Missouri Wrestling Revival

By Rob Schamberger

I’ve discovered what’s so cool about professional wrestling, and I found it in rural Iowa. Missouri Wrestling Revival asked me to do a write-up on the unveiling ceremony for the Frank Gotch statue in Humboldt, IA on July 4th, as I was going to be there exhibiting some of my paintings. (Please don’t think this is a me, me, me piece, I just happen to be part of the story!) The fine folks at the Humboldt Area Arts Council invited me up to be in the event, as I had painted Frank Gotch and it made a natural fit with the mix of art and wrestling. I was largely communicating with their intern Kate, who was super-accommodating and very friendly. We got to town and had dinner with the people from the Arts Council, and walking into the restaurant I was stopped by a big poster featuring my painting and inviting people to come meet me on the 4th! This was surreal, because I started noticing this all over town. The people from the Arts Council were all gracious, lead up by their director Nancy. We talked a lot about art, and then about wrestling, and had a delicious pizza dinner (Quick digression – in Iowa they put crushed up Doritos on their taco pizzas. Fascinating!).

“Here I am on the day of the event with Kate Sayers on the left and my wife Katy in the middle.”

On the day of the event, we had a meet-and-greet with the people in the community and the other luminaries who had come into town, such as author Mike Chapman (who I did the Frank Gotch MWR trading card with!), amateur and professional wrestling star Brad Rheingans, NCAA, AAU and Olympic champion Bill Smith, sculptor Jeff Adams www.inbronze.com] and ‘Reach for the Stars‘ author Dan McCool. Next thing I know, I’m getting interviewed by the folks at Takedown Wrestling about my paintings. We then all head over to the park for the statue ceremony, joining the 350+ crowd already there.

“A nice group shot of the people who made this day so amazing. From L-R: Kate Sayers, Dan McCool, Mike Chapman, Frank Gotch, Rob Schamberger and Jeff Adams.”

Here’s where things got really, really cool. Dignitaries from the town and the committee members who made the statue happen speak, while Mike Chapman gives a passionate speech about Gotch. The tarp is removed and we are greeted by an utterly amazing bronze statue by sculptor Jeff Adams. The crowd gave as passionate an ovation for their hometown hero as any I’ve seen at a wrestling show, and the thing that hit me? These people largely weren’t wrestling fans. What they saw in Gotch was a guy utterly like them except for the fact that he was not just good at something in life, but he was better than anyone else. They saw someone who came up just like them, who went out into the world and became something special, but who then came home and was still one of the folks. The combination of his exploits and his roots created a personal connection with his fans, where they could say to themselves, “If I try hard enough, I can accomplish anything.”

“The unveiling of the utterly amazing statue of Frank Gotch by sculptor Jeff Adams.”

And some of those people? They do just that. There’s a reason that so many wrestling greats come from Iowa, two of them there in the crowd. There’s a reason why Iowans Mike Chapman and Dan McCool have dedicated their lives to writing about wrestling. There’s a reason I’ve had unprecedented-for-me success by painting wrestlers. That reason for all of us is the example that Frank Gotch and his wrestling brethren gave us: If you try hard enough and you don’t give up, eventually you’ll reach the success you desire.

“An amazing day inspired by an amazing man.”

All of the fans who show up to the events, who cheer the wrestlers on, who support those of us inspired by these tremendous athletes and performers, they’re what is so cool about professional wrestling. They encourage all of us on to success and celebrate it when we obtain that success.

Rob Schamberger is a Kansas City-based artist who is currently painting every one of professional wrestling’s World Champions. You can see his work at http://robschamberger.com/, facebook.com/robschamberger and twitter.com/robschamberger.

Photos by Marena Fritzler, courtesy of the Humboldt Area Arts Council.

The Tin Can (The home of the Party Animal Radio RAW After party on Monday) has closed permanently. Due to this we have to cancel the party. This party is NOT being moved or rescheduled. I’m sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.

– Mike Gordon

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.

In an attempt to reach more females, Darin Corbin, with co-star Scarlett Bordeaux, attempts to find the appeal of pro wrestling to both genders. Whether it is reading “50 Shades of Grey” or watching “The Notebook” will he be successful? We will find out if Darin truly knows What Women Want? Or if he will miss the point completely. Apologies in advance to all the women out there.

Be sure to check out Darin Corbin’s W.R.E.S.T.L.I.N.G Reflections at Bradyhicks.com here.

From our friends at talkNWA radio.

I remember as a younger man, running to the local convenience store plunking down my allowance money and purchasing the newest edition of PWI. Pro Wrestling Illustrated is recognized as the sport’s number one magazine since its inception in 1979. Our guest this week Frank Krewda is the Editor-In-Chief of the PWI and has been since 2008. From 1997-2000 Frank was an assistant editor and while on hiatus still contributed to the magazine as a freelance.

Publishing for 33 years PWI still is one of the most influential wrestling publications. When Frank joins us on talkNWA, we’ll talk about How the NWA has impacted PWI over the years, Nick Madrid’s Rookie of the Year Runner Up, The World Famous PWI 500, Frank’s thoughts on the current direction of the National Wrestling Alliance and why the objection to the NWA’s claim to the World Championship status.

All this and more on talkNWA Saturday’s 1:30PM Eastern, 10:30AM Pacific.

(646) 478-3019

In association with http://www.alliance-wrestling.com, talkNWA is a thirty minute live podcast for the fans of the NWA to discuss in real time, their views and opinion on the National Wrestling Alliance, along with providing the latest news and information from across the NWA.

If you need a Championship Belt for your Club Or Promotion, please visit http://www.ReplicaTitleBelts.com

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For Immediate Release

Harley Race’s World League Wrestling Winter 2012 Training Camp

On November 26th-December 1st, Harley Race’s World League Wrestling will be conducting it’s 14 annual Training Camp featuring instruction by the former 8-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion Harley Race as well as instructors hand chosen by Race himself. It will also feature instruction from World League Wrestling’s sister Japanese promotion Pro-Wrestling NOAH. Currently, in attendance for the camp will be GHC Heavyweight Champion and former WLW Champion Takeshi MORISHIMA. Many more will be announced. Last year’s camp featured instruction from WWE’s William Regal and Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat as well as WCCW and professional wrestling legend Kevin Von Erich.

This training camp gives beginners and veterans the chance to not only learn from the best but also get the chance to show them what you have to offer in the professional wrestling business. There will be a show on December 1st in Eldon, Missouri and if you have what it takes, you may have an opportunity to perform on the show in front of the premier stars and scouts in the wrestling business.

This year representatives Ryu NAKADA and Ken HIRAYAMA from Pro Wrestling NOAH will be on hand to scout for talent to be taken over to Japan with the opportunity to learn from some of the best wrestlers in the world. Past participants receiving this chance have been Trevor Murdock, Ted Dibiase Jr., Brian Breaker, Jason Jones, Keith Walker, Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls, Ricky Steamboat Jr., Ross and Marshall Von Erich, amongst others.

WWE will also be in attendance, however, instructors/scouts have yet to be determined. They will be on hand to teach exactly what WWE is looking for, what they are not looking for, do’s and don’ts in the professional wrestling world, and advice to make yourself successful in this industry. Instructors will be announced in the forthcoming weeks.

The cost for the camp will only be $500. A deposit of $250.00 will be required to reserve your spot at this year’s camp. This must be paid via internet or money order ONLY and is NON REFUNDABLE. Once you sign up information on discounts on hotel, gym, and other amenities will be sent to you. Sign up now to reserve your spot as spaces for this camp are limited! If you choose to send in a registration for this year’s camp, please mail it in (along with a money order for the amount required to reserve spot as listed above) to the following address:

Harley Race Wrestling Academy
C/O 2012 Harley Race Wrestling Camp
28 Karen Drive
Eldon, MO 65026
For more information please email 2012wlwcamp@earthlink.com.

Metro Pro Wrestling returns to Turner Rec Center in Kansas City, KS, on Saturday, July 21, for our next television taping for Metro Sports! Doors open at 6 p.m., and bell time is 7 p.m.

It’s going to be a HUGE event for Metro Pro Wrestling as the NWA World Championship will be decided in the fourth match of the “Seven Levels of Hate” series between reigning NWA World Champion Colt Cabana and former four-time NWA World Champion “Scrap Iron” Adam Pearce!

The last time Adam Pearce was in Kansas City this went down! Get your tickets now and mark your calender!!

More matches to be announced soon

Metro Pro Wrestling on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MetroProKC
Metro Pro Wrestling on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/KCMetroPro

Check out Metro Pro Photos on Facebook: Metro Pro Wrestling Photos

Metro Pro Wrestling airs every Saturday night on Time Warner Cable’s Metro Sports at 11 p.m. The show replays several times during the week! Check local listings for details.

Time Warner Cable’s Metro Sports is a regional 24-hour sports network, and Metro Sports is the ONLY place you can see Metro Pro Wrestling! Catch us on:

• Time Warner Cable Kansas City Metro Sports SD Channel 30 or 310
• Time Warner Cable Nebraska • Comcast Cable Channel 44 & 258
• Knology of KS Cable – Lawrence 37
• Metro Sports 2 on Time Warner Cable Kansas City Channel 311
• Time Warner Cable Metro Sports HD on Channel 1310

Turner Rec Center is located at 831 S. 55th St, Kansas City, KS.
For more information, call Metro Pro at (816) 222-5455

News from the promoters of Pro Wrestling Epic!!

Due to circumstances beyond our control, the show for THIS FRIDAY in Mount Pulaski, IL has been cancelled. We apologize for any inconvenience. We look forward to seeing everyone on August 18 in Waynesville, IL at the Fall Fling!