East Bay Pro Wrestling has brought underground professional wrestling to a Pacheco warehouse complex sandwiched between the Concord Buchanan Air Field and interstate 680 since 2015. The only way to know you have found the wrestling arena is to find the open doorway wrapped in LED lights.

Their first cage match of the year took place on Saturday, Feb. 25. Entry was $10, cash only.

The night’s cage match between Perry Von Vicious and Levi Shapiro was billed with the tag, “two men enter, one man leaves town.” The name is clever, with Vicious soon to move to Massachusetts.

There were five other matches outside the main event, two of them with championship belts on the line.

The first match of the night was between wrestlers Alexander G. Bernard, a “wealthy man” character who comes out in a captain’s hat and tear-away khaki pants, versus Tsunami, a “surfer dude” character. The self-proclaimed “superior man” Bernard won after five minutes.

The smaller bouts prior to the main event followed a formula, with it soon becoming painfully obvious who the hero and villain were. I got spit on by one wrestler. Another wrestler said he wanted to take the candy of an 8-year-old spectator.

You knew who to cheer for. And you cheered loud.

In the end, when the good guy wins, all is right in the world.

Before the main event could begin, the crowd was instructed to wait outside while officials strapped and zip-tied a chain link cage up to the ring. After ten minutes, we were permitted to re-enter.

The cage match started with a two-minute montage video detailing Vicious and Shapiro’s friendship. “We were brothers,” Shapiro said in a voice over.

“I’ve always wanted to have a cage match,” Vicious said in the last line of the video. Then the lights flickered on and Vicious and Shapiro entered the ring.

In the end, Shapiro won. Vicious said his real goodbyes and the wrestlers hugged. It was an emotional farewell.

EBPW generally has two shows a month. The next shows are on Mar. 11 and Mar. 25 at 110 2nd Ave. South #B9, Pacheco CA.