CUDAHY, Wis. — Even a madman like Chucky Bates knows he can learn a lot from Frank DeFalco. He has trained for five years at Thumper’s Den Wrestling Academy in Cudahy, the training ground for Brew City Wrestling. DeFalco’s company, which he founded in his hometown of Milwaukee in 2004, will host its 500th live event Saturday, “Parade of Champions” in Waukesha.

“You reminisce,” DeFalco said during a recent training session. “I’ve been doing this for 43 years now. My thing now is to give that word of wisdom to these young kids.”

DeFalco has just about done it all in the wrestling business. He started training as a high school senior in 1979, and less than a decade later, he was working with AWA and WWF superstars on national TV. DeFalco shared the ring with some all-time greats, including Andre the Giant, Harley Race, “Mr. Perfect” Curt Henning and Greg “The Hammer” Valentine.

Many of those legends have taken bookings with Brew City Wrestling over the years. At its core, however, BCW is about blue-collar, independent wrestlers giving their all for the live crowd.

“I’ve got the knowledge and everything to pass to these kids and these kids can pass it on,” DeFalco said. “What I’ve taught them in the past, they’re taking it on the road with them.”

Several Brew City performers will travel to Texas to perform at independent wrestling shows taking place near the site of WrestleMania in early April.

DeFalco jokes he has retired from in-ring work five different times, most recently after a 2021 cage match. He says his wrestlers are part of his family, and their inspired performances at live events have become some of the proudest moments of his 43 years in the business.

Brew City Wrestling's “Parade of Champions” takes place Saturday night, March 19 at the Elks Lodge in Waukesha, with bell time set for 7:30.