They called themselves an exotic fight-cabaret theater troupe. They said they were just "amplifying the more absurd aspects of World Wrestling Federation style wrestling events and culture, while interjecting comedy, political and social commentary into the presentation." They even compared themselves to mud wrestling, oil wrestling and Jell-O wrestling. But after almost a year of legal wrangling, Seattle Semi-Pro couldn’t convince the Washington State Department of Licensing that its performers don’t engage in "wrestling events." And it’s going to cost them.

In a ruling sent to SSP on Friday, DOL presiding officer John Dziedzic informed the group that even though its matches may be scripted and rehearsed, they still constitute wrestling, and he ordered them to cease and desist until they file for an annual operator’s license.

"I don’t want it to be true," SSP wrestler and reigning Pacific Middleweight Champion Mascara Generico (né Bill Bates) told Left Field when we called him this afternoon. He found out about the DOL’s decision when he saw SSP head honcho Josh Black’s Facebook status update this morning, which read, "Josh has lost faith in his local government." "There’s a lot of sadness right now," Generico says.

The license is only fifty bucks, which may not seem like much, but that’s just the beginning of the group’s potential financial outlay. If it wants to continue, not only will SSP need a surety bond of at least $10,000, it will also have to construct a wrestling ring to separate its performers from audiences and pay the state 5 percent tax on gross receipts from its shows. The only bright spot may be that individual wrestler’s won’t have to apply for their own licenses.

Generico says the group is going to meet with its lawyer tomorrow morning to discuss whether to appeal the ruling. "We’re not going to let this lie," he says. "We have such a fan base, we love performing for these people — especially in this recession, where it costs $100 just for a couple hours of fun. Here we are, once a month, and we’re charging next to nothing, and the state wants to take this away? No. That’s just stupid."

No doubt, more updates to come …