{"id":231026,"date":"2026-04-14T10:09:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T10:09:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/231026\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T10:09:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T10:09:17","slug":"south-florida-breweries-pro-wrestlers-are-tag-teaming-for-new-fans-sales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/231026\/","title":{"rendered":"South Florida breweries, pro wrestlers are tag-teaming for new fans, sales"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s Bash At The Brew night, and patron Ronald Rico sips guava wheat ale while watching his favorite wrestler, Domino, take a thunderous suplex in the ring, so loud it rattles the glass where the taproom\u2019s fermentation tanks are kept.<\/p>\n

But Domino, a 6-foot brawler in lime-green tights to match his dyed ponytail, isn\u2019t about to concede the fight yet. With a chorus of drinkers at Miami\u2019s The Tank Brewing Co. chanting \u201cCafecito! Cafecito!\u201d in unison, Domino surges to his feet, caffeinated by crowd energy and hopping mad like he\u2019s ready to punch the moon. He launches into a flurry of right hooks and chest chops before lining up his opponent for the finishing move \u2014 a powerslam called the Double Nine \u2014 and the three-count win.<\/p>\n

Rico, his wife Michele and daughter Mia burst from their chairs and cheer as Domino flexes his arms, each sleeved in tattoos of dominoes, palm trees and a Cuban cafetera with biceps.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe represents the [Cuban] culture,\u201d says Ronald Rico, of Kendall, taking a gulp of ale. \u201cHe\u2019s the man. He talks to everyone after the shows. Really generous guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bash At The Brew, hosted the first Saturday of every month at The Tank, is one of four shows thrown at Florida breweries by Pompano Beach-based, pro-wrestling company Coastal Championship Wrestling (CCW).<\/p>\n

Here \u2014 with stainless-steel kegs nearby and bartenders pouring pilsners and pale ales under market lights and beach balls \u2014 wrestlers launch off the top rope in raucous displays of acrobatics. The rowdiest fans hug metal guardrails separating the ring from the taproom, sporting merch with the night\u2019s advertised talent \u2014 a \u201cDOMINO\u201d tee in Miami hot-pink, a Cha Cha Charlie sombrero \u2014 letting even casual visitors clock the crowd favorites.<\/p>\n

If you ask the breweries and CCW co-owner Nelio Cuomo Costa, it\u2019s an alcohol-fueled marriage that works. Taproom sales surge when CCW shows up, letting patrons witness professional wrestling with larger-than-life characters and gimmicks synonymous with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).\u00a0Meanwhile, CCW leverages these inviting venues to sustain its loyal following.<\/p>\n

\"Stallion<\/p>\n

Michele Eve Sandberg\/Contributor<\/p>\n

Stallion Rogers, left, and Domino during Bash At The Brew at The Tank Brewing Co. in Miami. (Michele Eve Sandberg\/Contributor)<\/p>\n

\u201cA brewery\u2019s demographic and CCW\u2019s demographic are the same, if you think about it,\u201d Costa says. \u201cThere\u2019s a cool microbrewery culture full of fans out there who don\u2019t watch wrestling anymore. So they\u2019ll have a beer, and they discover this tight CCW show that won\u2019t insult their intelligence, where the wrestlers work their butts off, and there\u2019s 300 crazy fans beside them.\u201d<\/p>\n

CCW shows adopt different names based on the brewery. Tripping Animals Brewing in Doral, for example, throws monthly Rumble In The Jungle events out of an air-conditionless brewhouse, a space that\u2019s \u201cloud and nutty and hot,\u201d Costa adds, packing in 200 fans so close it\u2019s \u201ca\u2014- and elbows.\u201d Other brewhouse brawls happen at Magnanimous Brewing in Tampa (Havoc And Haze) and Walking Tree Brewery in Vero Beach (Rooted In Chaos), often drawing 300 to 500 visitors, CCW co-owner Dan Ackerman says. (There are also non-brewery shows, including at a Port St. Lucie\u00a0amphitheater, a bar in Kissimmee, and even in Las Vegas.)<\/p>\n

\u201cLess people are going out and drinking beer overall, so we\u2019ve become more important to [breweries] based on the fact that we\u2019ll draw people to the venue,\u201d Ackerman says.<\/p>\n

\"Coastal<\/p>\n

Michele Eve Sandberg\/Contributor<\/p>\n

Coastal Championship Wrestling wrestlers such as Cha Cha Charlie, center, display feats of aerobatics at South Florida breweries, including at The Tank Brewing Co. in Miami. (Michele Eve Sandberg\/Contributor)<\/p>\n

Cristian Gaier, assistant taproom manager at The Tank, agrees that wrestling and brewing communities \u201cfeed both ways,\u201d which is especially vital now that South Florida\u2019s golden age<\/a> of craft-beer dominance has declined in recent years as people drink less<\/a> or choose alternative beverages<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople come here hearing about the wrestling and find the beer, or they come for the beer and find a freaking wrestling ring in the middle of the taproom,\u201d Gaier says. \u201c[CCW] brings in awesome crowds. We know we\u2019re going to hit our sales mark because they show up, and they make the local beer community bigger.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along came Domino<\/p>\n

The man most responsible for tag-teaming wrestling with SoFlo breweries is Domino, real name Adrian Castro. The wrestling fan says his \u201cfirst and lasting childhood memory\u201d was renting the same \u201cWrestleMania X\u201d VHS\u00a0tape at Blockbuster over and over to watch an iconic ladder match between Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon.<\/p>\n

After graduating from Florida International University with a human resources degree, Castro worked in HR management at a job that \u201churt my soul.\u201d When his friend David Rodriguez opened Union Beer Store in Little Havana in 2017, Castro became its marketing manager, and started replaying old matches and pay-per-view shows on repeat at the craft-beer bar.<\/p>\n

\"Matt<\/p>\n

Michele Eve Sandberg\/Contributor<\/p>\n

Wrestler Matt Riddle interacts with the crowd while fans hold Domino-branded merch during Bash At The Brew at The Tank Brewing Co. in Miami. (Michele Eve Sandberg\/Contributor)<\/p>\n

Then Castro costumed as a \u201cScarface\u201d-style character named Manolo to plug the bar on Instagram<\/a> and put up action figures of Dwayne \u201cThe Rock\u201d Johnson and \u201cStone Cold\u201d Steve Austin. It didn\u2019t scratch his wrestling itch enough, he recalls. So he jumped into the ring as an \u201cextra\u201d for the first of many crossover events between CCW and the former Unbranded Brewing Co. in Hialeah. He loved it so much he became a pro wrestler in January 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to tear myself out of my comfort zone,\u201d says Castro, 38. \u201cI wasn\u2019t getting any younger and didn\u2019t want to look back with regret. It was about a fulfillment of my passion as a kid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Castro has bled for the sport<\/a> under his Domino moniker, and describes his Cuban-inspired tattoos as a \u201croadmap of Miami.\u201d As president of Miami Beer Week, Castro has also helped create collab brews with CCW (like Triple Chokeslam, an IPA, and Bash At The Brew)<\/a>, a light lager) and land events at Unbranded and later The Tank and Tripping Animals.<\/p>\n

\"Bash<\/p>\n

Michele Eve Sandberg\/Contributor<\/p>\n

Coastal Championship Wrestling organizes several shows a month at Florida breweries, including Bash At The Brew at The Tank Brewing Co. in Miami. (Michele Eve Sandberg\/Contributor)
\nGoing viral <\/p>\n

Costa, who\u2019s run CCW since 2018, says keeping South Floridians\u2019 attention spans at breweries is tough, which is why matches are shorter and packed with sex appeal and storylines that crescendo into explosive moments \u2014 sometimes unintentional, like the time Domino went viral for getting hot cafecito tossed in his face.<\/p>\n

The moment was scripted \u2014 a wrestler hurled the trayful of cups \u2014 but the aftermath wasn\u2019t, Costa says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe real moment was that nobody told Domino\u2019s father,\u201d Costa says. \u201cHe jumps into the ring and starts fighting the wrestler. And we go over to Domino and we\u2019re like, \u2018How do we calm down your dad?\u2019 So yeah, it was awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jackal<\/p>\n

Michele Eve Sandberg\/Contributor<\/p>\n

Jackal Stevens, left, and Ariel Levy face off during a previous Bash At The Brew. (Michele Eve Sandberg\/Contributor)<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do I get tickets to this highbrow soir\u00e9e?\u201d one poster quipped<\/a> on social media. Castro, for one, loved the viral moment, and crowds still shout \u201ccafecito\u201d at him to this day.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was some face itchiness for sure,\u201d Castro recalls, adding that his parents regularly attend his shows. \u201cBut the best part is we got a huge uptick in business. People were saying, \u2018Oh, this crazy stuff is happening in my backyard because I saw it on Only in Dade (the Instagram account).\u201d<\/p>\n

Kristin Blaze and Cha Cha Charlie<\/p>\n

Costa says he spends less time chasing viral moments and more time minting breakout stars. The company is a talent pipeline to mainstream outfits like All Elite Wrestling and WWE, which has signed former CCW wrestlers Lola Vice and Jacob Fatu and commentator Blake Chadwick.<\/p>\n

Another promising new star, Costa says, is Kristin Blaze, who became CCW\u2019s Women\u2019s Champion in March. By night, she\u2019s a sharp-talking, back-flipping inferno, mugging for fans in her maroon leather jacket and gold-rimmed teashades. But by day, Blaze flips back to Kristin Lubeskie, a 25-year-old Fort Lauderdale personal fitness coach who never watched wrestling until two years ago.<\/p>\n

\"Kristin<\/p>\n

Michele Eve Sandberg\/Contributor<\/p>\n

Kristin Blaze, top, and Sara Wilder compete during Bash At The Brew at Miami’s The Tank Brewing Co. (Michele Eve Sandberg\/Contributor)<\/p>\n

An athlete since age 3, Lubeskie was a pole vaulter and two-time conference medalist when a WWE talent scout invited her to a tryout \u2014 then told her to \u201clearn the craft first,\u201d she recalls. In 2024, she found CCW.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been telling stories with my body my entire life,\u201d Lubeskie says. \u201cWrestling challenges me more as a person. We\u2019ve got these very narrative-driven shows, and it\u2019s perfect. It doesn\u2019t have to be the freaking \u2018Empire Strikes Back\u2019 every week.\u201d<\/p>\n

Byron Pepin, aka Cha Cha Charlie, is CCW longest-tenured wrestler, with 11 years in the company as a reliable protagonist who dances during matches and wears a Mexican\u00a0sombrero that makes audiences laugh \u2014 never mind that he\u2019s Dominican. The Hollywood insurance agent, 42, says he does it for his 11-year-old autistic son, who catches every match on streaming.<\/p>\n

\"Cha<\/p>\n

Michele Eve Sandberg\/Contributor<\/p>\n

Cha Cha Charlie, front, and Matt Riddle compete during Bash At The Brew in Miami. Coastal Championship Wrestling also produces shows in Pompano Beach, Vero Beach and Tampa. (Michele Eve Sandberg\/Contributor)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe day he was born was the day I started doing this,\u201d Pepin says. \u201cI felt like he needed a superhero in his life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lifelong wrestling fan Salvador Santoyo, 37, can\u2019t think of a better athlete than Cha Cha Charlie. During a recent Bash At The Brew, he chants \u201cCha Cha!\u201d while wearing a yellow T-shirt that reads \u201cWrestling Belt Guy.\u201d As the name indicates, there\u2019s a full-sized replica belt gleaming on his taproom table, beside an order of short rib nachos and a pint of Loly Roly Poly Oatmeal Stout.<\/p>\n

Sitting next to him is his 10-year-old daughter, Kai\u2019Liyaa Berry, who loves a female wrestler named Ruthie Jay because \u201cshe\u2019s a young Black woman she can look up to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last few years, CCW has brought the caliber you see on TV,\u201d Santoyo said, sipping his stout. \u201cWrestlers make you feel like you can be as much of a role model as they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Alex<\/p>\n

Michele Eve Sandberg\/Contributor<\/p>\n

Ariel Levy stands triumphantly above Alex Xcean at The Tank Brewing Co. in Miami. (Michele Eve Sandberg\/Contributor)
\nThe next events<\/p>\n

Below, find some of Coastal Championship Wrestling\u2019s next South Florida shows. For more information, visit CoastalChampionshipWrestlingFL.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rumble In The Jungle: 8 p.m. Thursday, April 16, at Tripping Animals Brewing Co., 2685 NW 105th Ave., Miami<\/a>. Admission is $20-$40.<\/p>\n

Breakout 58: 8 p.m. Saturday, April 25, at The CCW Arena, 1411 SW 30th Ave., Suite 9, Pompano Beach<\/a>. Admission is $20-$35.<\/p>\n

Bash At The Brew 64: 8 p.m. Saturday, May 2, at The Tank Brewing Co., 5100 NW 72nd Ave., Suite A-1, Miami<\/a>. Admission is $20-$40.<\/p>\n

Staff writer Phillip Valys can be reached at pvalys@sunsentinel.com<\/a> or Twitter\/X @philvalys<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Fans<\/p>\n

Michele Eve Sandberg\/Contributor<\/p>\n

Fans sip craft beer and eat pub grub while watching Bash At The Brew at The Tank Brewing Co. in Miami, the monthly shows produced by Coastal Championship Wrestling. (Michele Eve Sandberg\/Contributor)<\/p>\n

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