Danbury PAL set to host show featuring David Arquette
By day he’s a store manager of the Caraluzzi’s in Wilton, by night he’s royalty in charge of his own dominion out to claim superiority in the sport of professional wrestling.
Next Friday Brian “Anthony” Ciskowski, a Bethel native, will face David Arquette as part of a Northeast Wrestling show at the Danbury PAL building. The show begins at 8 p.m. with an autograph session featuring former and current stars of the wrestling industry set to start at 5:30 p.m.
Wait. Yes, that David Arquette.
The Hollywood actor has a long history with wrestling, which began in 2000 for the now defunct World Championship Wrestling. He’s flirted with the industry since, but was relatively dormant before joining up with Northeast Wrestling.
Arquette — who starred in the Scream series and has appeared in more than 60 films — was filming in New York when Anthony approached him about possibly getting back into the business. The two have been feuding with one another for the past several months culminating with next Friday’s main event.
A 47-year old member of acting royalty joining the independent wrestling circuit begs the obvious question: Why take the punishment and get into the ring?
“I keep asking myself that,” said Arquette by phone in Arkansas, where he was filming a project. “I’ve done so many different things in my career. …. I don’t know, I love and hate wrestling. I don’t love getting hit, but I love hitting people.”
Performing in front of a live audience and in front of the silver screen are far different for the veteran, who is a life-long fan of wrestling and starred in the 2000 wrestling film Ready to Rumble.
“In wrestling you have to be in the moment,” Arquette said. “There’s a saying in wrestling if you’re going too slow, you slow down. … There’s no form of performance that you get with wrestling, you get beat up and think he’s going to kill me, and you can’t do that with a stage play.”
Anthony suffered a neck injury several years ago which threatened to derail his time in the ring permanently. The desire to be in front of crowd meant changing his style and becoming an antagonist with his “King Brian” character.
“I took some time off (previously),” said Anthony, a 2003 Wildcats graduate. “A lot of that influenced my new style, I’m doing a more characterdriven persona; I can’t do the crazy things I used to do. For me I think I’ve elongated my career, and I’ve put more of my personality out there. I think that shows in my work; I’m having the most fun I’ve had in my career.”
Arquette, who performed once for the WWE in 2010, was signing autographs in during a Wres
tleCon — the most popular wrestling convention of the year, which annually held the weekend of WWE’s Wrestlemania — appearance in New York City when Anthony drove down from Connecticut and created a scene when the two brawled at Arquette’s booth. Many fans there to see others got their first look at the 33-year-old who has wrestled for NEW for more than a decade.
“You always want to get as many eyes on you as possible,” Anthony said. “Nobody told me to show up at WrestleCon, but we wanted to show up and
put those eyeballs on Northeast Wrestling. No one will make an opportunity for you; I felt I could show up there and the people would get excited.”
Northeast Wrestling will be making its first appearance in Danbury since July 2017, when it filled up the PAL building to see several local stars. Several former WWE stars will be on hand next Friday, including Jerry “the King” Lawler, Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat and Bully Ray.
“Anytime you get to wrestle in front of family, friends and coworkers, it obviously adds a special feeling,” Anthony. “This one in particular with David; we’ve built this amazing story for six or seven
months, and people are wanting to see him beat me from pillar to post. Too bad they’ll be disappointed.”
Arquette had a message for his combatant next Friday in what should be a packed PAL center.
“Wrestling is full of super-arrogant people and bullies, and I’ve never seen anyone as despicable as Brian Anthony,” Arquette said. “He acts like he’s a king and I’m pretty sure he’s not. He puts on this accent and I’m pretty sure that’s not his real voice. I’m pretty sure he works at a supermarket.”