MIDDLEBORO — Wrestlers slammed each other down in the wrestling ring, lifted each other into the air and strutted around Nichols Middle School gym as kids shouted, booed and cheered them on.

With audience members packed into the gym, Top Rope Promotions, a New Bedford-based independent wrestling promotion, performed for the Middleboro community on Friday, March 21.

This is the fourth year Top Rope has visited the middle school in what is a fundraising event put on by the PTA.

“We did the first year, and it was great,”Meghan Enos, who is both the middle school’s physical education teacher and a wrestler, said. “We’ve been doing it ever since, and it just keeps getting bigger and better.”

Top Rope Promotions first wrestled at Nichols Middle School four years ago after Garrett Perry, the school’s custodian who has been wrestling for 35 years, suggested they host Top Rope as a fundraiser.

“I ran with it and pitched it and said, ‘Let’s try this,’” said Enos. “It just keeps getting bigger and better.”

Held at a discounted rate, funds raised during the event will support field trips, teacher appreciation as well as classroom and general needs, according to Heather Tucker, the middle school principal.

In addition to the Top Rope wrestlers, Tucker said some wrestlers from the high school also participated, including one student who pretended to be a referee during one of the matches and another who fought and won a match against a Top Rope athlete.

“There are silly moments [and], ‘Oh, my God,’ jaw-dropping moments. At intermission we have the mascots from each school come out and the kids love it,” Enos said. “It’s a great time.”

Kids could also buy Top Rope and WWE merch, take pictures with the athletes and even get their foreheads signed.

“The kids love getting signatures from everybody,” Enos said.

For the first time this year, the event was also sponsored by people in the community.

“So many people reached out and wanted to be sponsors, which was amazing,” Enos said.

To promote the event, the PTA held a lunch at Henry B. Burkland Elementary School, which Enos said the kids loved. They also hosted a story time at the library to further raise awareness of the event and bring in more community members.

“Each year we have grown in the amount of people attending,” she said. “It’s a great family event that brings everybody in.”