ISPW holding Hulk Hogan tribute at Legends of Wrestling night in Wildwood

Tommy Fierro has made professional wrestling his life.
The Lincoln Park native promotes his Independent Stars of Professional Wrestling throughout New Jersey, and he’s worked with some of the biggest names in the sport.
Like many wrestling fans, this has been a rough week for Fierro. Hulk Hogan, the game’s biggest star of the 1980s and possibly all time died Thursday.
“I wouldn't even be involved in the professional wrestling industry if it weren't for Hulk Hogan,” Fierro said. “On a fall morning in 1985, I was sitting on my grandparent's living room floor playing with my toys and my grandfather was watching WWF. When my eyes looked up to the television and I saw Hulk Hogan, that was it. I was hooked.
“I was the biggest Hulkamaniac growing up. One of my bucket list goals was to have Hulk Hogan at one of my 80s Wrestling Con. Unfortunately, I never had the chance to even meet him. He made such a huge difference in so many millions of fans lives. Hulkamania will live forever.”
Fierro will see to that.
Not only is he planning a candlelight vigil July 25 at his store, The Wrestling Collector in Stockholm, he’s planning to honor the Hulkster when Fierro returns to his roots. And many of Hogan’s good friends will be part of the action.
Fierro is bringing a huge show to Wildwood Convention Hall on July 29. The event will not only have the stars of ISPW, but Fierro is bringing legends to town to celebrate.
The Legends of Wrestling Night will include Tito Santana, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, Demolition, Tatanka, the Patriot, Francine, Sandman and ECW founder Tod Gordon.
The night was planned before Hogan died suddenly this week, and will now serve as a chance for the stars to get together and swap stories about their days working with their fallen friend.
It’s also a chance for Fierro to come back to where it all got started.
He began promoting shows in Wildwood in 1998. Nearly three decades later, he’s returning to the scene where he packed the house every week.
Well, not exactly the same place. The convention center has since moved to the other side of the boardwalk on the beach side, but other than that, it’s a blast from the past.
“I was running weekly events at the Wildwoods Convention Center in the summers on 1998 and 1999 during the height of the Attitude Era/Monday Night Wars when wrestling was experiencing its biggest boom period ever,” Fierro said. “I was only 21 years old at the time and fell into a situation where I was at the right place at the right time during the hottest period of wrestling ever. Once they knocked down the old Convention Hall and built the new one, WWE had an exclusive there for almost 20 years and it wasn't possible to have another event there.
“Since the pandemic, WWE has cut back on their touring schedule and Wildwood has been missing their yearly pro wrestling event and it's so cool for me that I am the one to bring it back there over 25 years later. It's a full circle moment for sure.”
Fierro might have been in the right place at the right time, but he was also the right guy for the job, and that had a lot to do with his success.
His family friendly shows are a hit for fans of all ages, and he does a nice job of bringing in the stars of tomorrow with the legends of the past.
If you go to an ISPW show, you’ll likely see someone you know. And there’s a very good chance that a few years down the road, you’ll see the younger stars as they make their rise in the sport.
Every show is special, but this one might be a big more because it’s not only serving as a pro wrestling card, but also a mini-convention.
While the legends aren’t wrestling, they will be there, and will meet fans. If you’ve ever attended one of Fierro’s wrestling conventions, you know what to expect.
“I was doing 80s Wrestling Con in New Jersey for the past 5 years and unfortunately there are only so many of the guys from that era that are still with us and you can only use the same talent at the same location so much until it becomes played out,” said Fierro, who held his convention in Canada this summer.
“That is why we also debuted 90s Wrestling Con. But there is a huge market for nostalgia and it's an event that can be toured around to all the big markets around the United States and different countries as well.”
Wildwood proved to be the perfect setting for this with so many fans from around New Jersey and the tri-state area in town for vacation.
Fierro remembers the thrill of taking in a pro wrestling show when he was a kid on vacation, and it means a lot that he can give kids that same memory.
It’s still something he remembers fondly.
“There's nothing like this town,” Fierro said of Wildwood. “It's my favorite place in the entire world. The coolest part is when I was a kid, my grandparents would take me down there every year when I was a kid on vacation. I got lucky several times and WWF was running a show down there the week I was on vacation. I remember being there for the British Bulldogs vs. Demolition in the main event back in 1987 and now Demolition will be returning there for Legends of Wrestling Night on Tuesday night.
“Back in 1986 I was there for King Kong Bundy vs. Hillbilly Jim for the main event when I was 9 years old. Little did I know when I was sitting ringside for that match that 12 years later I'd be promoting my own wrestling event in that same building and King Kong Bundy would be in my main event. I would have never believed that in a million years if someone told me that.”
For tickets to the show, visit ispwwrestling.com.