Pro wrestler hopes to inspire others in the Duke City

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Pro wrestling is back in the Duke City.

“This is the longest relationship of my life, professional wrestling,” said Fred Slow, the man behind Duke City Championship Wrestling. “I fell in love with this thing when I was five years old!”

Slow has gathered mostly local wrestlers to step into the ring Saturday night at El Rey Theater, including Carlos “Thunder” Gallegos.

“The performance, the luster of it, the crowd, the feeling of just getting you pumped up. The goosebumps. I mean, I’ve loved it my whole life,” Gallegos said.

Gallegos and his journey to the headlining fight this weekend started when he was very young.

“Trampoline when I was a kid. You know, beating up my brother in the den. It’s always been about wrestling,” he said.

Gallegos experienced trauma that few others do.

“I did lean on wrestling to get me through it,” Gallegos said. “My mother murdered my father when I was young. At a young age, and my father’s parents actually took over and raised me and my three brothers.”

Then, when Gallegos was a teenager, he lost his grandparents.

“My grandma died of emphysema and my grandpa died of a heart attack,” Gallegos said.

It was wrestling that pulled him through.

“Seeing these ultra-superheroes on TV, knowing that they’re living a dream, had me dreaming to live that dream,” Gallegos said.

Now that he’s living the dream, he hopes he can be an inspiration for others and show what’s possible.

“You can just rise about it every single time,” he said. “Every time there’s adversity, you get knocked down, you get back up.”

He hopes that youth can hopefully look up to the pros and when they face adversity, they can overcome it.

To buy tickets, click here. Doors open for the family-friendly event at 6 p.m. Saturday.