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Behind the curtain

A look into the life of an independent wrestler

For four years, the bad guy known as Joe Perfect on stage and as Joseph Banzhaf, a co-owner of APEX Wrestling, day-to-day, has played the hometown hero and the heel in the local indie wrestling scene.

“Independent wrestling is like what college football is to the NFL. It’s like the step before,” Banzhaf said. “It’s basically the same thing but on a smaller scale.”

Banzhaf has watched wrestling since he was a kid with his family, he said. He wrestled during middle school and throughout his childhood in the backyard horsing around.

“I went into a questionable past. I went the wrong route and it got me away from (wrestling,)” he said. “When I got clean and sober, I got back into it.”

When Banzhaf started wrestling, he had to do 500 Hindu squats, push-ups and 250 to 500 sit-ups before stepping in the ring to do cardio, bumps and training, he said. Wrestlers train to fall on different surfaces, everything from foam padding to concrete.

Bumps are “falling down with style. It’s falling without getting hurt,” he said. “We train our bodies to be able to handle falling on hard surfaces without getting permanently injured.” Wrestlers preparing for wrestling is very intense. Not only is it hard on their bodies but it’s also hard on their cars, he said. Banzhaf works 40 hours weekly and, on weekends, he drives to shows. Some wrestlers may drive up to three hours for a show and only get $40. The drive comes from their passion, not the pay.

Banzhaf’s on stage persona is Joe Perfect, a name that a friend from recovery came up with, he said. Banzhaf brought the name up to his trainer and it stuck. Originally, Joe Perfect wanted to be a bad guy, but his trainer decided he was too nice.

At his first show, he went up against his enemy, Suicide Myers, and Perfect was a referee who stood up for the fans, Banzhaf said. Myers kept breaking the rules and Perfect decided to go into the ring to teach him a lesson, ultimately leading Perfect to become a hometown hero. Over the course of his storyline, he has ultimately become a bad guy. The storyline and persona help fans connect to the wrestlers in the ring.

To prepare for the show, he was training twice as much and was perfecting his signature moves — the fallaway slam, swing bottom and the rock bottom, he said.

While standing in gorilla, a position wrestler’s stand in where the curtains are, Banzhaf heard

the crowd cheering at his first show, he said. He was hooked.

“Being a recovering drug addict, that was it, none of that other stuff mattered when they opened that curtain and hearing the crowd explode. There’s nothing like it,” he said.

Being his first show, Perfect was nervous, he said. Suicide Myers took care of him during his first show even though Banzhaf stumbled throughout it.

“We want to make sure no one gets hurt. Really, what it is is I’m trying to keep him safe. He’s trying to keep me safe,” Banzhaf said. “You go over the stuff in the back to make sure you’re safe and to make sure you won’t go home in an ambulance rather than walking out of the venue on your own.”

The wrestling ring doesn’t feel like a trampoline like some may think; it’s made out of steel, plywood and thin compression foam, he said. Banzhaf has seen stars from being punched so hard and was kicked in the chest and lost his breath during a steel cage match. Luckily, his opponent let him get his breath back.

“You feel every bit of it — the punches hurt, they sting, the moves hurt. Everyone thinks, ‘oh wrestling is fake,’ “ Banzhaf said. “We basically beat the crap out of our bodies to entertain the people who come to see our show.”

One of Joe Perfect’s feuds is with Jason Furious, also known as Justin Smith, Banzhaf said. Ironically, Smith is one of Banzhaf’s trainers who helped fine tune his wrestling skills.

Fans love the feud between the two, Banzhaf said. Typically after wrestling with Furious at a show, Perfect walks away feeling sore for a couple days.

Often, fans will come out to see what their favorite wrestler has in store for the night and to see who will get beat up, he said. Banzhaf especially enjoys when kids come out and they catch on to bad guy act and play along by giving Joe Perfect grief.

Banzhaf now is a co-owner with Kris “Biggz” Harmon and Zack Eddinger at APEX Wrestling, he said. APEX hosts a show monthly in the Williamsport region through their partnership with Firetree Place.

In the area, there are about four to five independent wrestlers that come from Jersey Shore to Montoursville, he said. But there are about a million indie wrestlers worldwide.

There also are four to five local wrestling federations within an hour drive of the Williamsport region that are very talented, he said.

Through wrestling, Banzhaf has been able to reconnect with his father, John, Joe Perfect’s manager, Banzhaf said. Now, the two hang out almost every weekend traveling for wrestling shows. Perfect’s fans also love his dad.

On Oct. 13, Joe Perfect will wrestle at the No Halloweds Bared show at Fire Tree Place, 600 Campbell St., Williamsport.

At wrestling shows, “seeing the kids faces light up is probably the best part — knowing where I come from and knowing I can bring that much joy to someone — that’s what makes it all worthwhile,” Banzhaf said.

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