Woodstock, the 1969 music and arts festival that was held in Bethel, New York over the course of three days, defined the peak of the counterculture of the era. Promoters of the all-star music line-up expected maybe tens of thousands of fans, but when the event drew a few hundred thousand people, it became more than just a stacked concerted, it defined a generation. Jimi Hendrix, The Who, The Grateful Dead, and Janis Joplin were among the performers that saw their legacies etched in the history books because of their involvement at Woodstock.
In a microcosm of that scenario, a generation of Pittsburgh professional wrestling has been defined through the lens of the great, Mike Sorg, the premiere video producer of grappling content in the steel city.
Through the lineage of Bruno, Douglas, and Angle over the years, the region is undoubtedly a wrestling town. The fandom gets passed down through the generations similar to any other tradition. With those cornerstones as a foundation, it was almost natural that the area would have a storied and flourishing independent scene as well. It’s not uncommon today for at least one, if not multiple pro wrestling events to be running every weekend somewhere around western Pennsylvania.
Unfortunately, much of that storied history, including when the Pittsburgh scene became a hotbed for sports entertainment in the late-90s as it rode the wave of momentum that saw the sport a part of pop culture during those years, was lost to time. Footage of Pittsburgh action from a few decades ago is sparse, as only a select number of television shows or live event VHS tapes were able to be saved for prosperity. Some presentations were captured on grainy VHS tapes before they were digitized to salvage them as somewhat of a grappling time capsule. However, most of those legitimately memorable events for those that happened to be there live simply weren’t recorded so no record of them other than hand-written results exists today.
Sadly, the reality is that during an era when analog was still the standard, video and audio production was often cost prohibitive for many independent leagues in the 90s so first-hand accounts remain the best source to garner information about that era. Pittsburgh legends like Shirley Doe, Quinn Magnum, Paul Atlas, Brandon K, and others can only reflect on their earliest matches in their own minds since cameras weren’t at the matches to preserve their efforts fur viewers in the future.
Thankfully, with an assist from modern technology, today’s grapplers of the iron city, have nearly all of their bouts not only recorded, but fully produced, promoted, and often livestreamed through the work done by the Sorgatron Media team. Sorg’s team has either worked with in the past or currently works with every major independent organization in Pittsburgh, as well as a handful of promotions within the tri-state area. By comparison, the older generation are fortunate to have a select few of them matches saved, and those are usually on an antiquated form of media, whereas entire careers have been documented through Sorg’s productions.
Sorg’s fingerprints, or digital thumbnail on his extensive library of work have been weaved within the fabric of pro wrestling in the city for more than a decade. More wrestlers and more promotions are more well known because of the stage that he provides. Today, Mike has a dedicated crew, including Missy Sorg, Zach Rizza, Rob Brown, and a rotating cast of others for his broadcasts. The Sorgatron Media group is a full-time career for Sorg. He his studio and office in the Beechview neighborhood, where he runs a live podcast every Tuesday, he livestreams wrestling events every weekend, and when he isn’t filming in-ring chaos around the area, he works with a group of college programs for a variety of events. That’s not to mention maintaining the indywrestling.live network, as well as all the social media content that goes along with the myriad of projects.
Still, when Sorg launched The Wrestling Mayhem show, an extensive pro wrestling podcast that covers all facets of the business in 2006, it was a very different venture than the career that it turned into today. Two decades ago, it was very much a passion project that looked to blend his interest into a unique presentation that stood out from the pack in a relatively new podcast market. A true jack-of-all-trades when it came to media, Sorg’s interest in music, art, and theater were bound to collide with his love of the squared circle.
All those years ago, Mike and a collection of his friends came together for what was dubbed, “Sorgstock,” a melting pot of media that has only grown in lore since its inception.
“We originally ran Sorgstock as basically a backyard party, starting in 2006 up in Jamestown, PA. I was working with so many great artists, along with my own comedy hip hop duo. Combine that with meeting a group of backyard wrestlers at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh who joined Wrestling Mayhem Show, and a group from Lisbon, OH, we were attempting to create something of a super show at our scale and bring it back to my home. My family was involved. My nephew was a referee when we had a ring the last one. It was fun. 

We did four of them. Sorgstock 2006 and 2007, Spring and Summer Editions,” Mike recalled.
When that podcast that started it all for Sorg, The Wrestling Mayhem show, celebrated its 20th anniversary this past April, what was meant to be a live podcast celebration in concept morphed into a full-fledged professional wrestling show. Talent was secured, matches were booked, and tickets were sold. The venue that hosted the production was a place that Sorg helped put on the map dubbed, “The Warehouse” in the Allentown section of the city. It’s the home base for 880 Wrestling, a league that launched four years ago with a mission statement of equality and inclusivity for its roster. The organization’s training school has seen its aspiring hopefuls go from their first day inside a wrestling ring to learn the maneuvers through weekly training sessions to eventually make a name for themselves as pros through the Thursday Night Fights project, matches that are livestreamed every Thursday on the Sorg platforms. It was at the Warehouse during the 20th anniversary event that Mike was reminded of, and put on the spot, for the return of his original festival.
He didn’t know it at the time, but when he was put on the spot in front of a live audience, it unintentionally set the wheels in motion for his second live wrestling event of the year on Friday, August 28th.


It’s Beastman’s fault, he kept asking, ‘When are you bringing Sorgstock back?’ When he finally did that in front of everyone at the Wrestling Mayhem Show 20th Anniversary show, it became more real. 

While I’m out of the music scene, I’m so happy to have Sikes come in to DJ a special pro wrestling set. He played with us back in the day for his solo project. I’ve seen him in action for the MySpace Nites with Remy LaVey and it made sense. We get to feature people in new ways like Facade doing live graffiti art,” Mike said of the garnish of the pro wrestling salad.
Indeed, this Friday’s live presentation will bring a potpourri of entertainers together, with the squared circle the centerpiece. Of course, 880 Wrestling will be represented on its home turf when the stellar Reese Hayes challenges the dynamic Brianna Bandz. A pair of tag team bouts will see The Runway of Calvin Couture and Tyler Klein square off against Wyld Wyld South, as well as Department of Jocks vs. the aerial duo of MDMA. The Renegade Wrestling Alliance No Limits title will be at stake when iron city icon, Gory defends the championship against international star, The Beastman in bite off match. There’s a full card on the line-up with additional bouts, as well as some possible surprise interactions.


”On the wrestling side, I hope we are putting on a type of pro wrestling show no one else is doing. Getting to showcase some talent in different ways, and let them be creative outside the bounds of the other companies. My biggest take away from the Wrestling Mayhem Show Presents April Fools show was how much the wrestlers were so happy to try concepts like a Freaky Friday Match or Dungeons & Dragons themed Top Rope Table Top Match. People still mention some of those concepts and moments months later, I hope we do the same here,” Sorg explained.
While he had the rolodex and the structure in place for the live event presentation, Sorg cites the assistance from those around him as key for building an event from the ground up as far an an original production.
“I know I’m still getting the hang of the other side of running things, and that’s why we’re taking it easy at first. It’s really made me appreciate how hard my partners at indywrestling.us have to work to put on these shows. I’ve had a few people ask if I’d like with help to run something, but the right combination of MV Young and 880 Wrestling is what makes this all come together,” Sorg concluded.
For more information about the event, you can go to https://www.facebook.com/wrestlingmayhemshow
To purchase tickets for Sorgstock, you can go to
https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/sorgatronmedia/wrestling-mayhem-show-presents-sorgstock?fbclid=IwY2xjawT6SWhwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMUsxWWNRRklaUUZwQWF1aUlzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEemxHVbDmucdA2dtYSnSMWANHd0FIhortnFIozUvIzCrJ8X9IGsPuGAXdbqg4_aem_xlmz7_m71fc7jCywLVVeHw
Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
Email [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
