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.

We just returned around 11:30 PM last night from what was a most moving and beautiful tribute to a beautiful lady.

Early yesterday I had a call from Ted DiBiase, who had driven from his home in Mississippi and was in St Louis, we arranged to meet in Eldon MO for dinner and then go over to the community center where there was a visitation for B. J. Race. Eldon is a small town and we expected to see a handful of locals who were wrestling fans and a few of the wrestlers from Harley’s wrestling school there thinking most would go today to Kansas City where the funeral was to be.

What a wonderful tribute were we about to witness, as we pulled into the parking lot at 6:05 PM, there was no where to park, the lot was full, I would estimate some 150 cars. Found a spot on the outskirts of the lot and we walked into this nice large building where Harley and BJ held their wrestling shows twice a year. They had set it up like a chapel with the long wall as you enter full of family photos for 4 tables, about 32 feet, and then a massive number of floral pieces, the first on was a huge wreath from Vince McMahon, ( while we were there Vince called to briefly talk to Rob and Harley) then beautiful arrangements and plants and even one large tree from friends and family and wrestlers from all over. I counted the floral pieces there was 53 in all.

The other wall all the former students and current wrestlers from the WLW stood and lined the 300 foot wall, by 7:00Pm there were some 50 plus young wrestlers standing, hands folded in tribute. Including Trevor Murdock, Bull Schmitt, Dangerous Derek, John Pantoya, Steve Fender, Darin Wade, Brian Nguyen,Amy Hennig, Joe Hennig flew in from WWE Florida, Becca Swansen, Lucy Mendez and many more.

Harley’s first graduate Matt Murphy and all the wrestlers stood up and he gave a tear pulling tribute to BJ, and several of the wrestlers showed a heartfelt loss as the tears fell. He said it is easy to see why her e mail was WLWMOM as she was a mother away from home to all those who attended the Harley Race Wrestling Academy.

The center section of the community center was set up with 2 sections of chairs, each 11 wide and 10 deep for 220 seating, we sat in row 9 and got there at 6:05, by 7:30 they had to break out more chairs, counting those that stayed for the whole two and a half hours and those who came and paid their respects i would guess somewhere around 400 plus.

Harley”s long time partner and closest friend Larry”The AX “Hennig was there with his wife and they sat in the last row with Ted DiBiase and several other wrestlers that I did not know.

To top off a fantastic tribute, on Saturday night I was able to reach Ken Hirayama in Hawaii and told him of BJ’s passing, and asked him to call Mr. Ryu, president of Noah Wrestling in Japan and let him know. At 7:30 Pm both and Ken and Rhu showed up in person. He had been traveling from Japan to Hawaii to St Louis a total of 30 plus hours to be there. Less then 48 hours from the time he was called some 30 hours in the air and in a car he was there. Two very caring men who stood and shed a tear with some 400 others, I have gotten to know these men over the last 4 or 5 years and take pride in their friendship and support of the CAC.

Kyle Mason who was the City Administrator in Eldon when Harley and BJ opened his school there, 10 years ago, is also a ordained pastor, gave a moving tribute to BJ and a eulogy that showed why she was so respected and loved by this small town.

Beverly Ann Race had just turned 60 the 9th of this month, I know I will miss working with her at the future WLW shows and miss her smiles and rough voice when she says “OK lets go count the tickets and give you your tax money”, and then smile and say but your such a nice tax collector.

From Executive-Vice President Karl K. Lauer

This touching tribute was posted with permission from Karl Lauer.

For more information, our good friend Josh Ray sent me the link of the obituary of her life that you see here.

By Kari Williams

At The Game in Glen Carbon, IL, 96 fans were witness to a night of controversial finishes, remarkable matches and an epic no disqualification match featuring the IWA-Mid South Heavyweight Champion Dingo. From the high flying start to the hardcore end, one could not walk away disappointed.

“Irresistibly Flawless” Brandon Aarons battled Gary Jay in the evening’s opening contest. In the highly competitive match up, there were multiple pin attempts and near falls. They quickly took the match to the outside with their highflying skill.

Gary Jay and Brandon Aarons fight to the finish in their fast-paced bout. Photo by Kari Williams

Gary dominated Aarons most of the match, but that is not to say that Aarons did not put up a fight. Indeed, Aarons fought valiantly enough to turn the tide and worked his way back from the verge of defeat. Gary did his best to combat Aarons, but Aarons got the win over Gary.

Alexandre Rudolph continued his path of destruction across the Midwest when he faced Johnny Montez & Matt Fitchett. Despite Montez and Fitchett’s intestinal fortitude, they could not stop Rudolph.

Matt Fitchett goes to the top as he attempts to take out Alexandre Rudolph. Photo by Kari Williams

Even when they attempted double team tactics, Rudolph swatted them away like flies. It seems as though Rudolph has dominated every challenge put in front of him. Only time will tell if someone will step up and put a stop to his devastation.

In the following contest, Trent Stone and Adam Rich went at it. They put on one of the most exciting matches of the night. The advantage went back and forth between the two men, adding an extra amount of suspense.

Adam Rich wears down Trent Stone in his struggle for dominance. Photo by Kari Williams

Both came within seconds of winning, but the endurance of Stone and Rich propelled them on, refusing to let them give in. Submission holds became a main mean of defense to wear down one another, but Stone caught a dazed Rich off guard with a spear for the win.

The Submission Squad (Pierre Abernathy & Evan Gelistico) and the Ego Express (“Spoiled” Steven Kennedy & K.C. Karrington) wrestled the only tag team match of the night. Although Abernathy and Gelistico were reluctant to start—Abernathy got a phonecall at ringside—the bout got the crowd pumped up.

K.C. Karrington pummels Pierre Abernathy as he and Steven Kennedy battle the Submission Squad. Photo by Kari Williams

The Egos had enough of the Squad’s procrastinating and they took the fight to them, dominating early on. Seeing as both teams are tag team specialists, the Squad recouped and dominated Karrington—cutting him off from Kennedy. Abernathy and Gelistico constantly choked and illegally brutalized him. As soon as Kennedy got the tag, he pummeled the Squad. However, Gelistico caught Kennedy off guard and got the spoiled victory by holding the tights.

“Spitfire” Davey Vega and “The Don Mega” Shorty Biggs delivered an impressive bout. Vega and Biggs wrestled a fairly even contest, with neither etching out a clear advantage over the other. As the match progressed, Spitfire slowly gained the lead, and when he could not put away Biggs, his frustration began to show.

Shorty Biggs tries to gain the advantage over Davey Vega. Photo by Kari Williams

Biggs’s relentlessness refused to let him submit so easily, and he willed himself on. In spite of the fan support and the mutual respect between the competitors, Vega continued to have a slight lead, allowing him to get the pinfall victory.

In the main event, Dingo and Outkast went through a hellacious no disqualification battle. For the first five or so minutes, neither man drew out the weapons. But once they made their way to the outside, nothing was off limits—not chairs, ladders, kendo sticks or anything of the sort. Battered and bruised, they continued to beat the hell out of each other to claim success. At one point, Outkast climbed a ladder in the ring, and launched on to Dingo—who laid prone on a table in the center of the ring.

Dingo and OutKast went to hell and back in main event. Photo by Kari Williams

Not even that kept the Australian badass down for the three count. Blows to the head, highflying maneuvers off of the top rope—and off of ladders—still could not put away either man. It was not until Dingo connected with a moonsault while simultaneously hitting Outkast with a steel chair that the match came to its conclusion.

NWA Dynamo Pro will return to The Game on Oct. 16.

Zach "Napalm" Porter

I can’t really find the right words to express the shocking events from this past weekend that led to the brutal murders of Midwest wrestler Zach “Napalm” Porter and his girlfriend’s parents Jeffrey and Glenda Smith in LEBANON, Mo.

I had met Zach for the first time this year at Pro Wrestling Entertainment’s debut show where he took on Mephisto for the PWE US Title. I had introduced myself and exchanged pleasantries. I was ringside to take photographs of their match and wished him a safe trip at the end of the night. Mephisto would ask me later on in the week what I thought of the match, and I had to be honest. I told him point blank that it was not that good. In return mephisto spoke up for his friend and said that Zach may have been rusty but in fact could put on a good match.

Fast forward to this past September; I was invited to Independent Hardcore Wrestling (IHW). On the card for the night was another hardcore match between Napalm and Mephisto. These two tore each other up giving it their all for the fans. At the end of the night I went up to talk to him and he asked me my thoughts on this match as he knew I wasn’t too thrilled with their first encounter. I did not have to lie to him. I enjoyed the match very much. Zach was very humble, polite and friendly  even though I had stated that I wasn’t impressed with him before which really impressed me on the man’s demeanor. Afterwards we said our goodbyes till next time.

The problem is there will not be a next time. It sheds the ever reminding truth that we need to love and respect each other because we may not know when our last day is. Zach may not have been a household name but to many in the Midwest, he was a friend. In my short time that I spoke to him, I could tell why. MWR’S condolences go out to the family of Zach’s, as well as Jeffery and Glenda Smith’s.

I am going to leave you with a word from a man who always stood up for Zach, his good friend Mephisto.

“No matter what Zach was always laid back and chillin.
When there was trouble and everyone was taking themselves too seriously and bitching and worrying about shit he was calm almost every time and always joking.

He never complained about putting anyone over or doing any kind of business you asked him too.

He was one of the most genuine people I have met in this business and people can say what they want to about him but they can’t take away the fact that he was one of the best of us because he had a Good Heart.

YOU WERE MY BROTHER AND I LOVE YOU MAN.
YOU WERE ONE OF MY FAVORITE PEOPLE THAT I HAVE MET IN THIS BUSINESS”

MEPHISTO

I went to bed last night looking for the right words (if there are any) to give my respects on the passing of Harley Race’s wife BJ.

There is no doubt that BJ Race was one of the most influential people in the Midwest wrestling scene. I last saw BJ a week ago in Eldon Missouri when WLW successfully celebrated their 10 year anniversary. We got there early for the meet and greet and the place was stacked with people excited about the day’s events. I wished that I would have said more than a hello but she looked to be stressed with all the hard work that it takes to put on a show so I knew that then was not the time.

Throughout the 10 years that I have been going to WLW events the first person I usually saw there was BJ. I would be lying if I told you that we were close friends but memories of her telling Bret Hart at the International Wrestling Institute and Museum in Newton Iowa at the time that my girlfriend Dubray and I were one of WLW’S biggest fans seemed to make the trip that much more special. I am forever grateful that she let us give away a free MWR T-shirt in Richmond MO at a WLW event and later allowed me to interview WLW Superstars Amy Hennig, Superstar Steve Fender and WWE’S Eugene.

She was a wonderful host to the MWR family when we took a tour of their training faculty and allowed us to come into Harley Race’s office for a memorable day. It’s amazing that the time we saw each other were indeed short, but unforgettable.

More importantly than the loss of BJ to the wrestling world, our hearts and prayers go out to Harley Race, her kids, family and friends in this time of sorrow.

Sincerely

Brian “Flair” Kelley and the MWR Team