Despite the rain and wind, cheers and boos from families filled the air as professional wrestlers unleashed flying elbows, headlocks and suplexes during the Sacramento Public Library's first-ever live wrestling show.
Over 200 people attended the Saturday event at Belle Cooledge Park, many of whom were watching wrestling for the first time. That includes 5-year-old Briar Foulk-Mintline.
“It was so intense that wrestling match, I couldn't sit still,” she said after the show.
When asked what her favorite wrestling move was, she said, “I think all of them were pretty cool.”
The wrestling match was part of a month-long series of events celebrating Día de los Niños. This year, the library chose to focus on Mexican culture through “Lucha Libro in the Stacks,” an eight-part series of events focusing on lucha libre.
Professional wrestlers during a tag team match Saturday, April 26, 2025, in Sacramento.(Gerardo Zavala/CapRadio)
Victor Jiménez Olvera, bilingual services specialist for the Sacramento Public Library, organized the program. He said he was happy people showed up despite the rain.
“I'm going to be able to sleep well tonight,” he said after the event. “We think that it was a good fit for the community.”
Olvera didn't say if there will be more events like this in the future, but noted that libraries are constantly evolving and looking for ways to enhance their offerings.
“Because that's what we're about,” he said. “We are trying to provide services to the community that the community needs and wants.”
The Lucha Soldier Arsenal, who did not want to share his real name, was one of several wrestlers who competed. He said he hadn't heard of a library holding pro wrestling matches until he was invited to this one.
“We're out here promoting reading, letting parents know how important it is to read to your kids,” he said. “When you read to your kids at night, they're more susceptible to reading on their own.”
He and the other wrestlers are with California Championship Wrestling, which is based in Los Banos. He said it started in 2019 with a group of wrestlers “wanting to spread Lucha Libre to the community.”
Since then, he said the group has had shows in Modesto, Oakdale and now, for the first time ever, in Sacramento. Arsenal said that having the first Sacramento fight at a library means a lot because he used to go to the library as an escape when he was younger.
“I didn't grow up with video games, I wasn't the biggest sports guy growing up,” he said. “But I always knew I could go to the library. That was a little bit of an escape from home life, from school.”
Arsenal said he found more solace in education and reading and that he hopes shows like this encourage kids to visit their libraries.
“Hopefully, with what we do in the ring, we can not only promote wrestling, but we want to promote good values such as reading and education because that, in my opinion, is the most important thing for any child growing up,” he said.
Arsenal recommended anyone interested in catching a show to follow Next Level Pro Wrestling, which has shows in the Arden area, on social media and look for upcoming events.
He also recommended people catch one of California Championship Wrestling's monthly shows in the Modesto area.
“Hopefully we'll do a lot more shows in Sacramento just spreading awareness, spreading that lucha libre love all around,” he said.
Follow us for more stories like this
CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you. As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.
Donate Today
