Missouri Wrestling Revival

The value of friendship is often the result of friends consistently demonstrating the following:

The tendency to desire what is best for the other:

Sympathy and empathy

Honesty, even in situations where it may be difficult for others to speak the truth

Mutual understanding and compassion; ability to go to each other for emotional support

Enjoyment of each other’s company

Trust in one another

Positive reciprocity — equal give-and-take between the two parties

The ability to be oneself, express one’s feelings and make mistakes without fear of judgment.

As we head to an exciting weekend with one of the top wrestlers in the world today Adam Pearce making his way to Glen Carbon, Illinois at NWA Dynamo on Friday night to take on Ricky Cruz then make his way to Kansas City for Metro Pro Wrestling to take on one of my very favorites Michael Strider in his very last match in a match that I know will be truly awesome.

While those two matches alone is worth the price of admission you will also be able to see many of the best in the country today including MsChif, Mark Sterling, Miss Natural, Dan Walsh, KC Karrington, SBC, Bull Schmitt, Derek Stone, Makaze, The Magic Man just to name a few.

With that said please let me take the time to be personal with you.

This past week I have been receiving e-mails and messages on Facebook from many friends and fans that have purchased the 2011 MWR Yearbook stating how awesome of a job I did.

Matt is one of the most underrated minds in the world of pro wrestling. His books are well thought out and he has been a wrestler and teacher for the legend himself Harley Race. Still his greatest accomplishment is being a father to young Hunter.

The truth of the matter is the books professional look and layout was the work of one man…Matt Murphy. Murphy has always been a guy from the start that has been blunt and caring with his support of MWR. His book The Professional Wrestler in the World of Sports Entertainment was offered to us for FREE for you the fans and can still be seen on the top link above the MWR link as MWR Features. Each week that we posted the articles from that book, fans and wrestlers were writing us on how much they enjoyed the book.

Still Murphy and I was just casual friends talking every once in a while when I needed advice, so I really didn’t know him that well. So when the day he told me he would be willing to help me work on the MWR yearbook, I was excited but to be perfectly honest I have had friends in the past who have said that they would do something and A) Just couldn’t because of family and life but had good intentions and that’s totally understandable B) Never planned on doing it anyway so as you can see I am a realist that will work towards a goal and gives a 100%.

Yet, Matt was not only true to his word about supporting the book; he went over and beyond putting effort towards this book. The time alone that he had to correct my grammar and spelling is worth hundreds of dollars not to count the loss hair he has from pulling them out from my mistakes  but with many of the stories I sent him he had some information about the promotions (Many he didn’t know from Adam) and wrestlers.

His vision of the book was a dream come true. The hours he spent on talking to me on what to do with the book I am sure was time consuming for Matt. Then when it was time to release the book he was there giving me advice on what to do to make the book look as professional and get the word out to the masses. …. Heck he even did the press release for the book that day for me.

With my dad passing away, he gave me an outlet to honor him in a way that was worthy of the love he gave our family. That is something I will be forever grateful.

What is the cost of Murphy’s time and expertise on the MWR Yearbook that he asked for ?      To this day Matt has not taken a dime from me though I have offered it to him. His reply has always been “I’m glad to help. I’m really happy you do what you do for the business with MWR.” WOW.

Behind every great man there is a great women, for Matt Murphy that love is his wife Jessica.

I still hope to find a way to at least give back to him in some way and am currently working on something for my friend.

My only regret is that I didn’t include a picture of his wife Jessica and his son Hunter Murphy in the yearbook. To be honest there were several friends that I left out that I care about in the past at wrestling shows that did not make the book but why I didn’t think about the two people he cares about the most in the book is beyond me. I know he holds no ill will about it and would never say anything yet I do wish I would of thought about it.

While being a guest in the Murphy home putting on the final touches of the book, his son brought me this drawing that he had done of me as a gift. Matt said to me that he is normally shy around others but it must be that he had seen me so many times on the computer during the time that Matt worked on the book that he must have felt like he knew me. How awesome is that – Art Hunter Murphy

I do not want this to come off as somber or stupid but I am blessed to have a GREAT family and wonderful friends who don’t even watch wrestling so I am not lacking there. Yet if something should happen to me today, tomorrow or many years for now I would like to have Matt be a pall bearer for me for his friendship that I hope will last much longer than people will remember this book.

Maybe this is too much information for many of you but I only know one way to act and that is with my heart. Far from perfect I am but I am forever grateful for his friendship.

I would also like to give credit to a few other people help make this book a reality.

Dubray Tallman– Many of miles on the road, putting wear and tear on our vehicles for the past five years she has had to deal with my obsession and my desire to be a part of my first love –Pro Wrestling. Trust me it can be some long drives back home from a show that is 5 hours away sometimes. The time at the shows goes so fast that I like to get there early as can be so that I can get promo, photos, and have conversation with friends that it can be pretty boring for her.

The promoters of the MWR Coverage area– Thanks for the support. My biggest dream was to be a promoter of a wrestling fed. After working with them I have an all new respect for the work that they do to make the night of wrestling happen. Do I ever want to promote, that is something that I don’t relish as much to this date.

The Wrestlers – Your support of MWR by take photos, doing promos, wearing the MWR T-shirts and sharing our links on Facebook and elsewhere is vital to our success. I wish I could give everyone a wrestler of the year plaque but we do our best to let the fans know who you are even if you are in the opening match or the main event.

The fans– I love talking to you, sometimes I don’t have as much time at the shows due to the workload I have at the shows. I do enjoy hearing from you through e-mail, Facebook etc. You taking the time and supporting pro wrestling by buying tickets, purchasing t-shirts, trading cards, 8×10’s help the wrestlers immensely.

In no order what’s so ever at the before mentioned and the ones I am about to talk about

Josh Ray – A friend of mine that I can talk for hours with, it’s amazing he still takes my calls as they can last for hours

Raven Johnson– The artist of the 2011 MWR Yearbook cover – If you have seen it then you know why. The cover its self is eye popping and makes you go what is this…..A great guy as well as a wonderful artist. He stated that if this book is a success he would be thrilled to do not only the front but the back cover as well.

Jay Ray- Poor Jay knows that when I call I am needing some help. A great graphic artist who is did the layout for the back cover of the yearbook as well as the photo collages for the year in award plaques.

ICON– The artist that has been seen in the magazines of WWE with his historic History of Wrestling Painting was kind enough to offer for me to choose a MWR Fantasy Warfare artwork. The concept is that he draws a veteran from the past to take on a superstar today. Of course, I chose Harley Race a personal idol of mine and my favorite wrestler of the his generation Kurt Angle . To see who would get the edge check out page 86 in the yearbook. Love talking to ICON.

Rob Schamberger– From the moment we talked on-line I could tell that he was genuine. A wonderful artist who drew many of the Midwest stars early on at MWR as we debuted our trading cards including Neil Diamond Cutter, Lucy Mendez, and Dan Gier. Thankfully he has not stopped their and has been getting press worldwide with his KICKSTARTER project where he plans on painting every World Champion which happens to be over 200. Last night I asked him if I needed to make reservations to speak with him as he is so busy, which brought out a chuckle from my friend. You can see Rob this weekend at Metro present a piece of art of Michael Strider to the man himself in the Middle of the ring to honor his last match. A surprise I was keeping to myself but I cannot hold it any longer is that Rob is the artist for the tribute piece to Randy Savage in our 2011 MWR Yearbook page 45.

Dart– The man of the MWR Top Draws seen on the site and banners around the Midwest including this year’s yearbook. A man that I call a friend from the start of MWR and one that I enjoy speaking to at all times.

Patrick Brandymeyer– The man with his hands on all the news in the STL. A friend who has spent many hours supporting wrestling.

Mike Wilson– Shooter spotlights: I love this concept for this year’s book that he has on his site. A great read for the fans of not only the stars of the Midwest but for those that purchase the book out of the area to know that big things are going on in our coverage area.

Each and every photographer-  there are so many and I love each and every one of you. I hope that you are secure enough to know I appreciate each and every one of you.

Michael Gordon:  A man who thinks big and has always been there for MWR. He has open some great doors for us and it has meant a lot.

I know I am missing some but I hope you understand.

Thank you for your time and support of Missouri Wrestling Revival. I love Pro Wrestling today more than I did yesterday and it is because of many of you that are ready this right now.

Brian Kelley