ONEIDA — The upcoming Clash at the Kallet event featuring hometown favorite Mike “Brute” VanSlyke and a full card of fellow professional wrestlers will be “magic,” VanSlyke promised.

“This is going to be a very, very special event,” said VanSlyke, an Oneida High School class of 2004 graduate. “It means a lot to me personally with the hometown connection, but it means a lot to me professionally. I get to not only compete in my hometown in front of friends and family and colleagues but I have a hand in creating this event, putting it together, presenting it to you and showing you what pro wrestling can be.”

Wild Zero presents Nu Pro Wrestling’s Clash at the Kallet at 6 p.m. Saturday, May 27 at the Kallet Civic Center, 159 Main St. Tickets are $15 or $7 for kids 10 and younger.

VanSlyke recalled wanting to be a pro wrestler since the age of 6, inspired by seeing Andre the Giant wrestle on TV. But another big inspiration for him was seeing wrestlers defend their championships in their hometowns and all of the added excitement at those special events.

That is the way he feels about wrestling in Oneida, VanSlyke said.

“All these people were having their hometown events, walking out and just feeling that emotion and that energy and that electricity of doing this in front of their friends and family saying, ‘that’s our guy - he’s one of us; we’re behind him.’ So it means a lot for me to be able to do that because I never, ever imagined I would get that chance,” VanSlyke said.

This is the second time he has wrestled at the Kallet — the first time back in 2016, when he thought it might be his “one and only” chance to wrestle in his hometown — and this time he also has a bigger part in the creation of the event, he added.

Now 6’5” and weighing in at 430 pounds, VanSlyke has wrestled professionally since February 2010 in every corner of New York and as far away as Kentucky, Canada, and even Japan for a summer.

The card, subject to change, also features “Moonlight Son” Mike Skyros, Jacoby Riddick,
“Studly” Steve McKenzie, the Power Supply team of Adam Stone and Markus Zeal, the Black ‘n’ Yellow team of Corey Jackson and Ting, “The Natural” Nick Sullivan, the High Seas team of Nick Ando and Cloudy, the Edge of Hope team of Mattick and Cerin Rahne, Krist Worthless, Brother Jonas, and many more.

Many are based in Central New York, and so are the referees, commentators, ring announcers, and backstage crew, too, VanSlyke said.

Everywhere he’s been for 13 and a half years, VanSlyke has been announced as being from Oneida. He said he has also proudly worn his alma mater’s orange and blue colors for the majority of his career and is often seen in Oneida T-shirts.

The Oneida event will leave attendees with memories they will talk about well afterwards, he said.

“It’s going to be absolutely the best professional wrestling Oneida has ever seen,” VanSlyke said. “This is going to be something really special, and I am excited to share it with everybody. I just truly hope that this is going to be a special and important night for everybody.”

For more information, visit www.oneidakallet.com or find Brute VanSlyke on Facebook.