Zakk Merrick inflicts pain on opponent B.J. Laredo in a grudge match Saturday at the Vancouver Island Pro Wrestling event at the Departure Bay Activity Centre. (GREG SAKAKI/The News Bulletin)

A Nanaimo wrestler won a title belt and a title shot.

Scott Steel recaptured the PWA Pure Violence championship at this weekend’s Vancouver Island Pro Wrestling show, then earned a chance to try to win the VIPW championship, too.

Steel defeated Riea Von Slasher in an extreme-rules matchup Saturday at the Departure Bay Activity Centre, using a table, ladder and chairs as weapons.

“It’s upping the level of craziness,” Steel said. “She’s only seen a small portion of what goes on through my mind, so tonight I just brought it to another level of how crazy I’m going to really be to take back what’s mine.”

Cremator Von Slasher interfered in the match, as expected, but this time Steel was ready, and kicked the giant off the ring apron, through a table.

After that, Steel was able to hit Riea with a double stomp off one turnbuckle and then a 450 splash off another for the three count.

He said it was a “tremendous feeling” to win back the belt with his whole family in the crowd cheering him on.

“It’s a great accomplishment for myself. It’s very nice to see that if you push hard enough, you can acquire things like gold and championships,” he said.

Steel’s night wasn’t done, as he participated in the main event, a fans-bring-the-weapons battle royal. The wrestlers hit each other with such items as guitars, hockey sticks and even a golf club, and slammed one another onto Lego bricks strewn about the ring. Steel and Eli Surge were the last two men left, but then Cremator, who had already been eliminated, re-entered the ring and eliminated both Steel and Surge at the same time. It was determined that those three will all face VIPW champion Krofton in a fatal-four-way match for the title in Nanaimo this summer.

Also at Saturday’s show, Zakk Merrick defeated B.J. Laredo in a grudge match. Merrick tossed a chair and Laredo caught it, and the referee saw Laredo with the weapon and called for a disqualification.

“You don’t have to be the biggest dog in the fight; you don’t have to be the strongest guy. You just have to be the smartest and have the right people in your corner,” Merrick said.

He has aligned himself with the Uprising, whom he called his “new family,” supporting him in accomplishing his goals.

“We’re the cream of the crop of the new generation of pro wrestling on this Island and we’re taking guys out one at a time,” he said.

Merrick said it didn’t matter to him that he was booed in Nanaimo.

“As far as I’m concerned, Nanaimo’s no longer my hometown. I’m from Merricka. I make that my home and I am the president-in-chief, there’s no question about that,” he said. “B.J. Laredo can have the Nanaimo fans because I don’t need them.”

There were four other matches on Saturday’s card including a triple-threat match for the VIPW title. Krofton retained his belt against Cremator and Nathan Legacy.

VIPW returns to Nanaimo on July 22.

sports@nanaimobulletin.com