Live Wrestling Set To Slam The North Fork This Summer

MATTITUCK, NY — Live wrestling is set to slam the North Fork this summer at Mattituck Cinemas — which has recently seen a full slate of new offerings, including axe-throwing and smash painting, as well as classic films, unfold to delighted audiences.

According to Marc LaMaina, who is spearheading the series, "Lucharitos and @warriorsofwrestling have teamed up to bring live wrestling to the North Fork!"

The matches will take place on select Fridays this summer at Mattituck Cinemas, located at 10095 Main Road.

The events, he said, are family friendly and modeled after medieval-type shows, where the theater seating is presented in colored sections that match each wrestler's outfit.

"Your section cheers for your wrestler and boos the others," he said. "Come early to eat and dance outside in the pavilion and shop some craft vendors."

The pavilion opens at 6 p.m. with a DJ and craft vendors; doors to the ring open at 7 p.m., with the first bell at 7:45 p.m., he said. The next match takes place on Friday, June 2. Seating is limited; to order tickets, click here.

LaMaina has always had his sights set on the ring. "I teamed up with Joe Ocasio and Leonard Totora, both local wrestlers, to bring wrestling back to the North Fork on a regular basis," he said. "I grew up in Greenport and remember going to the American Legion Hall, watching old school wrestlers, and just falling in love with it. I wanted to give local kids the same chance, to touch the ring, to talk to the wrestlers. These guys are superheroes to these kids. So it’s special to us to be able to bring that back."

LaMaina has long strived to weave wrestling into his offerings at Lucharitos: Wrestling also exploded in 2019 on the North Fork with LaMaina's "Lucha Rumble" event. And as far back as 2013, he presented Lucha wrestlers at the Maritime Festival, as well as genuine luchador masks.

Even the name of his popular eateries has deep significance and ties to fighting, he said.

"Lucharitos translates into little fighter. My son Joey was in the hospital fighting a very high fever when he was a month old, at the same time we were thinking of a name for the bar," he told Patch at the time. "So the little fighter is him."

Tickets for the Mattituck wrestling events start at $27; VIP tickets, with front-two-rows seating and dinner, can be added to any ticket for an extra $12, he said.

LaMaina, the owner of the Lucharitos eateries that have scores of devoted diners across Long Island, also recently unveiled his newest offering: Good Juju's BBQ & Seafood Shack.

A new Lucharitos was unveiled in Melville last year, with a Center Moriches location launched in 2021. Lucharitos also branched out to the concession stand of the Mattituck Cinema; LaMaina also organized the popular axe throwing and Smash Paint at the theater.

The new sites for the popular taqueria and tequila bars join the original Lucharitos location in Greenport as well as the Lucharitos Burrito Bar in Mattituck.