Sayreville wrestlers making return to their roots
BY GEORGE ALBANO
Staff Writer

MARK ENGEL Big Shot Bryan Sexton will be on the card tomorrow night at the South River VFW.

The recreation youth wrestling program in Sayreville has certainly produced its share of outstanding wrestlers on the high school level. Heck, the record book is full of them.

But now it's even producing professional wrestlers. That's right. Smack-down, body-slamming, flying-off-the-top-rope pro wrestling, just like the kind you see on TV.

Shaun Redding and Bryan Sexton are both products of the Sayreville youth wrestling program, and both went on to wrestle at Sayreville High School. But now they're both part of the widely popular National Wrestling Superstars pro circuit, which operates out of Hazlet.

And both Redding and Sexton will be featured as part of a big local pro wrestling card on Friday night at the South River VFW on 31 Reid St. beginning at 7:45 p.m.

Of course, if you happen to be a pro wrestling aficionado and don't recognize those names, don't turn the channel; there's a very good reason. Both wrestle under different names. Bryan Jenkins is "Bryan Sexton," while Shaun Redding is Nicky Oceans. It's all part of the act.

But the athleticism the wrestlers display and the risks they take and the injuries they sustain are no act. This is dangerous work, but also loads of fun for those involved.

In fact, Redding practically grew up around pro wrestling through his father, Kevin Redding, who was involved on the promotion end.

"I used to promote shows in town for local organizations like the Jaycees," Redding, a Sayreville resident and vice president of an advertising agency in New York by day, said. "The WWF, which is now the WWE, used to do shows in high school gyms, and I was the one who would run the show. I was the go-between person.

"But then they got big and stopped doing high school shows, so my work with them was done. But I still worked for organizations that needed fundraisers."

Enter the NWS, which does numerous fundraising wrestling shows throughout the state and all around the Northeast under the direction of Joe Panzarino.

"I went to one of Joe's shows and I got hooked," Redding, now in his fifth year with NWS, recalled. "I told him that one day I would eventually like to ref a show, and now I'm his senior referee."

He also prints and distributes tickets and posters, as well as help write press releases.

"I'm Joe's right-hand man," he says.

He even has his own wrestling ring he transports from site to site.

"We do it all."

It's no wonder Shaun Redding developed an early interest in wrestling and, in fact, decided he wanted to become a pro wrestler some day.

"The truth is, when he was 4 years old, I had to go to the WWF headquarters in Connecticut for a meeting, and the guy I was meeting said bring my kid along," the elder Redding explained. "While I was in the meeting, Shaun was getting a tour of the place, and after the meeting, Vince McMahon [the CEO and president of the wrestling conglomerate] came in. Shaun looked up at him and said, 'I want to wrestle. I want to be a wrestler.' And Vince told him to learn how to wrestle first. 'Don't watch TV,' he said. 'Learn how to wrestle.'

"So when he was 5 years old, he joined the recreation wrestling program in town and learned how to wrestle."

Shaun, a senior at Sayreville High who will be 18 next month, still remembers well the day he proclaimed his future goal.

"That day I went with my father to the WWF building, I got to see how everything worked," he said. "Everything was so big, and I was so little. It was amazing. But I knew that's what I wanted to do.

So he followed his dream, and when he got to Sayreville High School he wrestled as a freshman. That, however, would be his one and only season of high school wrestling.

"He did the rec wrestling program in town from kindergarten to eighth grade, and then when he went to high school he joined the high school team," his father said. "But the hardest part was losing weight. The last tournament he was in he had to lose 8 pounds in an hour.

"So, when he finished ninth grade he decided he didn't want to do that anymore."

But he didn't give up wrestling. Instead, he began training, at the age of 14, for a pro wrestling career.

"He definitely had more fun being in the ring than on a wrestling mat," Kevin Redding said. "We had a guy who worked with us, Tom Force, who became his trainer. Joe [Panzarino] told Tom to go work with him in the ring. Now, Tom didn't like training kids. He said they all give up once they see how much work it is. But three hours later, they were still in the ring and Tom said to Shaun, 'I'm gonna make you a wrestler.' "

He did, too. Shaun began training in November 2002, and by May 2003 he had his first match.

"He had to wear a mask because he was so young," his father said. "His gimmick name was "Antonio Malave." We put him in a lot of battle royals and tag-team matches, nothing major. We put him in matches where he could be protected and wouldn't get hurt."

Shaun, who wrestled as a freshman at 135 pounds, began his pro career at 160 and has built himself up to 185. His first big moment came when he was 16 and he and Tom Force, nicknamed "Fierce Fuego" (which, translated, means Force Fire), won the first-ever NWS tag-team title.

"They wrestled a Mexican style called Luchador, which is a lot of high-flying stuff," Kevin Redding noted.

Then last summer, a more mature-looking Shaun was finally able to get rid of his mask and the name Antonio Malave. Instead, he came up with a new character, named "Nicky Oceans."

"Nicky is a tribute to his grandfather. That was his name," Kevin said. "And Oceans came from the outfit he wears, black surfing shorts with pink, sort of a beach-bum thing."

That suits Shaun just fine.

"I'm just glad I got rid of the mask," he said. "It's much better. I could breath easier, and now people can see who you are. They couldn't before."

Meanwhile, Bryan Jenkins' introduction to professional wrestling was a little different. He, too, came out of the youth wrestling program in town and then enjoyed a solid four-year wrestling career at Sayreville High, where he was a captain and finished third in the district.

"Me and a bunch of my friends used to backyard wrestle back in the day, when it was a fad," Jenkins, now 23, said. "I was probably 15 or 16, and we were just fooling around, throwing each other around and having fun. Then, one day, Time Magazine contacted us and did a story on us. We were young and didn't know any better, but we thought it was cool. I mean, Time Magazine. That was a pretty big deal.

"Turns out a local promoter in Jackson saw the story and invited four of us to train and I did my first show in Marlboro. In fact, it will be six years the day after Friday night's show. March 25, 2000 - that was my first show."

And a dream come true for Jenkins.

"We all grew up watching these guys on TV, so it was cool to finally meet guys you idolized," he said. "Three of us stuck with it and it's been great. We're having fun."

One of the wrestlers who started with Jenkins is Matt Revel, who also started and spent some time in the youth wrestling program in town. Now he wrestles under the name of "Archadia" and, in fact, will be Bryan Sexton's opponent Friday night in a Loser-Must-Retire match.

"Matt and I went through grade school together. We grew up playing sports together," the 5-foot-11, 190-pound Jenkins, who also played football at SHS, said. "He's been one of my biggest helps in this and he's really making a name for himself."

Meanwhile, Nicky Oceans will meet Rob Eckos. In his last match last Saturday, Oceans won the Delaware FWF cruiserweight belt by pinning J.D. Smooth.

"Shaun won the FWF cruiserweight title when he was Antonio Malave," Kevin Redding said. "He lost it to Smooth and then won it back as Nicky Oceans."

With a little help from the referee.

"I was the referee," his father said. "J.D. Smooth pushed me, so I pushed him back and he rolled over. Shaun hooked him and pinned him. I guess I helped him a little bit."

That's just one of the many memories the two have shared in their labor of love.

"It's been a good father/son thing traveling together," the Papa Redding said. "We do a lot of bonding. I consider myself lucky. How many fathers get to travel with their son, and how many teenagers want to hang around their father."

Shaun isn't quite sure if he learned that pin move against J.D. Smooth in the rec youth program, but there's no doubt his background in wrestling has certainly helped him.

"It helps a lot," he said. "In wrestling, you make up your own moves. I take moves I learned as an amateur and transform them into something professional. I thought it was going to be a lot easier because I didn't have to keep my weight down. But it hurts a lot more. The next day, your back hurts, your head hurts. You're sore all over."

So far, Shaun has stayed away from any serious injury. He has, however, suffered a couple of concussions, "and I've had a some sprains, strains and pulls."

Jenkins hasn't been as fortunate, however.

"I've had some bad ones," he laughs. "My second match, I broke my nose. And two years ago I busted up my shoulder in one of the last times I wrestled in Sayreville. I was out close to six months."

Jenkins and Redding have even met one another in the ring a few times.

"Shaun's very first match was a battle royal and he and Bryan were the last two standing," Kevin Redding pointed out. "Bryan ended up winning that one."

The two of them have returned to the rec youth wrestling program where they started, and helped teach a new generation of wrestlers. And on Friday night, they'll both be back wrestling in front of their hometown crowd.

"It's always a little special wrestling close to home," Jenkins said. "Fans remember who you are, and now they see you in a whole new light."

"Everybody who knows you and lives around here comes to see you," Shaun added.

Of course, that would include a lot of his classmates. Remember, Shaun Redding is still only a senior at Sayreville High School.

The NWS puts on close to 70 shows a year - they did 67 last year - mostly on weekends. Jenkins and Redding do as many as they can, but both know it's just a pastime. Their focus is in other areas.

In fact, Jenkins, a Monmouth University graduate, works for an Internet marketing company in New York, while Redding has already been accepted at Kean University and plans to be a physical education teacher.

But both hope to continue wrestling as long as they can.

"I'll probably do it until I can't do it anymore," Shaun Redding laughed.

They won't be the only local flavor on Friday night's show. Besides Archadia, other Sayreville wrestlers scheduled to be on the card include J.T. Highlander, Jersey Jerry, Slayer and Dirtbag Dan.

Tickets, priced $16 for adults and $14 for children and seniors, are available by calling (7320 888-1704. Tickets will also be sold at the door.

"I'm looking forward to it," Shaun Redding said. "Every show is great, but this one is special. I'm going to see people I haven't seen in a long time. I can't wait."