What It’s Like Being Inside of a Wrestling Ring

Over the weekend, Changing Pointe Church presented "Death Match 2K15" -- a wrestling benefit for Children's Village. I was invited to help out in a couple of instances. I'm a life-long wrestling fan, so stepping foot inside the ring was a dream come true.

I don't know about other rings, but I've never seen a wrestling ring up close. The mat was made of thick sponge-type material -- like a yoga mat, but very dense and thick. I'm sure it wouldn't feel good getting slammed onto it, though. I also didn't know the ropes basically looked like rope that was wrapped very tightly with electrical tape or something. One of those things I'd just never thought about.

I was asked to get in the ring and do a little announcing when my friend Micah and I were rudely interrupted by a scary-looking tag team. They wore masks and one guy even had a fireball in his hand that he put out by clinching his fist. I figured "when in Rome" and was going to stand up to these guys when Micah pushed me and jumped out of the ring. Now I'm all alone in the ring when, suddenly, I was saved by Crime Time, another tag team. That gave me a chance to jump out of the ring, too.

I got to wear a referee shirt and be an extra set of eyes during the Battle Royal match. The object of a Battle Royal is to throw your opponent over the top rope and land on the ground. One guy was trying to argue with me that everyone gets two chances. I had to lay down the law and tell them you only get one chance and to get back to the locker room.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me and I had such a great time. A big "thanks" to everyone involved.