Cancer and an uncertain future can’t keep wrestling’s ‘Man Diva’ down
Tommy Purr is battling cancer as an uncertain in-ring future faces the out LGBTQ pro wrestler from Las Vegas.
Mark
Las Vegas was the epicenter of pro wrestling earlier this month as WrestleMania week and a glut of wrestling promotions from around the nation descended on the city for the second consecutive year.
At the heart of pro wrestling in Las Vegas, like any major city, is its own vibrant independent wrestling scene, which was well represented during that week, too. But that scene, especially its expansion of LGBTQ representation, owes a debt to a man who helped build it and continued to do so while fighting cancer for over a year: Tommy Purr.
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“The Sin City Kitty” celebrated his 15-year wrestling anniversary just days before the wrestling world focused its eye on the city he calls home and weeks before the one-year mark of his being diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer.
The process of receiving that diagnosis was complicated by what Purr described as misleading information and advice from medical professionals that Purr is still mulling litigation over. Regardless of those circumstances, Purr saw the local pro wrestling and theatre community rally around him once he broke the news.
A GoFundMe campaign raised nearly $13,000, the pro wrestling historical society Cauliflower Alley Club provided Purr with financial assistance and fans celebrated him in person as he continued appearing for local LGBTQ-led promotion PrideStyle Pro through his cancer treatment.
“I hate having to do a GoFundMe. I hate having to ask people for help because people have already been generous and times are tough. I feel like a loser because, when I was a kid, this is not what I pictured myself doing at 40. They don’t tell you the amount of depression you’re going to sink into,” Purr described during an appearance on the LGBT In The Ring podcast in April.
“I would not have been able to get through this without my friends, my family, the wrestlers, PrideStyle, none of it,” Purr added. “Getting to go to the shows and getting out there, seeing everyone, getting flirted with and things like that, it does help. The audience helps a lot, too.”
Purr’s determination in the face of a condition that could drastically alter his life and end his in-ring career further endeared him to the PrideStyle Pro audience. He built a rivalry with local favorite Nic Zander despite not being an active in-ring competitor, which earned a QWI Award nomination for Feud of the Year, and won the QWI Personality of the Year award.
All the while, “The Man Diva” has remained transparent about his battle with cancer. Purr underwent surgery earlier this year to remove tumors from his liver after the cancer spread, during which more tumors were discovered, and is currently undergoing radiation treatment for the original rectal tumor.
But a window emerged between the surgery and the start of his radiation treatment being delayed twice which allowed for what literally could be Purr’s final match, depending on the result of his treatment.
On March 7, at PrideStyle Pro’s “Worst Case Scenario” event, Purr and Zander finally faced off in a main event that might never have happened and produced a cathartic moment for both Purr and the audience that holds him dearly close.
“It got to the point where I just got really upset and really mad. I’m so f***ing tired of everyone having a say in everything that I do in wrestling, outside of wrestling, thinking that they’re helping me and people just keep pushing me back,” Purr said. “They all have good intentions, but it kind of devalues me and demotivates me. It pulls me back and keeps me in the same spot they see me in. So, I told [PrideStyle Pro promoter] Milhouse [Malott], ‘I don’t know how much longer I have to do radiation. I might have to have surgery and have a permanent colostomy bag. We need to have this blowoff match.’ It was such a good story and we needed to free up Zander because he is getting big.
“I started radiation the Monday after my match with Zander … I never would have been able to have that match if I had started radiation treatment earlier [as originally scheduled],” Purr recalled. “I can’t sing [Zander’s] praises enough. He is such a gracious opponent … he understands he is part of a team. I’ve never felt so safe in the ring.
“We started with a bodyslam. It was his way of gauging if I was good [to continue]. Then we did a suplex. Is Tommy good? He’s good? Keep going. Trust me, I was scared taking that bodyslam and the bump didn’t hurt at all,” Purr continued.
The numbness in Purr’s hands and feet due to chemo treatments disappeared from his mind for that period in the ring as he and Zander built their climactic battle, complete with tributes to fellow Vegas icons Papa Jace and Sandra Moone, culminating in Purr gaining the victory after crawling for the pinfall.
“When they counted the three, I literally burst into tears,” Purr said. “[Zander] is such a good wrestler, and I’m just grateful more people are seeing that.”
The future remains uncertain for Purr’s in-ring future after that match, but he isn’t stopping during that wait. Purr made an appearance during WrestleMania week, participating in the humerously chaotic basketball-themed match between Can’t Stop Jamaal and Jermaine Marbury at PrideStyle Pro’s “Out Of This World” event. He remains a key part of PrideStyle Pro’s leadership alongside Malott. And if that moment basking in the “Tommy F***ing Purr” chants from the crowd as he stood victorious over a fallen Zander under the Las Vegas night sky isn’t his final one as an in-ring competitor, Purr already has a plan.
“I told Milhouse, I’m in my era where I want four to five minutes, divas matches,” Purr said with a chuckle. “I’m still waiting for my gravy bowl match … I have to have the first-ever men’s gravy bowl match before EFFY does.”
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