Jimmy Snuka, an old-school pro wrestler with rock-star popularity, stars in this month’s Firestorm Pro event, A Call for Blood. He’s the biggest name on a bill that features more than its share of potentially explosive match-ups. Firestorm heavyweight champ Shane Taylor — a six-foot, 350-pound monster with an impressive amateur background — will square off against Raymond Rowe, another six-footer with amateur experience and mixed-martial-arts training. Taylor has been ducking Rowe for months, so expect it to get brutal quickly. WWE Hall of Fame inductee and living legend Snuka will team with the reckless Aftermath in a tag match vs. J-Rocc and Bill Collier. In the 1970s, Snuka pioneered the high-flying style that the Hardy Boyz would master years later. After bouncing around the world’s wrestling promotions, the Fiji native broke into the World Wrestling Federation as a heel, but became a fan favorite when his signature off-the-top-rope flying head butts lead to a leap from a 15-foot steel cage onto hated rival Don Muraco in 1983. Snuka has been in and out of retirement. Now 66, he still takes bumps, though he could just as easily sit around shows and sign autographs. As he told The Wrestler director Darren Aronofsky, “A brother’s gotta fly.” It starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Phantasy Theater (11802 Detroit Ave., Lakewood, 216.241.5555). Tickets: $8-10; $15 VIP includes Snuka meet-and-greet. — D.X. Ferris
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