Hadley-It will be a homecoming in more ways than one when the Michigan Wrestling Organization comes to Hadley Township’s annual July 4th celebration.
The MWO, which originated in Hadley, returns to the area for the first time in 10 years to present their ‘Homecoming to Hadley? show, which is scheduled to take place from 1-4 p.m. that day at the Hadley Town Hall.
The event will be particularly meaningful for Jason ‘The Basher? Clouse, the current MWO champion and a native of Hadley Township. Clouse, a Flint resident whose full-time job is working maintenance for an apartment in Swartz Creek, lived in Hadley for 18 years.
‘I haven’t been this excited about a show in quite some time,? he said. ‘I’m excited about it.?
These days, the MWO promotes a show about every other week of out of Terri’s Lounge in Flint, Clouse said. However, when they return to Hadley on Independence Day, Clouse, 30, will be participating in a Fatal Four-Way match for the MWO title, defending against Pure Fury Jeff Clouse (another Hadley native), Todd ‘The Marauder? Grossbauer and Torment.
Clouse said the Hadley card will feature about 20 wrestlers and a minimum of six matches.
He has been in the business for about 15 years, having been trained by the late Jackhammer Jake Markson in Goodrich. His finishing move is the ‘Basher Smasher,? which is a variation of a neckbreaker.
MWO promoter Tony Compton said it is appropriate that the organization returns to its roots for the July 4th show.
‘We called them knowing they had their July 4th festival, and we decided to go back to where it started,? he said.
In addition, Compton said Jason and Jeff Clouse are both ‘really excited? to be performing in front of their hometown fans.
Art forms of a different sort will also be present that day, as LeFleur Decor, 3442 Hadley Road, Hadley Township, will present their second annual art fair at their shop from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. July 4th in conjunction with the Hadley celebration.
Owner Kelly Smith said about 16-20 artists will have their various works on display at the show. Last year, Smith said about 400 people showed up for the fair.
‘I’ve met a lot of the artists through the store,? she said.