Labor of Love: We Real Cool
First Unitarian Church
2125 Chestnut St.
Philadelphia
Oct. 7, 2026
The First Unitarian Church has been host to countless independent musical acts over the years. If you have been even somewhat involved in the Philly music scene, either as a spectator or performer, you’re no doubt familiar with the church and some of the many musical acts that have graced its basement. A few months ago, wrestling promoters Labor of Love had to pivot last minute to find a host site for a pre-planned event — and they settled on the First Unitarian Church basement, marking the first time I had seen pro wrestling in the venue. Labor of Love returned to the church last Sunday, but moved from the basement into the space's upstairs sanctuary.
The official start of the event was a solemn one, with a 10-bell salute honoring the recent passing of pro wrestler and musician Andy “The Butcher” Williams. Wrestlers, referees, and staff surrounded the ring as bells tolled for a man that many of them had worked with at the Labor of Love event last month, which occurred just one week before his death. Williams was most known as the guitarist and one of the founding members of Every Time I Die. A lifelong wrestling fan, Andy had trained as a wrestler before the formation of ETID, but stopped after a knee injury. Years later he would resume his training and eventually become a fixture in All Elite Wrestling’s tag team division alongside his tag team partner, The Blade. The Butcher and The Blade recently made an appearance at Labor of Love against Tom LaRosa and Martin Hughes of The Citywide Street Gang for the Commonwealth Cup, an ongoing tournament to crown the first tag team champions at Labor of Love. Throughout the night there would be several subtle tributes and references to Andy, highlighting just how much he meant to both fans & colleagues alike. As the last bell echoed throughout the cathedral, silence morphed into roaring applause from the pews and a combination of stomps and claps at ringside from the performers. Yes, there was an air of sadness, but there was also love and appreciation for the sport that Andy Williams was a part of and an excitement to treasure the community and culture of professional wrestling. Beyond the athletic achievements and the fantastical storytelling that takes place in the ring, there is a camaraderie among us all in the world of pro wrestling that extends beyond heel and babyface or fan and talent.
The first match of the night was a semi-final in the Commonwealth Cup, an ongoing tournament to crown Labor’s first tag team champions. Labor of Love mainstays The Outfielders (Weber Hatfield and Shea McCoy) were successful in their bout against Bang and Matthews and after the match had some words for the crowd. While McCoy’s words were of mutual respect for their opponents and love for the audience, Hatfield made a promise to do whatever it takes to make sure that his best friend, Shea McCoy, becomes a champion. Later in the evening, the second semi-final match between Dolphin Funeral (RULLO and JULEZEE) and Citywide Street Gang would determine who the Outfielders would need to beat to make that declaration into a reality. RULLO, JULEZEE, Hughes and LaRosa are four people very familiar with each other as they are all members of Catchpoint, a pro wrestling gym and training school located in Kensington. That bond shined through even after the match when the two teams embraced as CSG moved onto the finals. Former Citywide Champion Cheeseburger announced that he would leaving Labor of Love after a string of tough losses, saying that it was time for him to step aside and let the next generation of talent lead the way. Sè Morrigan, the third member of CSG was also victorious in their match against KJ Orso as he continues his path towards a title match with Citywide Champion Matt Mako. After Mako’s successful title defense against JTG and Marcus Mathers later in the night, Morrigan and Mako would have an in-ring confrontation furthering driving them on a collision course to meet in the ring properly for a title match at next month's Mischief Mayhem.
