Remember those nights of Monday Night Raw when they’d spin the wheel and make matches on the spot? Maybe you’re seen the same gimmick at indie shows, where their carefully prepared graphics simulate a “random” selection of one wrestlers versus another.
I’ve seen them too.
I’ve also seen the Lethal Lottery at Grindhouse. Not from the seats, mind you, but from Gorilla.
I stood in the back at the Jeffersonville Arena, watching the video monitor as Mercy Keller let fans pull names out of hats. I was there when they pulled the names Kevo Thrives and Tyler Lee Deputy – two men who had wrestled dozens of times already in 2024 – for the opener.
“I knew it!” screamed Tyler’s real-life partner Vanessa Holiday. “I told him this was going to happen!”
That wasn’t the only magic combination the Lottery turned up. We saw partner against partner when Brandon Wolfe and Kash Jackson of Ruffhouse were matched. The fans chanted for them as the match started, and Kash and Brandon, grinning ear to ear, had a ball working against each other.
We also saw the present face the future when Grindhouse Champion Berto and Hippo faced off with Eli Cruze. Head trainer and booker Ronnie Roberts loved it. “This is a title match in two or three years. I’d never put Cruze in a match with Berto outside this show. This is Cruze’s chance to show how far he’s come – and that he belongs.”
All this to say, fans attending the Lethal Lottery at Grindhouse this Sunday are in for a treat. As Ronnie put it before the show, this is final exams for Grindhouse students, a chance to show how prepared they are. A chance to show who has the chops to call it in the ring.
Yes, the Lethal Lottery is a gimmick. But not the way you think!
Grindhouse runs the 4th Sunday of every month at 3 pm. For more on Grindhouse, and an exclusive look at last year’s Lethal Lottery, check out the book We Are Grindhouse from Eat Sleep Wrestle.
