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'Gorgeous Michelle Starr' to exit wrestling ring after Jan. 31 match in Cloverdale (with video)

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CLOVERDALE — Gorgeous Michelle Starr is set to hang up his pink boa, put away the unitard and call it a career as a wrestler.

Starr's real name is Mark Vellios, 46, a longtime fixture on the local wrestling scene and owner of the current iteration of All-Star Wrestling.

The Surrey resident says he will retire from the wrestling ring following a month-end "Superbrawl" event at Cloverdale Fairgrounds. His "Career vs. Career" match on Saturday, Jan. 31 will have him battling Azeem the Dream — with lumberjacks surrounding the ring, for some reason.

"I want to say goodbye, and I want to say goodbye in Cloverdale," Vellios told the Now.

As the flamboyant, makeup-adorned Starr, Vellios has wrestled for nearly three decades, initially as a member of the WWF's ring crew on the west coast. Hailing from California, he made his Canadian debut with All-Star Wrestling (ASW) in 1988 and wrestled for the promotion until it shut down the following year. He ventured into the business end of wrestling in the 1990s and, by 2007, had relaunched ASW, which he'll continue to operate.

(Story continues below video tribute to Starr posted in 2010)

"It's been a long run," he added. "A lot of the fans from 1988 are still here in 2015, it's amazing."Away from the wrestling ring, Vellios works as a driver at Deltaport and cheers on his beloved Los Angeles Kings.

Tickets for the Jan. 31 event in Cloverdale start at $15, details at Allstar-wrestling.com or call 604-710-0872. A post-show "meet the wrestlers" event will take place at Rusty's Pub, 17770 56th Ave., Surrey.



Tom Zillich

About the Author: Tom Zillich

I cover entertainment, sports and news stories for the Surrey Now-Leader, where I've worked for more than half of my 30-plus years in the newspaper business.
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