Missouri Wrestling Revival

By Kari Williams

Hours before bell time, a small crew begins to gather around the barbeque pit brought to the Knight of Columbus Hall in House Springs, MO. The time passes, the grill heats up and the beer flows endlessly. Intoxication sets in. Big Al takes his place as master of the grill, bringing venison and brats. Justin Poole sits atop a red cooler, of which the contents are unknowingly obvious, drinking a Natural Light. As cars pull into the undersized parking lot, fans make their way over to the crowd. The time draws near. Poole, Al and the others slowly make their way into the building. The music starts—“Kickstart Your Heart” blares from hidden speakers. And the Lethal Wrestling Alliance Mother F*cking Super Fans (LWA MFSF) make their drunken voices heard.

“You know, many a time people have told me that we’re the only reason they keep coming. Because we’re very entertaining. Mostly, I’m really entertaining, and then the other superfans kind of feed off me. Like, I lead the charge in the insults, the people get into it, and we get the crowd more interactive,” said Justin Poole—a MFSF for nearly a decade—as he beamed with a sense of superiority during the intermission interview.

Chris Naes, a MFSF from the beginning, echoes Poole’s boastful proclamation.

“The Mother F*cking Super Fans are the only fans that matter at any LWA show—if you go, you will hear us. You will probably be offended by most of what we say. We will make fun of you, and it will be personal. By the end of the show, you will know exactly what to expect at every LWA show you come to—a bunch of loud, drunk assholes having a damn good time,” said Naes.

When Naes and Poole began attending shows those many years ago, the draw for them was not the action going on in the ring—not by a long shot.

“We really liked to get drunk, and we found out they had dollar beers. So, we decided this would be our place to get drunk,” said the already-wasted Poole.

“I started coming to shows because I wanted to get real drunk and party like a madman! This includes a various assortment of drugs and broken shit before, after and during shows. None of this has changed at all,” added Naes.

At the July 25 show, original super fans (and those who claim to be super fans) flock together around the beer and venison. Photo by Kari Williams

Being one of the key members of the LWA roster from the beginning, Adam Raw has seen the MFSF at their best, and at their worst. One incident that stood out the most to Raw, was the ‘Alex Shelley Incident,’ seeing as an uprising occurred.

“This probably wasn’t the most positive thing, but I have to say for a local indy fed, this doesn’t happen very often. A couple years ago, one of our wrestlers, Nick Tyson, faced a guy from TNA, Alex Shelley. It was supposed to be LWA’s big moment where we finally [got] a national level star coming in and it was the time we were going to get a lot of attention. Any other wrestling audience would’ve clapped, and been like, ‘Yay! Alex Shelley.’ Ours started a riot and tried to fight him,” stated Raw matter-of-factly.

“We had one fan who actually spit on Alex Shelley as he was coming to the ring—this was before the match even started—and tried to pick a fight with him. Alex Shelley jumped the rail, and the next thing you know, we had 10 people and security had to be called. The fan got thrown out unfortunately, but it was just the wildest scene, they were so anti-Shelley, because they were so pro-LWA. They loved Nick Tyson [because] Tyson represented LWA. And Shelley was the bad guy just because he was from an outside company. It didn’t matter that he was a TV star,” continued Raw.

That devotion kept LWA MFSF Big Al coming back, even after he planned on boycotting the company when XXX Jordan Lacey lost to Jeremy Wyatt and presumably retired earlier this year. In the heat of the moment, Al threw his beer at Wyatt.

“In my younger days, I might’ve jumped over the fence and yelled at him, but nowadays, I’m old and I can’t fight anymore. That was the only thing I could think of. To throw a beer at him. It’s aIl I had in my hand. Right before that I looked at my buddy, Kenny, and said, ‘Should I?’ And he’s like, ‘Go! Go ahead! I don’t know what you’re wanting to do, but sure!’…I kind of regret it, I do. I shouldn’t have done that. I lost my temper, and honestly, like I said earlier, if XXX is gone, I’m gone. He’s the guy that brought me in to this. And I’d feel real bad if he ever left, and I say that now, but you never know. I may come back to a show,” said Al.

The intensity and devotion of the MFSF’s surpasses that of any other promotion, according to Al.
“[The Superfans] stick by the LWA. [For] a lot of the super fans, this is the only show they go to. They don’t go to any of the other promotions. I’ve tried a few of the others. I kind of liked them. I might go again, but I’m a true LWA fan,” said Al.

Super Fan Justin Poole stumbles through the crowd at an LWA show. Photo courtesy of Justin Poole

Poole proposes a claim that challenges Al’s statement, yet he still holds LWA in the highest regard.

“LWA is just number one in the entire country pretty much. I’ve went to every single indy federation in all of America, in every single state, and LWA is better every single time,” declared Poole.

“You’re lying,” LWA MFSF Matt Green interjected.

“No, I’m not. Shut up, asshole. It’s totally true. That’s totally fact,” defends Poole.

Regardless of the truthfulness of Poole’s claim, the Super Fans have a pivotal role in the heart of the LWA. According to Raw, MFSF’s can make or break both good and bad matches and add to the party atmosphere that is the LWA.

“I think in a way, we created the superfans. The direction of the show, the atmosphere, we started out creating the wild atmosphere, and there’s a bit of a party theme to it…I think as long as we put that energy out to them, they just take it and recycle it 10 times over and give it back to us. So, in a way, I think we just created that attitude,” said Raw.

Going right along with that attitude is the crudeness and vocalness associated with chants thrown out at random by the super fans, as Poole mentioned earlier. Al feels that each super fan adds his own unique perspective to the chants with “some of the vulgarity we might throw out. You never know what’s going to come out of a super fan’s mouth, I’ll say that. [It] seems like every show something new starts; it’s just keeps going.”

Because of the unpredictability of the super fans, Raw finds himself questioning their antics on occasion. For instance, he felt they did not show Michael Strider the proper respect when Strider announced his retirement. When these types of circumstances arise, Raw feels that, “There are times I’d like to drop an anvil on that side of the audience.”

On occassion, LWA MFSF's congregate prior to shows for BBQ and beer, as they did in July earlier this year. Photo by Kari Williams

The high demands of the super fans sometimes leads to disagreements, but it seems as though nothing will stop them from consistently coming to shows to create chaos at every opportunity.

“LWA has changed in many ways. The focus in recent years has been on wrestling only. The super fans still ask for more videos during shows and crazy antics and whatnot but it just doesn’t seem to happen. The one constant of the LWA has been the LWA Mother F*cking Super Fans,” said Naes.

Despite the consistency of the diehard fans, many have left over the years. At least 10 super fans can claim the title of an original Mother F*cking Super Fan, which includes Poole, Naes and Al. Others have come along and attempted to call themselves such, but the originals feel that no one else can reach the high standards it takes to rightfully own that name. According to Naes, he “would be hard pressed to call [anyone else] a super fan.”

“LWA has grown into something quite awesome. For everything I could say bad there are 50 things that I love about LWA. If you would like to become a MFSF, too bad you probably aren’t good enough,” said Naes.

From the mouths of the super fans themselves, they are: dedicated, hammered and superradinarlyultimo-awesome. Poole justifies his word of choice (superradinarlyultimo-awesome), “Mainly because I only associate with awesome people. And all the super fans are awesome people. And we’re not geeks like other people.”

Adam Raw celebrates with the original LWA Mother F*cking Super Fans. Photo courtesy of LWA

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Raw associates the super fans and their actions with adrenaline.

“Whenever they’re hot and they’re on it, and they come to the shows and especially the ones where they’re just riled up, and especially if you take a wrestler they really like, that’s what it seems like to me—a pump of adrenaline going through these guys. And it’s the same way as the wrestler. If you know they’re out there, and they’re going to go crazy for you, and they’re being crazy that night, you feel the same way backstage. You just feel like you’re filled with adrenaline,” said Raw.

As a competitor himself, Raw appreciates the underlying cause of the super fans.

“They’re having fun. And that’s something that I think people in wrestling have gotten far away from. They’re not concerned about the fans having fun; they’re more concerned about the wrestlers pleasing each other, entertaining each other. [The super fans are] coming out, having a good time…and as long as it’s not to the point where we have to have security go over and dump somebody on their head, I’m all for it,” said Raw.

A common agreement as to who came up with the name “Mother F*cking Super Fans” could not be found. Poole believe Al came up with the name. Al believes Naes thought it up. And Naes left the answer to fate.

“It was bestowed upon us by the LWA gods. Do not question their will,” said Naes.

*Note to reader: Due to years of heavy-drinking, a prerequisite to claim the title of LWA Mother F*cking Super Fan, not all anecdotes, facts or claims made by the superfans interviewed for this piece can be accurately accounted for or verified by outside sources.