Deaf Wrestlefest is a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

supercard In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

, produced annually in late April or early May by

Lord Zoltan Ken Jugan (born October 16, 1957), better known by the ring name Lord Zoltan, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler, manager, promoter, referee, and trainer. Jugan has been a mainstay in the Pittsburgh Tri-state area (Pennsylvania, Oh ...

, a longtime wrestler and sports promoter based in

Western Pennsylvania Western Pennsylvania is a region in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, covering the western third of the state. Pittsburgh is the region's principal city, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic ...

. It is considered a major fundraiser for the

Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf The Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf (WPSD) is a school for deaf and hard of hearing children in Edgewood, Pennsylvania. It was established in 1869. The school is listed as a Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmar ...

and has raised, on average, between $3,000 and $4,000 per show. Proceeds from the event benefit Pennsylvania school programs to educate Deaf students. The event was first produced in 1994, originally as part of the

Steel City Wrestling Steel City Wrestling (SCW) was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Latrobe, Pennsylvania in 1994 by Norm Connors. It was the top promotion in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area during the 1990s, along with the National Wrestling A ...

promotion, and produced six editions until the promotion closed in 2000, and two more independently. The school, according to Zoltan, then decided to discontinue the event due to the increasing violence and adult content associated with professional wrestling during the late-1990s. Two of his sons, both Deaf, attended the school during this period. Following a seven-year hiatus, it was revived for the school's 140th anniversary in 2009; the highlight of the show was

J. J. Dillon James Morrison (born June 26, 1942) is an American retired professional wrestler and manager, better known by his ring name, J. J. Dillon. Professional wrestling career J. J. Dillon had an extensive wrestling career. He broke into wrestling at th ...

who, in his first in-ring appearance since 1989, teamed with "Beef Stew" Lou Marconi and "Handsome" Frank Staletto in a six-man tag team match against "Franchise" Shane Douglas,

Dominic Denucci Domenico A. Nucciarone (January 23, 1932 – August 12, 2021) was an Italian-American professional wrestler and trainer better known under his ring name of Dominic DeNucci. He held over a dozen championships around the world in the 1960s and 197 ...

and

Cody Michaels Mark Keenan, better known by his ring name Cody Michaels, is an American former professional wrestler. After suffering a serious neck injury, Michaels retired and has worked behind the scenes as a booker and promoter. Professional wrestling c ...

. The event is a staple on the

East Coast East Coast may refer to: Entertainment * East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop * East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017 * East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004 * East Coast FM, a ra ...

and Mid-Atlantic

independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...

. Unlike standard wrestling events, however, an interpreter is provided to

sign A sign is an object, quality, event, or entity whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else. A natural sign bears a causal relation to its object—for instance, thunder is a sign of storm, or me ...

for the students during promos and for other parts of the show. Among the promotions represented at the event are the International Wrestling Cartel,

Keystone State Wrestling Alliance The Keystone State Wrestling Alliance (KSWA) is a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2000 by Lou Zygmuncik and Shawn Blanchard. KSWA's longtime ring announcer Bobby O purchased the promotion in 2005. ...

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA ...

and UCW Wrestling; the arrival of the

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

-based G.O.U.G.E. Wrestling at the 2010 Deaf Wrestlefest marked the organization's debut in Pennsylvania. The event has featured a number of stars from

Extreme Championship Wrestling HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...

, and

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...