You read that right, turkeynecks: Crusherfest—the not-quite-annual celebration of wrestling legend Reggie “Da Crusher” Lisowski—will return to the wrestler’s native South Milwaukee May 31 – June 1, 2025.
Over those two late spring days, the Milwaukee suburb’s downtown will be abuzz with “live music, food trucks, cold beer, a live wrestling event, and vendors galore,” and much more. On the “and much more” side of things, Crusherfest has steadily been announcing some of the special guests who will be making their way to South Milwaukee for the event. Get ready to rub elbows with some pro wrestling legends at this year’s event during meet and greet sessions. This year’s special guests (so far!) include the likes of:
• Tito Santana (May 31)
• Steve Keirn (May 31)
• Jimmy Hart (TBA)
• Tommy Dreamer (May 31 and June 1)
• Texas Hangmen (May 31 and June 1)
• Al Snow (May 31 and June 1)
• Ken Resnick (May 31)
Stay tuned for more announcements in the weeks to come. There will also be a “BaronFest” Crushfest fundraiser event and wrestling show at Bucyrus Club on Saturday, May 3. AWA legend Baron Von Raschke will be in attendance.
The first Crusherfest took place in 2019, and served as an unveiling of a life-sized bronze statue of the hometown wrestler. The festival/unveiling was the final step of a crowdfunding campaign, launched by Chris Smith in late 2017, that eventually raised more than $40,000 to build the statue.
The fest was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19, but took place in 2021. Crusherfest took 2022 off, but returned in 2023 before keeping the bi-annual pattern going by not hosting an event in 2024. See our pictures from the first Crusherfest HERE. See our pictures from the second Crusherfest HERE. And save the date for the 2025 edition. We’ll see you turkeynecks down in South Milwaukee on May 31 and June 1!