BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Empire State Wrestling is rallying support from the Western New York community to help one of its own.
Ryan Rice, also known as Ref Ryan, has been climbing the ranks of professional wrestling and has established himself as an ESW go-to official for high-profile matches.
Unfortunately, Ref Ryan, who lives in Hornell, was knocked out of the ring, and out of work when he was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder last fall. Adding to the hardships his health insurance denied coverage for treatment.
Ref Ryan's trainer, former Extreme Wrestling and Ring of Honor Star H.C. Loc, has created a GoFundMe to help Rice and his family pay medical bills during this difficult time.
The Empire State Wrestling family is encouraging wrestling fans and the community to support the cause.
"I've had a lot of special moments in my career and they wouldn't be quite as special without Ryan," said Vince Valor, the current Heavyweight Champion who has been with ESW for 11 years. "It's important to us because we want to see Ryan get healthy. We want to see him back to doing what he loves."
"He's really hard-working, he's very conscious of what it takes to get where you need to be in pro wrestling," said David Jarka, who has worked as an ESW referee since 2015. "In the ring, we might be brutalizing each other, but outside of the ring we are all brothers and sisters and we care about each other deeply, and we definitely care deeply about Ryan and his state of health."
