Missouri Wrestling Revival

By Brian “Flair” Kelley

Wrestling has always been my first love. From watching ALL –STAR Wrestling out of Kansas City and reading the monthly Pro Wrestling Illustrated on my hour bus drive to school and back home everyday, I can not remember a day when I did not dream of being a part of the sport that I love.

Getting out of school I had the dream but no drive or motivation. Days went by then years without even getting involved in the sport. I grew disinterested in wrestling when Vince bought out WCW, and just watch occasionally on TV , Every once in a while I I went to one of my idols shows, Harley Race’s WLW to check out a legend that he brought in that I grew up with to get a picture with. In the meantime I spent time with my son Josh, traveling to Denver to watch Denver Bronco football, going to comedy clubs and hanging out with friends that my dream of being a part of wrestling took a backseat.

Out of boredom one day I was in on the net and came across a promotion called CSW in Lawrence Kansas that caught my interest for a show on April 29, 2006 called X Marks the Spot 2. Believe it or not, this organization was bring in TNA Superstar AJ Styles which was cool I guess, I had seen him a few times before on TV and was impressed but it was what they offered before the show. The coolest ideal I ever heard of, for a small fee you were able to buy a VIP package to the show. You got first row seats to the show and a DVD of it when they came out in production which was sweet but the kicker for me was a fans Q and A for 30 minutes with a the special guest AJ Styles.

If you know me at all you know that I love talking about wrestling, what you may not know is I love shoot interviews (A Q and A where wrestlers supposedly tell stories that are true.) or reading wrestling autobiographies. This was a golden opportunity to get up close and personal. I purchased tickets for my beautiful new girlfriend Dubray and me for the show In a small room with about 15-25 other people who were about half my age asked the young talented wrestler question about how he got his start, what video games he played and what his thoughts on TNA was. Sometimes awkward but never boring the Q and A’s was surly something special.

After talking to Styles who was very respectful and informational, we made our way to our seats. Never before or since have I been at a wrestling promotion that had the feel of the TV show Cheers (For you younger fans that was a show where everyone went to the bar, and it everyone cared for each other like family. From the time we sat down the fans welcomed us and throughout the night informed us who was who and why they were fighting. Many of the fans brought the feel of a football game and when ____ chanted rang the bell (which he did at the start of every CSW show) the fans were pumped. Throughout the night they chanted, had signs and added to the experience of the show without taking away from the wrestler’s hard work.

The action was good and the night was exciting in the ring as well. My girlfriend enjoyed the shenanigans of the tag team of Derek Stone and Mason Hunter going against the equally entertaining Brett Young and Hype Gotti. A match between Michael Strider and Dingo had stiff chops and eye popping moves to go along with pure wrestling. The fans really gave manager Steve Girthy a hard time and his reactions were priceless. Girthy was highly entertaining and one of the few managers who I could say was in the league with MMWA-SICW’s Travis Cook.

I have to admit that the NWA will always have a place in my heart. From the early days of being a wrestling fan I always considered them to BE Pro Wrestling. Though, I am full aware that it may never come back to full power I am always happy to see them involved where I am at. On this evening the NWA Midwest Tag team defended their titles against the team of Young and Gotti who had won the opportunity early in the night to go for the belts. Little did I know that one of the guys that evening would be one of the top stars in the industry Tyler Black and his talented partner Marek Brave. The NWA Kansas Champion and the NWA Midwest X Champ Jaysin Strife went toe to toe in a match that prove to me that wrestling was alive and well in Kansas.

In the main event AJ Styles took on Darrien Sanders. The fans were on their feet and cheered Sanders and Styles both looking for a good match. There was magic in the air. On that night these two put on a solid match. Throughout the match Sanders looked to hit Styles with one of his many brutal kicks to wear down Styles. Styles would get the victory by hitting Sanders with the Spinal tap. The real winners were the fans as we gave a standing ovation to both me but it truly was for the locker room for a great night of wrestling.

Because of the time we went to CSW Dubray and I met fans who live hours away from me who will be friends of mine for life. Kenneth Scott, Peter Hahn, RETRO Rick (even though he is a chiefs fan), Rhino, Renn , Logan and Ray Milan are just a few who I still see at a show from time to time. There are many others liked the talented artist Rio and her mother who we have lost contact with but look forward to see how they are doing.

I know that she will most likely kill me but during that time at CSW, a wonderful woman who worked the shows, Crystal always welcomed us to the show and asked how we were. When we left she always wished us well and I am glad to say that I consider her one of our good friends.

Time would past and CSW would close there doors but before that sad day would come we would enjoy some great Q and A’S with Superstars like Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels and when they did not have a spherical guest the local stars like CSW Star Brett Young. To be honest the very best Q and A would be with local wrestler Hype Gotti who was OVAH as my friend Patrick B would say. Gotti is one of the most charismatic wrestlers that I have ever seen on the Indy scene. If only we had video taped Hype Gotti’s Q and A we could of made a fortune.

That time with CSW was truly what you call “good times”

During the last days I would meet Josh C Ray who was around the same age as I was who had just came out of the military. We had similar beliefs in wrestling and truly loved the sport. It wasn’t long that he was one of my closest and best friends that I would have. Little did I know that our friendship would mature into something special in my life outside of the two of us hanging out and talking on the phone for hours.

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MWR Begins