Missouri Wrestling Revival

Over a year ago the SICW began taping and producing their program “SICW Wrestling Explosion” on Charter Cable. Over that time the response from the fans has been outstanding. This past week Charter Cable informed Promoter Herb Simmons and the staff of SICW that due to the response of their program “Wrestling Explosion will now be carried on two cable channels, channel 8 and 89 every Sunday at noon. Promoter Herb Simmons told MWR that was great news from Charter Cable, and he went on to provide other great news for the fans. During the past few days he was also able to secure sponsorships for the Wrestling Explosion program from three major businesses. Mueller Furniture of Belleville Illinois, a family owned and operated business that has been in business for over fifty plus years has re-joined the program as a Premier sponsor. Lynn Mueller and his son Mark have been wrestling fans and truly enjoyed the past several visits to the program tapings which are held monthly in East Carondelet Illinois at the Community Center.

Mueller Furniture

1004 East Main Street
Belleville, IL 62220
(618)233-0667

Joining the Mueller Furniture as a Premier Sponsor is the Gateway Grizzles Minor League Ball team out of Sauget Illinois. Simmons stated that “having the Grizzles on board was like it was way back when the late great promoter Sam Munchnick had the local beer distributor as a key sponsor for the Wrestling at the Chase Program. Just as wrestling at the Chase and the Busch beer commercial went hand in hand, Simmons sees the same great partnership between SICW Wrestling Explosion and the Gateway Grizzles Ball Team.”

GCS Ballpark
2301 Grizzlie Bear Blvd.
Sauget, IL 62206
Phone – 618.337.3000
Fax – 618.332.3625
mailto:info@gatewaygrizzlies.com

Take I-255 to Mousette Lane (Exit 15). West at stop sign onto Sauget Industrial Park Drive, then left at stop sign onto Goose Lake Road. GCS Ballpark will be on the right.

Simmons thought that with Mueller Furniture and the Gateway Grizzles were a dream come true, another popular night spot, POP”s night club in Sauget Illinois contacted him and has agreed to also become a Premier sponsor. POP’S has been around for years and is a main stay for the night life. What better way to enjoy a night of wrestling and then head over to POP’S just about ten minutes away from the wrestling action.

Pop’s Nightclub & Concert Venue | 401 Monsanto Ave, Sauget IL 62201 | (618) 274-6720

When we ask Simmons what it means to have these sponsor’s for the program, he informed us that he “has been grateful to all of the sponsors that have been on board since the start. He stated they are approaching their 80th show, a lot more than was ever anticipated. When Larry (Matysik) and I first discussed the idea, we were going to be excited if we got six months out of it. Our production company CTD production has done an outstanding job, and when you mix that with the talent of the Ron Powers, Gary Jackson, Big Texan, Sean Vincent, Dave Vaughn, Waco, Ironman Kasa, and others, along with having the ability to bring in some of the All- time great’s that we have done, like Jerry Brisco, Von Rasche, Harley Race, The Millions dollar man, Rocky Johnson, and Dory Funk Jr, it’s a good feeling to know that all the hard work isn’t going un-noticed.

Having the Grizzles and POP’S for the next two years is a major plus for the program. Having them and the Mueller Furniture Family apart of keeping the history of wrestling alive is a big deal for me and Larry and all that help us each month, and the fans will benefit from it as well. As the fans know we don’t only promote the wrestling of today, but each show has a taste of the old days from back in the days of Wrestling at the Chase.. So they get a little of both. Some of the young guys don’t appreciate the old footage that we show, but guys like Jackson, Powers and my good friend Keith Smith, know the workers on those tapes were the building foundation for the business. All of them could learn from watching the classic footage.”

Simmons went on to say that the talent/ workers of the SICW /MMWA will benefit from this major announcement because they will have at least two more years of television exposure. That is something that is almost un-heard of in the Indy scene. With the SICW working on the Illinois side and my longtime friend Tony Casta having their program on in St. Louis market, the boys should be happy to have the chance to show off their talent.

When Simmons was asked what else is in the making for the SICW and the fans, he replied by saying, just keep watching the MWR site for more breaking news, and he invited everyone to attend the next television taping on Saturday July 21st in East Carondelet at 8pm. Representatives from the Mueller Furniture Family and the Grizzles and POP’S will be on hand to make the announcement official.