When it comes to professional wrestling, Raymond “Ray” Rowe is the real deal. A hard-hitting brute and skillful grappler, the Ohio-born Texas resident is a master storyteller in the ring. And last August, his rising star smashed to Earth in a motorcycle crash.
Now Rowe’s story of his in-ring career, the accident that almost killed him, and his return to the audience that loves him, is being captured in a new documentary.
The timing of the accident could not have been worse. After 13 years battling in armories and back rooms, Rowe had just become a regular fixture on the roster for Ring of Honor, the nation’s biggest and most respected indie promotion. So new documentary The Path captures his struggle to get back to, if not the top of the mountain, then at least back to base camp.
Rowe isn’t just another indie wrestler in the seething, thriving mass. Anyone who has seen him wrestle can testify to his undeniable toughness. Yet there’s a degree of respect among his peers, and genuine love in the crowd, that you don’t always see. When he made his in-ring return to Austin’s Inspire Pro Wrestling last month, the roof came off the Marchesa Hall and Theatre. He’s trying to raise $4,500, which won’t just cover the finishing costs for the film, but will also help with some of the medical bills he endured and still carries.
Interested in helping finish the film and getting Rowe out from under this debt? You can contribute via his GoFundMe page.
Got a film, game, website, prototype or crazy project? Are you in Texas? Are you looking for crowdfunding? Want us to talk about it in this column? Email us at filmflam@austinchronicle.com with all the details.
This article appears in July 31 • 2015.
