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Back in 2015, Stephanie McMahon tweeted a quote from Christopher “Biz” Stone, agreeing that “Philanthropy is the future of marketing, it’s the way brands r going 2 win.” Since then, and for a while before, the WWE wrestling world has been obsessed with charities, revolutions and being the land of opportunity.
However, not all wrestling is indulging in charity for the sake of marketing. On November 3rd, down in Manchester, England, Lucy Openshaw is hosting a charity night in support of a mental health charity named Mind and another named Papyrus. A ring announcer who occasionally finds herself powerbombed through a table on the good weekends, Lucy is a passionate advocate for mental wellbeing still fairly fresh to the world of wrestling.
The community spirit from wrestling both fans and wrestlers themselves is something I’ve never experienced before. Wrestling has given me the opportunities to beat some of my own personal demons by getting me out to shows and travel about and eventually work in wrestling and face some fears of being in-front of an audience. My life is better since I have discovered wrestling.
Mind in particular has been making waves recently, with a Eurogamer live stream this week raising over £4,000 for the cause. Mental health is also a discussion taking place in British wrestling at the moment. Adrian McCallum, wrestling under the name Lionheart, took his own life in June. There are a number of other prominent examples of wrestlers known to have battled bouts with their own mental health, including big names such as Alexa Bliss and The Rock.
Mind has always been a charity that’s meant something to me. I did my mental health first aid training with Mind and they really helped me understand myself and other people. Papyrus have done a lot for people I know - and with suicide rates as high as they are at the moment I feel any prevention of suicide deserves more recognition and money to help people.
The event, named Fight The Good Fight, will feature a Breed Woman Of Steel match between Ivy and Eliza Roux as well as the Young Guns against JJ Barker and Joe Nelson.
If you’d like to donate and stand with us in the fight for better mental health, you can donate to Papyrus, you can donate to Mind or tickets for the event are still available should you wish to attend. Sportskeeda and myself will be there to support.
