hurt a fly and doesn't have a mean bone in her body... but when you're not looking, she just might kill you with kindness.

Betty Whoop - Born in 1899 is 115 years old. She now brags about her years of experience. She began wrestling at the age of 15 and has 99 years of experience under her belt. As the last living member from, The Freedom Fighters League durning the First World War, Betty Whoop is historical treasure. Betty is also well known for her outlandish baked goods.

Citizen A - Determined, honest and clever, Citizen A is a political candidate from Toronto. Though she enters the ring to “wrestle” ideas and policy, her no-nonsense brand of politics and commitment to action are transformed into wrestling readiness with a swift roll up of the sleeves. “If the people want me to wrestle, I’ll wrestle,” she declares.

AND MORE....

Wrestling within the ring allows participants to suspend gendered expectations and traditional roles, and embrace aspects of our personalities that are suppressed and not always celebrated. We stage, as we like see it, the battle for justice.