The city of Milwaukee, WI is set to honor hometown pro wrestling legend, Reggie “The Crusher” Lisowski with the town’s first ever Crusherfest. The festival is set to take place on June 8th & June 9th and will include the unveiling of a life-size bronzed statue of the former three-time AWA World Heavyweight Champion. There will also be a live wrestling show taking place a few hours after the statue is revealed.
The Crusher was a huge fan favorite in the AWA, being known as a main event comedy act who possessed a partying, blue-collar attitude that was easily intriguing to the northern fanbase. A big character trait of The Crusher persona was that he was a big beer drinker, but according to fellow wrestling legend Baron Von Raschke, Lisowski never drank beer out-of-character.
The rest of Crusherfest has many Crusher-themed events planned for the weekend that includes polka music and airing of classic matches featuring Crusher. The Journal Sentinel posted the following itinerary online:
Saturday, June 8
- 11 a.m.: Festival Grounds Open
- 11:30 a.m.: Steve Meisner Polka Band
- 3 p.m.: Crusher Statue Unveiling
- 4 p.m.: The Squeezettes
- 6:30 p.m.: Pro Wrestling Show
- 8 p.m.: The November Criminals
- 9 p.m.: Festival Closes
- Throughout the day legends of wrestling will make appearances.
Sunday, June 9
- 10:30 a.m.: Festival Grounds Open
- 11 a.m.: Polka Mass
- 12 p.m.: Jeff Winard Polka Band
- 1 p.m.: The Downtowners
- 4 p.m.: Blues Addiction
- 5 p.m.: Festival Closes
- All day classic “Da Crusher” matches will be screened, the 13th Mr. Saloon Competition will be held and a Badger Heritage Antique Motorcycle Show will be held.
