Hackett’s “Sniper” Is Now A KSWA Hall of Famer, Joins Peduto & Others

By Thomas Leturgey

The telephone call came in and Terry Hackett got emotional. The Keystone State Wrestling Alliance (KSWA) Championship Committee was on the other end of the phone, informing the professional wrestler known as “Sniper” that he was being inducted into the organization’s Class of 2025 Hall of Fame.

Growing up in South Park, he started watching the World Wrestling Federation and then “Crockett” version of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in the 1980’s. Sprinkle in a few visits to the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, and like many of his generation, Hackett was hooked.

Hackett wrestled in high school and then graduated. His brother Jim told him that he knew someone who was entering the independent scene and thought Terry might be interested. That ended up being “Pretty Boy” Shawn Adams’ school. Hackett joined, trained and by November 1994 had his first match, against his trainer.

Since that first match, he has been “Sniper,” a mercenary wearing camo. And while Terry enjoyed the Hulk Hogans, Bob Backlunds and Bruno Sammartinos, “Sniper” has always been booed, except for a trip to Ohio where fans there took to him.

His first four years were spent at Eastland Mall and other venues for a McKeesport, PA based wrestling federation. There he met Ron Richards, “The Beast” and became fast friends. The two were key figures in Joe Perri’s “Gentleman’s Club.” Perri was inducted into the KSWA Hall of Fame in 2018.

Some of the trips to Ohio were to wrestle for Preston’s Steele’s group. Steele, who excelled in Western Pennsylvania and Ohio for more than 20 years, was inducted into the KSWA Hall of Fame in 2019.

Around that time Sniper met “Nasty” Nick Crane, another veteran who has spent more than two decades in the business of wrestling. The two became “The Mercenaries” and held KSWA tag team gold in 2015. “As soon as we met, we had great chemistry,” said Sniper.

During Millvale Days that year, Sniper was the recipient of the “largest” suplex of his career when “Big” Mike Malachi (Class of 2020) and Jack Massacre suplexed him in the center of the ring.

Millvale always brings fond memories to the now 30-year veteran. Years ago, another group ran events during Millvale Days and Sniper wrestled Shawn Adams. The two left the ring and found themselves on the front porch of a resident. Adams repeatedly hit Sniper in the head with the screen door. “Then he asked the lady if we could come in,” he said. The woman screamed and ran off.

Sniper left McKeesport for a rival group in Glassport called PAW. The promoter there brought in “big names” like Walter “Killer” Kowalski. “I was always listening the legends,” he said. While in McKeesport, Pittsburgh’s “Luscious” Johnny Valiant also came to teach what he knew to the grapplers.

Always looking to further his career, Sniper left for Monongahela’s CWF and Bill “Powerhouse” Hughes. He and Crane and Lord Zoltan (Class of 2012) wrestled there and other places in the mid 2000’s.

Crane and Sniper joined KSWA in 2012 and proved to be a durable, seasoned and reliable duo. In October of 2015 the duo defeated Malachi and Massacre for the tag titles. And while their title reign only consisted of one defense before losing to Kris Kash and Shane Starr at FanFest, that never meant the “Mercenaries” weren’t important. Along with their mentor, Mayor Mystery (Class of 2022), Sniper and Crane were always at the top of the tag team division for as long as they have been around.

Crane entered semi-retirement a few years ago and while Hackett, a remarkable father who spends a lot of his free time with his young son, Jimmy, still laces up his wrestling boots and dons the camouflage from time to time. The two attend all kinds of entertainment and sporting events together and Jimmy is Hackett’s biggest supporter, in and out of the ring.

The KSWA Championship Committee reports that Terry Hackett’s devotion to his son is just as big a reason why he was selected to the KSWA Hall of Fame in 2025 as his 30-year career.

“I got chills and goose bumps,” said Hackett. “This is the highest honor. I am very grateful.” The KSWA Hall of Fame is the largest and most recognized professional wrestling Hall of Fame celebration of its kind in the Commonwealth and beyond.

Starting with “Killer” Joe Abby and Frank Durso, the KSWA Hall of Fame has inducted more than 60 members into his celebration night since 2009. Names stretch from Bruno Sammartino and Dominic DeNucci to Donna Christianello and Angie Minelli, “Jumpin’” Johnny DeFazio, Chuck Martoni and “Chilly” Bill Cardille to “Big Bully” Busick, “The Fighting Cop from Carnegie” Frank Holtz to Dennis Gregory, Bubba the Bulldog, Bucky and Eugene Palermo to Bobby “Hurricane” Hunt to videographer Tom Davenport.

This year, Hackett joins former Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, one of KSWA’s longest-tenured Megastars in J-Ru, as well as the KSWA’s first Heavyweight Champion, Skippy Hawke, long-time fan favorite and former Heavyweight Champion The Latin Assassin and the “Megastar of the Decade”, multi-time champion and celebrated manager “King” Del Douglas into the KSWA Hall of Fame, Class of 2025. The event is on Saturday, April 12, at the American Legion in Sheraden.