When Torri Hughes, CEO of the fledgling Oxon Hill, Md.–based World Alliance of Wrestling (WAW), saw the brand-new Sherwood Recreation Center in Stanton Park last year, he thought he’d found the perfect venue for WAW Firstborn, the promotion’s inaugural event. “The gymnasium is huge. You can get 500 people in there,” Hughes says. After speaking to Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) officials, he scheduled Firstborn there for June 12, featuring a top-billed faceoff between Cueball Carmichael and Genesis, four undercard bouts, and a “15-man rumble on Capitol Hill.” But after months of planning, Hughes has to take the rumble elsewhere: Community complaints over traffic and parking forced the DPR to cancel the event on May 21. DPR spokesperson Terry Lee says that due to miscommunication, Hughes wasn’t given the proper approval for such a mammoth melee. Hughes estimates he’s out several thousand dollars in marketing and other expenses: “I still have to pay the wrestlers,” he says. “They’re expecting a payday.”—Mike DeBonis