phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES MNY 12TO– MNY 18TO, 2022 State Licensed Dispensaries & Doctor Certifications | CANNABIS | Fumadores from p 35 that destroys all opponents; old boy saw that tonight in the ring.” That’s Mattic’s signature move, where he grabbed Fabrizio from the rear, hooked his arms underneath Fabrizio’s arms in a full nelson, picked him up, and slammed him to the mat. Then, the Arizona champions double- teamed Cañedo in the squared circle, tossing him into the middle of the ring — setting him up for Phillips. Philips climbed onto the top turn- buckle, leaped backward into the west Phoenix airspace, did a backflip, and landed on top of Cañedo to pin him. The ref counted “1, 2, 3,” and Phillips and the Arizona champs raised their arms in victory. “We pretty much took out the trash when it came to that,” Watson said face- tiously. “They didn’t stand a chance.” Many of the 6,500 festival attendees cheered for the Arizona champs. Afterward, the champs walked around the 13-acre carnival grounds bear McDowell Road and 99th Avenue in west Phoenix. The wrestlers mingled and took photos with the 21-and-up crowd, the 18-and-up patients with cards, and the other talent performing throughout the venue. There were Lucha Libre wrestlers from Mexico, 18 samba dancers, six rotating aerial acro- bats, jugglers, stilt walkers, fire performers, unicyclists, glassblowers — and award- winning master balloon artist Cody Williams. “I didn’t expect to be here right next to a wrestling match,” Williams said. “It was a show-style piece, super interesting to watch with a lot of crowd interaction.” When the festival attendees walked in through the main gates, Williams’ balloon station and the 18-by-18 foot wrestling ring were the first attractions to see. Earlier in the day, Williams created animal and pot-related balloon sculptures so he and his buddy Dan, a juggling unicy- clist, could pass the balloons out to the fans from inside the wrestling ring. Williams added, “I also made a 4-foot wrestling guy out of balloons. Then when Dan was unicycling in the ring, an evil wres- tler came up.” Chris Nastyy — a heel, or bad guy in the pro-wrestling circuit — jumped into the ring, talked trash to the Arizona fans, and popped the balloons, including the wrestling balloon sculpture. But Willams wasn’t offended. “The audience went wild for it,” he said, “it was a lot of fun to watch.” Afterward, another wrestler >> p 39 San Diego wrestler Leo Cañedo (top) will wrestle against the luchadores in Phoenix this Saturday. Hiban Huerta 37
