By Dubray Tallman

Hello Wrestling fans, what an exciting week here at Missouri Wrestling Revival. We have had more hits on the site this week than we ever have going into our fifth year since MWR began. One of the reasons for all the love is due to the poll regarding the talented and lovely women of the Midwest.

The Sexiest Female of the Year 2012 would have 1,303 votes that included 32 wonderful women that are involved in the sport in the Midwest.

First off, thank you to each and every fan that voted and the females that were involved.

To be perfectly honest this contest was not held to prove who was hottest in the Midwest, because each of these women are beautiful in their own right. No, there were two reasons why this was held, first off as with every post we have here is to bring fans to the site. The more fans that know about the site, the better chance that they will come back to MWR, as we hope they like the other content that is shown here on an almost daily basis. This will only help everyone involved, not only MWR. When they come to the site hopefully they check out the upcoming shows and support our local wrestling.

On the other hand the more hits on the site can only help the local stars as they make their path to make their dream come true, to be the best in the world. The ideal is that we hope that you the fans, see a wrestler like Maddog McDowell or Jack Gamble as an example in an article here and when they come to your local promotion that you already know that he/she is a professional and worth the price of a ticket. As a fan you will have those that you think lived up to the hype and then on the other hand you may be disappointed. Most if not all MWR promotions have tickets that are near the $10.00 price range so the risk of being let down is such that we know that you will get your money’s worth. With the two before mentioned McDowell and Gamble we have no doubt you will not be disappointed but you may find another wrestler on the show that is your favorite.

The second reason is to support women wrestling in the Midwest in general. At the end of 2010, we had the MWR Awards committee gather together for the year in awards. When the topic of MWR Female Wrestler of the year came up many of the members stated that there were no women matches in their area, so they opted out, or like most they considered Harley Race’s WLW Women’s title in our coverage area to be the most prestigious title. With that said a young lady by the name of Amy Hennig dominated the promotion’s title in her third WLW Title reign of 2010 and went on to be named rightfully the 2010 MWR Wrestler of the Year . MsChif, whom many like my boyfriend feel as is the best female wrestler in the sport today had not wrestled that often that year in the area.

Some of you fans may ask, what about SHIMMER??

We LOVE that promotion but it is outside the MWR promotion area and we feel as if we are not able to attend a show throughout the year, how can we give them the proper coverage they receive? With that said any news from a female wrestler in our coverage area like former SHIMMER Champion MsChif in SHIMMER will be given much love on our site. Just as if the former 5-TIME WLW Women’s Champ Miss Natural returns to that promotion or if the 2-time MWR Female Wrestler of the year Stacey O’Brien would make her debut. If that should happen we would cover it and if invited would be happy to photograph the event.

So in no short words there are the reasons why we the Sexiest Female of the Year of 2012 were held, to hopefully have the fans request more matches for females. To be honest even before the contest had been started female wrestling popularity has picked up. WLW continues to be the only promotion with a Women’s title that is frequently defended with top women wrestlers involved including O’Brien, Lucy Mendez, and Natural currently in the mix.

3XWrestling who we didn’t mention earlier for bringing in women’s matches continues to support women wrestling, so much in fact that this will mark the second month that they will have women’s matches on their card with February 24th’s matchup being between Malia Hosaka and Angelus Layne.

Metro Pro Wrestling has TV rating that spike when Lucy Mendez and MsChif are in the ring. IWA Unlimited currently has Angelus Layne and the red hot Serenity in the mix and in 2010 had stars like Athena and Rachel Summerlyn appear. MMWA-SICW has also featured women’s wrestling in 2010 more often that they had in the past if I am right. IWA Productions just this weekend brought in ODB and Tracy Brooks for a card that boasted over 300 people and in the past have brought in stars like Nikki St John and Taylor Made.

AAPW fans requested women’s matches for the first time in over four years at this historic AAPW Main event that saw O’Brien meet former foe Rebecca Raze in front of over 405 fans at the Black Davidson Harley Davidson arena. You can pre purchase the DVD of the event by clicking here.

NWA Dynamo has also brought in women wrestling and with Metro Pro Wrestling will feature the return of Santana G and the first appearance of TNA Star Christina Von Eerie on April 6th in Glen Carbon, Illinois and Kansas City on April 7th.

Underground Wrestling’s first show brought in the one of a kind Amanda the Blood thirsty Vixen, the transsexual superstar from California who rocked the house at POP’S with former TNA Star Mickie Lee Knuckles in their exciting third encounter. Pro Wrestling Phoenix has also had women’s matches in the past in Council Bluffs, Iowa. IHW has also been the place to catch the talented The Great Cheyenne, Melanie Cruise and Mia Martinez. Magnum Pro Wrestling started the 2012 off with a battle between Angelus Layne and Kiandra.

Heading into 2012, MWR is excited to have St Louis Anarchy in the family and they have a history of bringing in some of the top women around the country including Summerlyn, Jessica James, Portia Perez and Lillie Mae.

This coming month in Granite City on February 25th we hope you join us during a match that promises to be a true war when Serenity meets Rachel Summerlyn!!

So with all that information let’s find out just who won the 2012 MWR Sexiest Wrestler of the Year and my thoughts on it.

Drumroll please….bum bum bum or however it goes……..You’re 2012 Sexiest Female of the Year is….

MsChif, I had to laugh that one fan wrote during the contest somewhere that is she wins does that mean we have to call her Your Soul’s Sexy tormenter??!! There is no doubt the love the fans have for her but no wrestler male or female demands the respect of MsChif. Not only is she such a professional that she has dedicated herself to be the best, she could teach a class on how to market herself. Her website is set up where fans can find out whom and where she is and more importantly she markets herself with the coolest of items for her fans to buy. Want a DVD of MsChif?, got it…T-Shirt? Which one? Does she have Coloring books?? Hell yeah, how about being in the MWR Trading Card set, check and done at Brian’s favorite number 4, something about horsemen, I don’t know. Don’t believe me click here to purchase this or any other item.

Throughout the Midwest she has the loyalty of the fans, and we often have them ask us where she is going to be next, for the record we think that will be at NWA Dynamo on April 6th in Glen Carbon as a tag team partner of Makaze with the Magic Man or I am sure she will be part of SHIMMER in March but don’t quote me on that check it out here.

So at 17.42 percent MsChif has captured another title to her resume, the 2012 MWR Sexiest Wrestler of the Midwest.

Photo credit Jerry Chavez

2nd Place– Lucy Mendez– Another personal friend of the site, I Love Lucy and that’s a fact. She is a sweetheart who has been one of the most active female wrestlers during the MWR Years. The dye hard Latino Princess fans came through for her strong as she took over 2nd place in the final hour of this contest. Word has spread that promoter Chris Gough is very active in having Metro Pro Wrestling syndicated across the country, there may not be a women that is more universal than the Metro Pro Wrestling’s bad girl herself, Lucy Mendez to lead them.

Photo Credit Tim Dunahee

3RD Place Patty Bach– Everyone loves a cheerleader and though she doesn’t wrestle like Chicago female star December she touches many fans hearts.

Why you ask is Patty involved if she doesn’t wrestle? Though we put her on here because she is a personal friend of the site, we know how important she is to IWA Productions. Though, just the head cheerleader with a few of the young little women of Olney Illinois, this poll proved how good of a hype machine she is. More importantly for IWAP the cheerleaders and Patty bring a positive vibe to the shows for that promotion.

Though IWAP shows have been a huge success due to stars like Jerry Lawler who is coming soon but also because of the way Patty has worked with the community to keep fans local to the shows.

Photo from Taylor Made's Facebook.

4th Place– Taylor Made– This is one woman whom personally I have not seen or met but if the support is any indication of how much fans want to see her, then I highly urged the promoters to contact her right away!! A double threat as she wrestles and manages as well at Metro Pro Wrestling leading Domino Rivera and ECW Original Angel.

Photo from Santana G's website.

5th place) Santana G– The Midwest Sweetheart is a personal friend as well, and almost family as her father is TNT Keny G. During the MWR years, TNT Keny has invited us in their home for some great times. Though I would like to give her this award to make her dad happy, alas any award worth having isn’t given it is earned. She started off red hot and was right there at the top, but with her being gone since last spring, I have to wonder if that derailed her way among the top three. Still just like we saw in her appearances at WLW, I have no doubt when she is in town during the intermissions, the fans will be lined up to have their pictures taken with her. From what I have heard she has improved vastly since we last saw her as she has been working with former greats Larry Zbyszko and Scott Hall.

(Photo credit http://www.photographybyzo.com)

6th Place) Amanda the Blood Thirsty Vixen– A one of a kind, the fact that she has only been here once has her fans pleading for her return to the Midwest. That includes me as I missed her the last time she was here. Someone get her on your show!!!

Photo Credit Gary Giaffoglione

7 and 8 tie)

Angelus Layne and

Miss Natural finds out that the competiton can be a little rough in 2012. (Photo Credit Brian Kelley)

Miss Natural– Though I can’t say I like her much after the way she treated me in the promo at 3XW. There is no doubting Miss Natural’s talent, either that or she has been around so long that the older fans voted for her. Angelus Layne has challenged for the WLW title once before, and have been making waves from Iowa to Illinois.

(Photo Credit Brian Kelley)

9th place) Stacey O’Brien– Surprisingly not much love for the sexy Irish catholic schoolgirl. Or was it a case of people being haters and not wanting her to win the MWR Female of the Year and the MWR Sexiest wrestler of the Year back to back.

10th place) Nikki St John– Another wrestler that I have yet to meet and missed in action so far in our four plus years of covering the action. I got her photo thanks to the promoters from IWAP, as she has heated up the ring down in southern Illinois as well as Chicago’s POWW promotion. MWR promoters it looks as if the fans are asking to see more of this young lady.

So there you have the top 10 women as voted by you the fans.

Thank you so much for the support of MWR and the ladies of the Midwest. Remember to add MWR to your favorites and visit daily to keep up with all your local wrestling news.

Hope to see you at the shows,

Love Dubz.

Tomorrow night on Wrestle Talk from 5:30 to 7pm on RadioRichandFriends.com join them as they  talked WWE, Dave Lagauna coming to TNA plus over 30 min interview with TNA Knockout Angelina Love. 

Be sure and check it out.

Meet Angelina Love, former WWE star Gangrel , former ECW star Angel and Wrestle Craps own Blade Braxton.

Then later that night in Council Bluffs, Iowa Pro Wrestling Phoenix will have WWE Gangrel in action as well as a CAGE MATCH!!!!!!

News on Juggalo Championship Wrestling in StL, FALLOUT from UFC 143, Necro Butcher joins them, as well as a local wrestling personality; we have our fav segment GOOD heat, or XPAC heat; Hosted by Ben Simon w/Mikey G http://www.partyanimalradio.com/EVERY Sunday 5-7pm pro wrestling, MMA, Boxing TUNE IN!!

Davey Vega (Photo Credit Brian Kelley)

Name: Davey Vega
AKA: Spitfire, Bulletproof, Unbreakable

DOB: 07/10/85

Height: 5’11”
Weight: 180 lbs

Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri / Cleveland, Ohio

Trained By: Dingo, Chikara Wrestle Factory

Pro Debut: December 7, 2006

ACW Debut: 03/22/2009 “Peace, Love & Anarchy”

Signature Moves: Flying Yakuza Kick (Corner), Super-Kick, Discus Lariat

Finishing Moves: V-8 (Air Raid Crash), Vegadeth

ACW Titles:
Anarchy Televised Title – 09/19/10 – “The Evolution of the Revolution 4” – Defeated former champion Berry Breeze

ACW Heavyweight Title – 05/15/11 – “Nothing is as Real as a Dream 3” – Prom Night 2011 – Defeated former champion Matthew Palmer.

Anarchy Televised Title (2) – 01/15/12 – “Guilty by Association 6” – Defeated former champion Scot Summers in a 4-way elimination match which also included Jerry Lynn & Mat Fitchett

Other Titles Held: NWA Missouri State Championship, Lethal Wrestling Alliance Championship, HVW Trios Championship (with Evan Gelistico & Pierre Abernathy)

Notable Feuds and Alliances: (In his own words)
Feud- Rachel Summerlyn (Hussy), Feud – KC Karrington: Feud that still hasn’t been settled yet; Started 2008
Alliances – The Submission Squad: Love/hate relationship… Mostly love :)

Personal History: (In his own words) Just a kid living his dream. Grew up a little different than most. Moved to St. Louis to start new as I wasn’t the epitome of the “norm”. Started wrestling in 2006 haven’t looked back.

Info from Texas Anarchy website here.

By Brian Kelley

2012 has started off red hot as many of the promotions are packing the buildings for their shows to see some of the top young talents in the sport today. In January two of the longest reigning champions in the MWR coverage area have been dethroned.

NEW MMWA-SICW Champ Brandon Espinosa (Photo Credit Brian Kelley)

Coincidently,it would be on the same night, as MMWA-SICW and New Midwest Wrestling each ran on January 21st. Let’s start with the action from the historic South Broadway Athletic Club in ST. Louis Missouri where the 2011 MWR wrestler of the Year Brandon Espinosa look to prove that the third time is indeed the charm as he met the MMWA-SICW champ Gary Jackson in a Lumberjack match.

Jackson had been able to get two victories via Disqualification, the last one being due to interference thanks to The Big Texan dressed as Santa jumped in the ring to attack the champ.

Gary Jackson would not go down without a fight.(Photo Credit Mike Van Hoogstraat)

With the animosity running high, MMWA-SICW officials felt that the match needed extra manpower to contain these two hated warriors. Thus a Lumberjack match was scheduled and it would not end without controversy. Wrestling reporter Patrick Brandmeyer called it like he saw it, with the two going at it back and forth the Ricky Cruz and Dave Vaughn tension from the previous match spilled over into this one, leading to Vaughn spearing Jackson while the referee was holding back Cruz.

Dave Vaughn and Ricky Cruz has been at each other’s throat’s recently, and this feud is about to become out of control if the MMWA-SICW officials don’t come up with a plan. (Photo Credit Mike Van Hoogstraat)

That gave Espinosa the opening to deliver the frog splash and pin Jackson for the title! Cruz and Vaughn brawled after the match and it took quite some time to restore order in the ring area…

We would like to congratulate Brandon Espinosa as he is now the MMWA-SICW Heavyweight Champion for the first time.

While our friend Mike Van Hoogstraat was photographing that historic and crazy moment. Dubray and I traveled to Springfield Illinois to the Lamphier High School to cover the very first show of the year for New Midwest Wrestling.

A great night of wrestling that was headlined with the New Midwest Wrestling Heavyweight Champion Ryan Phoenix trying to defy the odds as he would not only face one man but two in a three way dance. Phoenix has been a fighting champion since last January 29th, 2011 when he defeated the powerhouse Jonathan Magnus.

Tyler Priegel and Tom Arson double team the champ.(Photo Credit Brian Kelley)

Phoenix is no doubt one of the top wrestlers in the Midwest but the two men he was taking on were just as dangerous. First off you had A1 Tom Arson, who is as cocky as he is good. Then you have the “Dodgeball Superstar” Tyler Priegel, who has been a winner at everything he has done. Priegel is a champion Dodgeball player and if you don’t believe him, he has a plaque to prove it.

From the start Phoenix was at a disadvantage as Arson and Priegel decided to work together in taking down the champ. After several minutes of beating down Phoenix, Priegel decided to jump on the opportunity to get the pinfal and the title but before the ref could count to three, Arson pulled him off to stop the count.

Ryan Phoenix locks Priegel in a brutal figure four around the turnbuckles (Photo Credit Brian Kelley)

Priegel looked to dominate as he threw Phoenix in a vicious backwards toss onto the bleachers. Back in the ring

Phoenix would continue to fight back landing big shots to both men, and was able to lock in a figure four as he was on the outside while Priegel was inside the ring, while using the turnbuckle as a weapon.

Back in the ring Arson would get the edge once again, and had Priegel position for a moonsault but at the last moment the “Dodgeball Superstar” moved just in time.

Then out from the back came Attitude Inc., and Jonathan Magnus to assist Tom Arson. It was looking as if A1 Tom Arson had the perfect plan as he locked in Phoenix for piledriver onto a chair. As Arson was recovering himself, Priegel swooped in on top of Phoenix while the ref count to the mat 1-2-3…….NEW Champion Tyler Priegel had just got one over on Arson and Phoenix and ran to the mat along with the title championship.

MWR named Tyler Priegel one of the 12 men to watch in 2012, even though he had lost the NMW Central Illinois title to young upstart Tony G. In less than a month into the year he has proven us right by become the New Midwest Wrestling Champion.

All he does is win...NEW NMW Champ Tyler Priegel

Congratulations go out to Tyler Priegel for this great accomplishment in his career. We believe that he will be a man that you will hear about for years to come.

Continue to support both New Midwest Wrestling and MMWA-SICW to see if Tyler Priegel and Brandon Espinosa can retain their titles. MMWA-SICW will return to the South Broadway Athletic Club @ Saint Louis, Mo this Saturday .

New Midwest Wrestling will return on March 10, 2012 at the Lanphier High School in Springfield, Illinois, 1300 N 11th St .

UPDATE : RYAN PHOENIX WILL GET NO REMATCH

Due to a loophole surrounding the circumstances in which Former New Midwest Wrestling Champion Ryan Phoenix won the title almost a year to the day before he lost it, Line Producer, Lucious P. CoTrane has informed New Midwest Wrestling officials that Phoenix WILL NOT receive the customary rematch for the championship. The ruling stems from the fact that when Phoenix won the title, he did so in an impromptu, unsigned match.

LPC noted that it was a slight oversight throughout Phoenix’s reign, and was only pointed out to him just recently by the man Phoenix beat for the title in January of 2011, Jonathan Magnus. And as it stands right now, Phoenix is not in line to challenge the new champion “The Dodgeball Superstar” Tyler Priegel anytime in the near future.

Phoenix is said to disagree with the decision, and looking to dispute it. Executive Producer, Justin Clark has declined to comment on the situation

Bob Geigel is joined with his wife as we presented him with the 2011 MWR Lifetime Achievement award.

By Brian Kelley

Missouri Wrestling Revival loves to support the stars in the Midwest today, but we will never forget the fine men and women who brought respect and honor to the sport from the past. This year’s Lifetime Achievement goes to Bob Geigel, a man who more than deserves the recognition for his career not only in the squared circle but as President of the NWA.

Born here in the Midwest in Algona, Iowa,  Geigel would serve our country in the U.S. Navy for four years during World War II.

When he returned home, Geigel was a respected amateur athlete at the University of Iowa. He  was a champion amateur wrestler during his college years, coming in at third place during the 1948 NCAA Championships. Geigel would also letter four times at the University of Iowa in football.

After the late Alphonse “Babe” Bisignano took the time to teach pro wrestling with the athletic Geigel , it would not be long before he would travel to Florida , Texas, trips to Nova Scotia during the summers and a short stint in New York. During  a successful run in Florida  he would earn him the nickname “Texas” Bob Geigel.

Not only was he a star in the states but multiple tours of Japan earned him respect from legendary wrestler and promoter Giant Baba.

Geigel was a star at both the NWA and AWA,  He would be the NWA Central States Champion on six occasions and he would capture tag team titles multiple times. Quite possibly his most famous partnership would be with “Bulldog” Bob Brown.

Geigel, Pat O’Connor and Harley Race formed Heart of America Sports Attractions Inc., also known as Central States Wrestling, which continued to serve among the NWA’s most prominent divisions until it was purchased by Jim Crockett Promotions in 1986.

We had hopes to invite Bob Geigel and his wife Vera to Metro Pro Wrestling to honor him with a “Bob Geigel night” during a show, but Geigel reminds me of my grandpa. Though he is at the young age of 87, Geigel still works a day job during the weekends and does not miss a day on the job so he was unable to take part in such an event.

Even though Bob was busy getting ready for work, Geigel and his wife welcomed Dubray and I in to their home. Talk about a great moment, being able to sit and talk to the Geigel family about the important people that were involved in wrestling in the past, as well as the moments that changed history in the sport.

I explained to Geigel that his wrestling promotion’s TV show ALL-STAR Wrestling was a huge reason on why I was at his house that day. Memories of ring announcer Bill Kersten starting the show with “Helloooooooooooooooooooooooo wrestling fans” intro to “All-Star Wrestling.” Men like Harley Race, Rufus R Jones, Nature Boy Roger Kirby and Mike George made me a fan of wrestling  for life.

One historic moment in my young wrestling life  was watching on TV at Midnight on ALL-Star Wrestling was the shocking turn that “Bulldog” Bob Brown did on is tag team partner Marty Jannetty. As a young kid I was horrified and upset in the chain of events that happen…Pro Wrestling had me hooked.

During the tour of his home Geigel was very informational on the photos that he had kept, along with memories of the time that he shared with the promoters, wrestlers, boxers, stars and fans throughout his career.

From the start Dubray enjoyed meeting his wife and the two really hit it off great. A personal highlight was being welcomed to the basement of the Geigel home to look at photos of various events though out his life. I was impressed that each photo had a description on the front for it to explain just who each person was.

Vera and Bob shared with us photos of their marriage together, their three daughters and banquets with fellow friends in the world of wrestling.

In his collection were photos of his wonderful family, legendary wrestlers such as Harley Race and Pat O’Conner, American icons such as Bob Hope and even a great photo of the wrestlers playing a basketball game with the Harlem Globe Trotters. Bob also spoke fondly of huge wrestling fans Mertie and Gertie Hite. Two sisters who never missed a match as they would cheer on their favorites and give the ones they didn’t like a hard time.

A great form of entertaining the fans was a basketball game of pro wrestlers going head to head against the famed Harlem Globetrotters in 1962 .

It was easy to see the love that Vera and Bob shared for each other, and even with all the wrestling accolades in the world of wrestling you could tell when they spoke that they were most proud of  were their three daughters.

Bob Geigel has earned many title and awards in his career including being enter in George Tragos/Lou Thesz Hall of Fame class of 2002 as well as the 2007 Cauliflower Alley Club Lifetime Achievement Award.  So it was with great honor for us that he would accept the 2011 Missouri Wrestling Revival Lifetime Achievement award.

Once again thank you goes out to the Geigel family for inviting us into their home this past weekend.

 I would also like to thank the artist and personal friend Rob Schamberger for his artwork for the plaque that we presented Mr. Bob Geigel with at this house.

In the future come to Missouri Wrestling Revival to find out how you can win a free autograph photo from Bob Geigel.

To learn more about Pro wrestling in Kansas City we highly recommend that you purchase the DVD K.C. ON THE MAT: The History of Professional Wrestling in Kansas City…. For more info on this DVD and how to purchase it click here.