A hush falls on the excited crowd gathered in the Bangor Armory for Rampage Pro Wrestling’s Ides of March 2001. Everyone in the audience can see that Mourning Star, the reigning champion, is incensed.

The champ has snapped out of his usual sullen mood and is circling his opponent, Legion Cage. The self-obsessed skirt chaser stands for everything Mourning Star climbed into the ring to fight.

Legion Cage is raising his arm. He’s going to give Mourning Star the Clothesline, but the champ is too quick for his cheerleader-loving opponent.

Mourning Star grabs the Cage’s shoulder and wrist, then pulls him down onto the mat. Now, the champ has him in a submission hold, both hands around the Cage’s head. Legion Cage pounds the mat to surrender and Mourning Star lets him up, retreating to a corner.

That practice matchup is similar to the seven on the wrestling card at 7 tonight at the Bangor Parks and Recreation Building, the former armory, on Main Street. Tonight’s event is the second put on by Rampage Pro Wrestling of Bangor since the year began.

Marcus Hall, whose wrestling alter ego is Mourning Star, and Ken Banks, whose wrestling name is Legion Cage, may not be ready to take on Hulk Hogan and the professionals in the World Wrestling Federation. They are, however, members of a group of young men who grew up watching and loving the sport when Jesse Ventura was better known for his moves in the wrestling ring than those in the political arena.

Banks, 24, started the Rampage Pro Wrestling School in Bangor last year. A graduate of Penobscot Valley High School in Howland, he wanted to wrestle so much that he moved to Gulf Breeze, Fla., in the summer of 1999 to attend Skullkrushers Wrestling School.

When he returned to Maine, he started his own school in Cushman Plaza on Outer Hammond Street in Bangor. Banks has about a dozen students, most of whom have adopted a character they portray in the ring. Some of them will make their debuts tonight. Others, like Hall, will be defending their titles.

Hall, 22, is a senior majoring in English at the University of Maine at Machias. Raised in the Boston area, Hall said he has been a wrestling fan since he was in the second grade.

“When I was a kid, all wrestlers were huge, muscle-bound guys,” Hall said last week during a practice session in preparation for tonight’s match. “That’s changed in the last five years or so. There has been a lot more emphasis on smaller guys and the actual wrestling side of the sport. I thought I could do this even though I am not a great athlete headed to the WWF. But, I’m having a great time.”

One of Banks’ students who did not take on a wrestling persona is Matt Lindsay. The 20-year-old University of Maine student is still well known for the amateur matches he won while attending PVHS.

During his senior year, Lindsay won his third individual championship in the Penobscot Valley conference and set a new school record. He won more than 125 matches during his high-school career and, today, referees for middle- and high-school matches during the school wrestling season.

“I’ll come into the ring (tonight) in my high-school letter jacket wearing all my medals, and the other wrestlers will get on my case,” Lindsay said of his Rampage character. “Because there is an audience for both, amateur wrestling and this kind of wrestling are basically the same. There’s the adrenaline rush of performing in front of a crowd and the great feeling of getting the crowd behind me.”

Both kinds of wrestling require balance, coordination, timing and endurance, he observed, but amateur wrestling is more controlled. Lindsay added that both require the same amount of physical conditioning, but precise timing is especially essential in tonight’s matches to keep wrestlers from getting hurt.

That is why Banks and his students carefully script the maneuvers that will make up each match. With the 220-pound Hall jumping from the top rope to land on the 160-pound Banks sprawled on the mat, or flipping the 150-pound Lindsay in the air, wrestlers could get seriously injured if they alter the move by even an inch.

“A huge part of our training is based around conditioning,” explained Banks. “Far too often, wannabe pro wrestlers don’t take the time or have the fortitude to get into great shape. Nothing can replace a well-structured, intelligent conditioning program that students do on their own.

“Classes at the school, however, also devote a large portion of time to basic conditioning, especially to build up neck and back muscles. We also work on improving stamina,” he said.

“If wrestlers get tired and winded during a match, then they’ll definitely get sloppy. Then, any wrestler and his opponent could be at risk.”

Banks’ alter ego Legion Cage may delight in making his opponents think they are at risk, but he and his students practice many hours, just like Ventura once did, to make sure the risk is the biggest illusion in the ring.

For more information on Rampage Pro Wrestling, call 478-1163 or visit their Web site at www.rampagepro.com.