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FM Timebomb Pro Wrestling brings Explosive Entertainment at Sanctuary Events Center

After years of playing and promoting punk rock music at various venues in Fargo and the surrounding area, Grand Forks resident Eric Morrison decided it was time for a change. Morrison started his wrestling promotion with no-ring shows in the Aquarium in Downtown Fargo, and through the years, the crowd has grown so much that they now host events at the Sanctuary Events Center. Even with no background in writing, Morrison has and continues to create storylines that keep the crowd coming back for more!


North Dakota native Eric Morrison started Timebomb Pro Wrestling in 2018 and the independent wrestling promotion has been growing ever since!


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Dominic Garrini inside the steel cage at the “Violence is Forever” event, October 2022. Photos provided by Jess Torres

Humble Beginnings

In 2018, after taking some time off from promoting tours for local bands and performing as a musician, Eric Morrison needed to figure out what to do next for himself. He had been a fan of wrestling for years, and with Fully Loaded Wrestling (another local wrestling company) closing its doors in 2018, he knew what he wanted to do. Since he enjoyed wrestling so much, he began his mission to start an independent professional wrestling promotion in town. While he was sure about his plan, it wasn’t an easy one to bring to life.

“We started off super bare bones because the first shows were no-ring shows,” Morrison said of the promotion’s early beginnings. “We [did] them at the Aquarium before, with guys in the open.”

Soon, Morrison was planning more shows and building a brand, and the business was born. The name, Timebomb Pro Wrestling, was inspired by an old Japanese wrestling promotion called Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW).

“They’d have explosives around the ring. They were just like fireworks,” he explained. “[They’d] have 15 minutes to wrestle and then at the end of the match, a timer went off for the ‘bomb’ to blow up and the wrestlers were trying to get each other out of the ring.”

These matches, Morrison explained, were called “Time Bomb” matches—a version of deathmatches. The FMW Time Bomb matches were what originally got Morrison into wrestling, so he decided to start selling bootleg FMW shirts under the name Timebomb USA. When he started running wrestling events, the name slowly transitioned to what it is now, and it stuck even though he didn’t intend for it.


Did you know?
Deathmatches are pro wrestling matches in which there is an extra element of danger added, like barbed-wire ropes, glass, thumbtacks, nails or fire, to name a few!


Independent professional wrestling like Timebomb Pro Wrestling is quite similar to big-name professional wrestling promotions like World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE) or All Elite Wrestling (AEW), however, Morrison explains that they have fewer rules because North Dakota doesn’t regulate professional wrestling.

“For the most part, you’re on your own with pro wrestling… you [have to] regulate yourself and make sure that you’re doing things [right],” Morrison explained. “So I always try to make sure that I have somebody—not necessarily a doctor, but somebody who could stitch or glue somebody up.”

Additionally, because all of the wrestlers are basically “freelancers” rather than contracted like they are in bigger wrestling companies, Morrison can hire new wrestlers all the time for one or two matches, which keeps things fresh for those who frequently come to events


A ring match is your typical professional wrestling match with a standard elevated square ring, where opponents keep the fight inside the ring for the most part and audience members sit near the ring. A no-ring match is a match where there is no official ring, and the audience members crowd around the wrestlers as they fight.


Moving from The Aquarium to Sanctuary

Not even two years after Morrison started Timebomb Pro Wrestling, COVID hit. Because the shows had previously had no rings and massive, packed-together crowds, the company had to rethink how to continue events. Having to find a new strategy, Morrison transitioned to having a ring and seating. He hosted a smaller event at the Riverhaven Events Center in Moorhead, and the people at Riverhaven helped him get in contact with what would become his current venue. Their next event was held at Sanctuary Events Center, and the rest is history.

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Connor Hopkins flies off the top rope at the “Damaged Goods” event in August 2022.

When Timebomb moved to the Sanctuary, attendance did die down for a bit. While it was easy for the wrestlers to transition to having a ring, it was harder for the audience.

“When we moved over to Sanctuary, it was a hard process, because people were so used to the no-ring stuff,” Morrison explained. “So, there were a couple of rough shows that were getting around 75-100 people.”


Did you know?
In professional wrestling, the bad guys are called “heels” and the good guys are called “faces.”


But now, after a few shows, the attendees have gotten used to the new setup and attendance has grown again. Morrison estimated that they’re averaging about 250 people at each show, which he says is a good number right now. However, he does want to keep growing and have more and more people at each show. His goal is to grow the business as organically as possible, earning devoted audience members who keep coming back for more. He added that the venue, Sanctuary Events Center, is a huge draw for crowds.

“[People] actually want to come to the shows. They want to experience the venue because it’s such a cool place for wrestling,” he said.

On Storylines

Even if you’re not a fan of wrestling, or if you’ve never been to a match, Timebomb Pro is something energetic that anyone can enjoy. The typical show consists of several matches and a main event. Usually, the goal is to win by pinfall—keeping the opponent’s shoulders on the mat for a three-count—or submission—when the opponent “taps out,” or gives up. Similar to large promotions like WWE, Morrison creates storylines with his wrestlers to keep the audience engaged and invested in the matches. But Morrison doesn’t create the stories on his own.

“I’ll come up with something and then I’ll pitch it to the [wrestler] that I have the idea for, and we’ll bounce stuff off of each other,” he explained. “If they want to change something up, I’ll hear them out. Most of the time, I’ll let them do whatever they want to do because they’re the ones who are doing it. I don’t want to tell them how to make the other person bleed or anything.”

Though he has no background in creative writing, Morrison is able to create storylines that people love because of his lifelong love of wrestling. When he’s stuck and can’t think of a storyline, he often watches old episodes of professional wrestling to inspire him.


Did you know?
Professional wrestling as we know it has its origins in the 19th century—over 200 years ago!


“If there’s [a storyline] that I want to do that I’m not 100% sure on, I’ll just watch an episode of ECW from the 90s and see what they did… I don’t want to blatantly rip off everything. But sometimes if I’m stuck, I’ll pull from that,” he adds.

And because the Timebomb Pro shows are 21+ shows, they’re able to do more extreme storylines. As Morrison put it, “it can be a lot more violent and bloody” than the average pro wrestling event, since kids are not allowed at these shows.

Morrison also adds that they often bring wrestlers in for only a couple of shows and that can make the storylines more interesting and unique, as well.

“You can bring in a bad guy for three shows to work with one of your good guys. And then as soon as that program is over, you’ll never see that bad guy again,” he explained. “It adds mystique. You know that some people are special in that you’re not going to see them again. It makes people want to see them and be there for those three shows.”

Standing Out From the Crowd

Frontman Jah works over Kidd Bandit
Frontman Jah works over Kidd Bandit at the Timebomb Pro event in the Sanctuary Events Center!

Timebomb Pro’s storylines are not the only thing that sets them apart from other wrestling in the Fargo-Moorhead area. Morrison prides himself on running diverse and inclusive wrestling promotions.

“Our shows feature people of color and LGBTQ+ talent, and our female talent are treated as equal as the male talent (championships are not gender specific nor are matchups),” he said. “While we do deal with heckling from the occasional jerk, we won’t change to fit the comfort zone of a typical North Dakota crowd and I think that makes our actual fans feel a lot more comfortable where they are.”


F1RST Wrestling, which hosts its shows at First Avenue in Minneapolis, is an inclusive wrestling promotion that even hosts Pride wrestling events!


Morrison holds his promotion to the highest of standards to ensure that they remain the top wrestling promotion in North Dakota.

“The main person who helps me out in what I do is Arik Cannon. He runs a company in Minnesota called F1RST Wrestling. And F1RST Wrestling has always been the clear number one in Minnesota, just based off of who they book, the shows [their wrestlers] were on, the crowds, the draw and everything like that,” he said. “A lot of what I’ve done, I’ve taken from him, and I make sure that I have that high of a standard for the shows that I do.”

He added that the quality and uniqueness of the talent they bring in also sets them apart from other wrestling promotions.

“The shows that I put on are bringing in people that you are not going to see anywhere else in North Dakota. We’ve brought in Minoru Suzuki. He’s from New Japan Pro Wrestling, so he’s a big Japanese wrestling legend—a guy that you’re never gonna see anywhere else in North Dakota, especially not at any of the other [independent wrestling] companies,” he said.

Morrison believes that because of the high quality of their shows “somebody can come to a show [and they’ve] never watched wrestling before, and be cautious about it. And at the end of the show, they love it, even if they had no idea who any of the people are.”

Timebomb Pro is a place where anyone can enjoy wrestling.

Support Timebomb Pro Wrestling

Morrison is always looking to bring more new faces to the audiences of Timebomb Pro’s shows. Bring a friend to the next Timebomb Pro event, tickets are available at timebombpro.com

Watch for more upcoming shows on their Facebook page, facebook.com/ timebombpro

Website: timebombpro.com
Facebook: /timebombpro
Twitter: @TimebombPro
Instagram: @TimebombPro

Written by Sam Kise

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