Wrestlers at Verona's Battle in the Borough perform through raindrops and chest chops

Verona first responders answered an “unusual call” after a rainstorm earlier this month.

Police, firefighters and Lower Valley Ambulance personnel responded to Cribbs Field along Second Street for a report of two men “fighting” the evening of Aug. 17.

It was not a typical emergency. In fact, it wasn’t an emergency at all. The first responders’ participation was part of a wrestling event, Battle in the Borough 6, by the Keystone State Wrestling Alliance.

Once “on the scene,” they found Shawn Blanchard and Shane Starr battling inside a wrestling ring before a crowd of nearly 300 people. The first responders joined the show as “lumberjacks” in one of the main events.

Several of their cohorts had surrounded the pair in an attempt to prevent any outside interference.

Instead of trying to break things up and clear the area, as would be the case in a real emergency, an officer secured a point of escape while firefighters, paramedics and EMTs joined others in letting the pair settle their dispute.

Blanchard and Starr, at times, found themselves outside the ring and were unceremoniously forced back into the ring by first responders who normally render aid.

This infuriated Blanchard, who was knocked from pillar to post by Starr.

That anger would boil over after being defeated by the Sharpsburg athlete. Blanchard attempted to take out his rage on EMT Gary Shondelmyer, who did not take kindly to the disrespect and flattened the Western Pennsylvania pro wrestling veteran with a surprise clothesline.

“He was bickering at me for climbing in the ring. And whenever I gave him the clothesline, he was bickering some more,” Shondelmyer said. “I told him, ‘That’s what you get for messing with us.’ You’ve got to show the respect.”

The annual fundraiser for the Lower Valley Athletic Foundation and the borough’s parks and recreation committee was nearly canceled because of the inclement weather.

Tents were placed the previous night by foundation volunteers, including president Timothy Long and member Vince Flotta, who also is a Verona councilman and serves as the borough’s parks and recreation chairman.

Event setup was being blown away just hours before the show.

“It was raining sideways. Winds were like 30 mph. Everybody was holding on to tents,” Long said. “At that time, we had only 10 people at the park. I didn’t think we were getting any more people.”

Organizers spoke with KSWA officials. After two rain delays, the storm began to let up. The ring tarp was removed and matches got underway.

There were some chest chops heard through the raindrops. Things began to dry by the second half of the show.

No wrestlers were seriously injured, and there were no slips inside or outside the ring.

“Wrestler safety is always first and foremost for us,” KSWA owner Bobby Orkowis said. “We were able to pull this off because we’ve got the greatest fans around. They stuck through two rain delays, and it turned into a great night because of them.

“We managed to get through. It got better as the night went on. We had the tarp on all afternoon before we started. Our guys are the greatest. A little rain wasn’t going to stop them.”

The lumberjack match was in appreciation to first responders and particularly Lower Valley Ambulance.

“They are always welcome, and we love them for what they do to protect these communities,” Orkowis said.

The big highlight of the night is always the ambulance match, where a winner is declared when a wrestler stuffs their opponent inside the vehicle and shuts the doors.

“Face of Pittsburgh” Lou Martin successfully defended his heavyweight championship against J-Ru, who ended up going for a ride on a stretcher.

Shondelmyer said he was grateful the event was not canceled, and his crew was happy to be part of the show.

“With the weather, I was surprised,” Shondelmyer said. “We had a bigger show last year, but the weather was a lot better. With the rain we had coming in, definitely a good crowd that came in with it.”

Flotta said the committee was able to break even and give some money to the police, fire and ambulance departments. There were about 150 paid attendees and dozens of children.

The show featured a plethora of local talent — including Ryan Iannuzzi of Springdale. Wrestling fans know him as “River the Sickopath.”

He has a heavy metal look and is part of a rock band outside the ring. One of his biggest fans is his daughter, Isabella, 15.

She and several other youths slapped hands with River while on his way to the ring to take on the KSWA Five Star champ, the 4oo-pound Man-Child.

“It’s really fun because I get to cheer him on and stuff, and sometimes he lets me do his makeup which is cool,” Isabella said. “He’s been doing it for a while. Ever since I was a baby.”

Isabella said she loves the variety of wrestling characters at the shows and how it always draws a crowd of different people.

The show began with an a capella performance of the national anthem by lifelong Verona resident Ryan “Bubs” Alberts.

Inner Groove Brewing served beverages for a few hours. Other activities included a 50-50 and basket raffle.