On Sunday, November 10th, wrestler Chris Toste, along with the IPW team put on a tremendous show in Hamilton, raising $5,100 for cancer research at Juravinksi Hospital and Cancer Centre Foundation.
Mike Shea, IPW’s president, mentions how special this event has become over the years.
“This is a very important one for me because my sister passed away from pancreatic cancer 16 years ago, ” Shea said. “Chris is the one who originally started this event, and he was very happy with how IPW was for helping him out.
He told me prior to us getting involved, he raised $6000 over three years….and the last two years combined, we helped raise almost $10,000. Whatever we can do to help, we’re there. And as for the fans…they were great and the support was overwhelming.”
Toste, who is a cancer survivor, explains how much the evening meant to him.
“Hammering Cancer is now going on five years, and it’s an event that means a lot to me. I started this myself through the Juravinski Hospital Cancer Research Center,” he said. “Pro wrestling is my passion, and what better way then to help raise money to fight cancer by doing what I love and getting in that ring to entertain my home fans from Hamilton.”
However, it was a night that saw all wrestlers, headed by Toste, donate their time for a good cause.
“For these past two years I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside IPW, who helped me put these shows together. We all have the same goal, and that’s to raise as much money to fight cancer through stem cell research,” the veteran wrestler noted. “This year was another success. We raised over $5,000 and… it gives me goosebumps hearing the crowd chanting my name! I love to perform and give my fans the very best I can give. All of us wrestlers put our bodies on the line for this charity event, and we all donated our time for this event.”
The special event was promoted throughout the community with the help of 92.9 the Grand and key contributors included Collective Arts Brewing and Macho Movers.
However, the evening also marked an anniverary of the loss of Rob Rage, a champion wrestler who fought valiantly during his own cancer battle.
Joe Hagan, IPW’s long-time announcer, noted in a Faceboook post.
“We were also joined by Crossfire Wrestling CEO Chris LaPlante to pay tribute to our mutual friend Rob Rage, who unfortunately passed away during last year’s Hammering Cancer event, ” he said. “It’s also worth noting when we announced that we would be paying tribute to Rob with a traditional ten-bell salute, everyone in the building simply stood up.”
Toste, along with IPW, look to continue the tradition of ‘Hammering Cancer’ next year and for years to come.
“My goal is to keep doing this event once a year and to raise money for the hospital that saved my life. If it wasn’t for Juravinski, I would be here today,” he said.
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