Missouri Wrestling Revival

Kris always had a great sense of humor and a love for pro wrestling. One of the true good guys in the world.

By Gordon Atkins

It’s hard to sit down and think about someone you will never talk with again, especially when you would always bounce ideas off them. Or when you think of something funny or see something that you want to let them know, you have to stop yourself from texting or calling them. I still do this what seems like every day. We all have that friend that really pushed you, either to your limits or to your breaking point. They knew what was going to set you off, either they wanted to make you stronger or in my case just to make himself laugh. I hope everyone at least gets to have a friend like Kris Wyatt. Kris was someone who you could be yourself with. He didn’t care what you did, what you looked like, or where you were from, only that you were a good person. I knew Kris for the better part of 20 years. There were times I wanted to wring his neck but there were many more times that I will never forget. And to think all those memories came from a Chris Benoit poster that was on my door.

Wrestling was something that connected us and it was that Benoit poster. I remember him saying so you like wrestling huh? And it all grew from there. He had a passion for the sport. He could talk about it for hours and on many nights, we did. Like meeting up in the middle of the night to watch ECW, to getting up at the crack of dawn to get on the road so we can get to a WWE event across the state. No, we didn’t need to leave that early but the trip was always worth it. It was Kris that introduced me to Japanese wrestling, when I asked about how he found it he just simply said you don’t want to know. Years down the road we were talking about how he found it he confessed he was looking at “adult” things and some reason that popped up. We would go to shows as much as we could, but one stands out, it was in Columbia MO and it was a WLW show and Harley Race was the man running it.

I remember pulling up to the show and just sitting there and seeing Harley Race come out and light up a cigarette. We were aww struck. We went in and met Harley and watched the show. I remember Dustin Reynolds was there and he was wrestling Meng I think. And they went out the doors, and you would then hear Kris yell “You better not come back in bleeding Dustin”. And I’ll be damn if he was. That show was the first of many, and I mean many shows we would go to. If you ever been to a show with Kris and there was a drawling you could bet you ass after the numbers were drawn he would either yell out, dough…. or wahoo hooo, making everyone look, but he never won. Heck more than not he didn’t even buy a ticket. Kris just enjoyed having fun, sometimes not at the right place but it was all in good spirit.

There are so many stories I could tell, honestly, I don’t even know where to start. The thing I really want to say is thank you…..Thank you Kris. You helped me overcome some of my biggest fears and worries, without you even knowing you taught me how to not worry about what other people might think. You were someone I could call and joke about things when I needed it. It just sucks I can’t do that now, because I could use ya. When I think back on our time together I think about all the fun we had. We were the Fulton Animals, the two putting on a wrestling show in the back of Sonic, good times. I wish there was more time, but there are always other plans. I just hope those bibles you passed out to kids on Christmas Eve helped you out like you wanted. He would always say that was his get into heaven card. But I knew even if he didn’t he already had a way in, the way he always helped other people when he could was good enough. Again, as I’m sitting here I caught myself thinking I’m going to send this to you so you could read it and correct my spelling, (he always made fun of my spelling) but what I want to do is again say thank you. Thank you, Kris……..for being a friend! Thank you for being a friend. Travel down the road and back again. Your heart is true, you’re a pal and a confidant. And if you threw a party, invited everyone you knew.

You would see the biggest gift would be from meand the card attached would say, thank you for being a friend. (For some reason he LOVED the Golden Girls.)

-Gordon

In less than 2 weeks New Breed Wrestling returns home to Eldon Mo, for the Kris Wyatt memorial show. NBW promoter Scotty Z has signed not one but two main events! “NBW Heavyweight Champion” Superstar Steve defends his title against The Suplex Cyclone Curt Gannon. Over the past year and a half, Kyle Roberts and LeLand Race have engaged in one of the most brutal feuds the Midwest has ever seen. Time and time again Race has sneak attacked Roberts and found a way to escape justice by all any means possible. The feud reached its boiling point last fall when promoter Scotty Z had Race arrested and led out of the community center in handcuffs by Eldons finest. So to keep either man from escaping, there will be a steel chain attached to each mans wrist and this match will end in the ring. Will Race once again find a way to cheat Roberts out of the career defining victory? Or will Roberts once and for all vanquish his arch nemesis and make a run at the NBW title? Head over to Rent a Center in Eldon and get your tickets to find out! Doors open at 6pm bell time is 7pm. Ringside seats are $12 general admission is $10 and kids 6 and under get in free.