“My goal is to continue to break down barriers for the LGTBQ community. I really have been working hard to sign a contract with a major pro wrestling company. I want to do things that the fans never seen.”
Professional wrestling, regardless of the form it takes, is based on the ability to emotionally connect with the audience. That connection is what brings fans to the venues, big or small, to see the athletes that they identify with in the ring. The examples are numerous, but we’ve seen time and time again how those fans find hope, courage, and solace through the avenue of sports entertainment.
Sometimes, the competitors inside the ring ropes find that same level of hope, courage, and solace through the art form that is displayed on the literal canvas.
In a business where everyone borrows, copies, or imitates the past to some degree, The Matriarchy, the tag team of Paris Sahara and Zeke Mercer, along with their manager, Amanda Maslow are an original act.
“I love The Matriarchy. we are the most unique tag team at 880 Wrestling. The only trans tag team with a female manager. We work very well together and bring a different wrestling style,” said Paris.
“Sure, we can say I’m one of the few African-American Nonbinary people in wrestling and I add that aspect, but that’s just surface level,” added Zeke.
Mercer, a seven-year pro, broke into the sport at the age of just 18, and used their time in the ring as a way of self-expression and healing. With an amateur wrestling background from high school, Zeke brought a combination of natural skill and technique to the pro ranks, making them one of the staples of the Pittsburgh scene.
“I have ADHD and C-PTSD, everyone is aware of how much mental health is very much apart of a wrestlers success or failure. I think my time in the business can be a good example of people having certain diagnosis and be successful in however you want to do with your career. People are more than their diagnosis,” explained Zeke.
Working in the mental health services field outside of professional wrestling, Zeke works to help others during the week before they lace up their boots for their own “wrestling therapy” sessions, zigzagging their way around different states on any given weekend to perform for different independent organizations.
“Goals shift and change over the years, in my rookie year I focused on getting better and staying booked. Now it’s much grander than just staying booked. I got my fingers into a little bit of everything and the goal in basic terms is to leave wrestling better than I found it. I like to encourage people to be apart of the wrestling community or even the business side cause you love it, not to make money from it,” commented Mercer.
For Paris, she started in the industry just a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered the entire world, but in the time since the local circuit returned back to regular cards, she had the chance to make a name for herself, blending her athletic background with the lessons with the squared circle. Dynamic in-ring offense and a shining persona made Sahara one of the rising stars of the steel city.
“I learned my first year of wrestling that I need to be in the moment, enjoy every moment, and be present. Also, take my time in every situation with the way I walk, wrestle and speak. Let the fans take everything in,” she remarked.
With their shared background and complimentary skill sets, Zeke and Paris made for a fitting duo.
The perfect platform for this tag team dubbed “The Matriarchy” was 880 Wrestling, an upstart league that was founded in 2023 on its open door policy training center, where anyone that wanted to test themselves in a pursuit of a career of professional wrestling was welcomed to start their journey under the 880 banner. Along with the centerpiece of the training school, 880 Wrestling, a nod to the postal code of its original location of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, hosts weekly live cards on Thursdays that are streamed online through the indywrestling.us platform, as well as featured events on a Friday each month on the south side of Pittsburgh.
“880 Wrestling, I feel like was my saving grace. I was contemplating on giving up on wrestling, but knowing that I can go to 880 every week to wrestle, be accepted by the locker room, and grow as a performer. I’m very grateful for 880, I think it’s incredible that it is the only weekly wrestling show in Pittsburgh and we have a lot of fans that love to support us,” said Paris.
“The best way to explain 880 is that it’s a passion project, it’s DIY wrestling in the sense that everyone involved contributes to 880. The newer class and beyond have all stepped up to help keep 880 as a fun and welcoming environment for both shows and in side the school. 880 is a community at the end of the day,” Zeke added.
With 880 Wrestling taking pride in its acceptance and welcoming stage for LGBTQ+ talent, The Matriarchy flourished in their roles as a representative tag team. Mercer as a non-binary competitor, and Paris as a transgender athlete break the mold of expectations or stereotypes. Their pure talent overshadowing any preconceived notions puts them among the most notable tag teams of the Pittsburgh scene as the current 880 tag team champions.
“The idea of Matriarchy is literally what you see on screen today, a new faction that features a unique set of people. Paris Sahara, who I felt didn’t get the opportunities she should’ve gotten from the beginning of her career, is one of the great talents who came before the pandemic and I felt like us a team would be something interesting to watch. The need for the matriarchy is the same reason why most people form teams or make factions, to have success. The representation of a team that consists of young people of color who are gender nonconforming is something you don’t see in most promotions or your TV. Paris and I work well together for the simple fact that we have the same goal and mutual respect for each other and what we bring to the table. As a testament to our unique faction, I’d say everyone in the Pittsburgh area or even further knew of The Matriarchy and saw how different crowds reacted to us,” said Zeke Mercer.
So, the wild and over-the-top spectacle of professional wrestling provides Zeke Mercer with a level of stability throughout their own personal struggles of the past, using the squared circle as a way to evolve and grow as not just a performer, but on a personal level outside the ring as well. It also allows Mercer to use their knowledge to help coach the aspiring hopefuls, an aspect that they cite as a very rewarding of their involvement in the sport. Paris Sahara not only found a place of acceptance within the pro wrestling landscape, she found a platform where she can realize the highest level of her potential as an athlete through the promotional efforts and stage of 880 Wrestling.
The Matriarchy break the mold of what professional wrestling can be, opening eyes that talent can excel if given the opportunity and the platform. The Matriarchy brings that talent, acceptance, and representation each time they step into the ring to showcase their skills for the fans in attendance.
For more information about The Matriarchy, you can go to https://www.facebook.com/zeke.mercer.58
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Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
Email [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
