Local wrestling star celebrates 20 years in the ring

In talking to Dan Michel, you get the impression of a likable, friendly man. But inside the pro wrestling ring, Michel, who goes by the name "Mitch Paradise," has been one of the most feared wrestlers in the independent wrestling scene in the Upper Midwest for 20 years.

"I'm a quiet guy, but when the match starts, when the bell rings, it's like a switch flips and I become a different person," he said. "It was like that when I wrestled in high school," said the 1991 New Prague High School graduate. "I still get that way when I step in the ring and the bell sounds."

This weekend Michel is trying his hand as a promoter, with his first show on his home turf, outside the Doublewide Bar in Elko New Market at 8 p.m. Friday, June 23.

Michel said he always wanted to be a pro wrestler. Several years after graduation, he was working on his home farm and had a chance meeting at the Fishtale Grill with a former high school classmate, Keith Pavek, who asked him if he still was interested in wrestling. Pavek was working as an announcer for an independent promotion in the Twin Cities under the name Keith King.

King put Michel in touch with the promotion out of New Brighton. Michel went to a tryout camp and started training. After two months, he had his first match.

"It was against a wrestler called 'The Wizard.' He was the champion of the promotion and his opponent that night cancelled at the last minute. They put me in a championship match main event the first night."

He wrestled for several months with that promotion, then went to....

To see more on this story pick up the June 22, 2017 print edition of The Prague Times. 

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