When he walked into the Ardis T. Williams Auditorium in Vicksburg, Josh Newell said he could sense the building’s long and storied history with professional wrestling.

Legends of the business like the Junkyard Dog, the Iron Shiek, Jerry Lawler and Ted Dibiase — among dozens of others — have entertained fans within its walls.

Now Newell, the owner of Bayou Independent Wrestling, is trying to add to that rich history when his organization sets up camp there on Saturday, July 1.

BIW’s “Key to the Kingdom” event begins at 7:30 p.m. — doors open at 7 — and tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door. Advance tickets can be purchased at 601 Sports.

“That was part of what drew us to the Auditorium, too — the shows that the Culkins did, and Mid-South. It has the history. When you walk in there you can feel it because it’s such a beautiful older building where there’s so much history and character,” Newell said. “When we’re in the locker room it’s fun to tell stories of who’s been there. A lot of the top guys to ever wrestle have been through the Vicksburg Auditorium at least once or twice.”

Bayou Independent Wrestling has been in business since 2007. It runs about a dozen shows a year, primarily in Natchez, Brookhaven and its home market of West Monroe, La.

Saturday’s “Key to the Kingdom” show will be its second as it tries to add Vicksburg to its regular rotation. It also held a card at the Auditorium in March, and has another visit scheduled for November.

Although Vicksburg seems like a natural destination for a regional promotion like BIW, Newell said finding the right venue was a surprisingly tough challenge. Efforts to make deals with Vicksburg’s casinos didn’t pan out, and an ill-fated card conducted by another promotion in 2021 spoiled some of the local appetite for pro wrestling.

“The biggest thing was finding a building we could afford after we couldn’t get into the casinos. We reached out to the Convention Center and it wasn’t in our budget where we could make any money,” Newell said. “I assumed for a long time the auditorium wouldn’t be either, then we got to talking and I said, ‘Wait a minute, I think we can make that work.’”

Newell added that reception to BIW’s first Vicksburg card in March was positive. A couple of sponsors have come on board for the July 1 show, including Bumpers as a concessions vendor.

“We’ve been able to pick a few sponsors up, and the buzz leaving the first show was pretty good,” Newell said. “(Auditorium manager Lisa) Palmertree was pretty happy with us with the building. We’ve got Bumpers involved with the concessions. So I think we’re trending in the right direction.”

To keep the fans coming back for more, Newell is bringing some of his top wrestlers to Vicksburg for the “Key to the Kingdom” show.

One main event features former Ring of Honor world champion Matt Taven vs. BIW’s Deep South Heritage champion Rey Fury. Fury is a masked luchadore who wrestles with a high-flying, athletic style. Taven has wrestled in not only Ring of Honor, but All Elite Wrestling and the IWGP promotion in Japan.

“(Taven’s) won titles in Mexico and the IWGP tag team championship. Taven’s been just about everywhere,” Newell said. “(Fury’s) got the Deep South Heritage Championship, which is like our Intercontinental or U.S. title. It’s our second-highest belt. (Fury) is real athletic. The kids usually love him. He has a lot of energy, a lot of crowd interaction.”

The other main event is a six-man tag team match in which BIW’s Southern Champion — its top belt — Angel Camacho will team with the promotion’s top heel stable Southern Royalty to face Tim Storm, Apocalypse and Bam Bam Malone. Storm is a top name on the independent circuit who primarily works for the NWA promotion.

“Tim Storm is a former NWA world champion and he’s still with NWA. He’s about 6-5, 285,” Newell said. “Then our champion Camacho has done some stuff with Impact. He’s about 465 pounds, so he kind of stands out. He pops a little bit.”

Although the in-ring action will be fierce, Newell stressed that the his shows are family-friendly. His philosophy, he said, is to build an all-ages fan base.

“If you grew up watching WWE in the 90s, Stone Cold was flipping everybody off and there were girls in bikinis. That was cool, but you wouldn’t necessarily bring your kid to that,” Newell said. “A lot of people assume that’s how wrestling still is, and some (promotions) are, but we try to keep it as far away from that as possible.”

At a BIW show, Newell said, the crowds are big enough to have fun but small enough to make a connection with the wrestlers. Some will mingle with fans and sign autographs during intermission, while others might interact with them on their way to the ring.

It’s a personal touch that Newell hopes adds joy to those in attendance and even more memories to one of the South’s great wrestling venues.

“That’s another thing that makes it fun. In a lot of these, you’re one of 300 or 400 people. If you get into it with a wrestler, yelling and screaming, they’re going to interact with you. Whereas in WWE you go and you’re just kind of there,” Newell said. “Then at intermission they’ll come out and sign stuff and talk to you, things like that. You create some extra memories at these shows.”

KEY TO THE KINGDOM
• Saturday, July 1, 7:30 p.m (doors open at 7)
• Ardis T. Williams Auditorium
• Bayou Independent Wrestling, one of the South’s top regional independent pro wrestling promotions, will host its second of three shows this year in Vicksburg
• Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door. Advance tickets can be purchased at 601 Sports, located at 3500 Pemberton Square Blvd. in Vicksburg