Missouri Wrestling Revival

By Kari Williams

When MMWA-SICW Announcer and Commentator Travis Cook betrayed management and revealed himself as the manager of The Connection, which, at the time, consisted of Phil E. Blunt, Jerome Cody and “The Main Attraction” Tommy Knight, he did so with more of a purpose than to stick it to the man—he wanted to create a dominant stable in the company.

Cook announced shows for MMWA-SICW for approximatley three years while also working for other promotions before he returned to the position of manager, which he has held in various promotions throughout his 12 years in the business.

“I suppose that through all of those months sitting at the announce desk, I saw several wrestlers with the raw ability to become stars—but they didn’t have the knowledge, the strategy or the killer instinct to do it. All of these are things I can provide. Also, I saw a promotion [that] desperately needed someone to come in, shake things up, cause a little excitement and raise a little hell. At the risk of sounding conceited, there’s very few people in the business today who can do those things better than yours truly,” Cook said.

Phil E. Blunt (second from left), Dave Vaughn (second from right) and Tommy Knight (far right) made up one version of The Connection since Cook's reign as manager. Photo by Mike VanHoogstraat

Knight boasts of The Connection’s notoreity within the industry.

“[The Connection is] one of the most elite groups in St. Louis wrestling today, especially at South Broadway,” Knight said.

Not wanting to manage a group of individuals who could not compete at a high level, The Connection was an obvious choice for Cook.

“If I was going to come back, I was determined to come back on top, or not come back at all…Phil E. Blunt and Jerome Cody had proven track records and a long history of success. Plus, I’d known both of them from years back as we’d crossed paths here and there in the wrestling business. Tommy Knight was involved at the time as well, and I thought he was someone with a tremendous upside who could benefit from my input. In short, I had Blunt and Cody to dominate today, and Knight that I thought we could develop into somebody who could dominate in say three or four years,” Cook said.

Travis Cook has had many run-ins with authority figures in MMWA-SICW, including Commissioner Keith Smith (pictured). Photo by Mike VanHoogstraat

The Connection gained Cook’s guidance approximately two years after Knight joined the group. The guidance the group received from Cook tamed the rowdy bunch.

“[Before Travis Cook became our manager] we were all running wild, [and] didn’t have a leader…[We were] already elite, but he polished us off,” Knight said.

Cook concurs with Knight, stating, “Everybody…wanted to take it in their own direction…Now, there’s one clear direction, one clear gameplan, and one clear focus.”

With “The Main Attraction’”s sudden retirement last summer, Cook searched for a replacement. He seeked a man who could match Knight’s promise in the ring, and he claims that while he did commentary, he professed only good things about MMWA-SICW Junior Heavyweight Champion Dave Vaughn, who won the belt from A.J. Williams on Feb. 14 under Cook’s management.

Travis Cook managed Dave Vaughn to the Junior Heavyweight Title, which Vaughn won from A.J. Williams. Photo by Mike VanHoogstraat

“When he turned on Mr. Bibbs after the jolly, fat man cost him the Tag Team Title, then the questions about his killer instinct were answered—I knew at that point he had what it takes mentally to succeed. Soon after that, I began contacting Vaughn—my initial idea was to team him up with Knight and mold them into one of the great tag teams of the 21st century. However, with Knight retiring, we opted to concentrate on Vaughn wrestling singles. Either way it was a great situation for us, because I can’t remember seeing an athlete with the physical tools that Vaughn has at such a young age,” Cook said.

Vaughn earned his first taste of gold—tag team gold—with Bibbs prior to his affiliation with Cook and The Connection. However, Vaughn recognizes the loss of those belts as the catalyst for his membership with the group.

“Travis [Cook] saw my true, raw power and my wrestling ability. He approached me when I speared Shaft to get rid of my tag team titles,” Vaughn said.

Knight claims to have noticed Vaughn’s talent as well and, according to “The Main Attraction,” Vaughn is “ruthless, [he] shows no mercy, and you can tell he has gold in his eyes.”

Travis 'The Crook' Cook has managed a number of independent wrestlers to championship reigns, but his current focus is on robbing Current MMWA-SICW Champion "Night Train" Gary Jackson of his belt. Photo by Mike VanHoogstraat

Boasting his own managerial prowess, Cook believes he deserves a majority of the credit for Vaughn’s title victory.

“Certainly Vaughn’s athletic ability had a lot to do with [winning the title from A.J.]—the guy simply has all the tools. However, I might humbly suggest that it was my strategic input—both prior to the match and during the bout itself—that made the difference in the end. I know the key to beating A.J. Williams—and it was proven during the title change,” Cook said.

Cook has managed numerous wrestlers to championship reigns, including but not limited to, “Spoiled” Steven Kennedy, Reid Reign and Jerome Cody. Only time will tell if Cook can carry the Connection toward victory, bringing the past (Phil E. Blunt) and the present (Dave Vaughn) into the future a powerful force in the Midwest wrestling scene.