Missouri Wrestling Revival

By Brian Kelley

Pro Wrestlers around the country, I can’t stress enough what an opportunity the annual World League Wrestling/ Pro Wrestling Noah is for you. For the past ten plus years, wrestlers with dreams to get notice, have the chance to sign up for the week long camp that have representatives from the biggest wrestling companies in the World, WWE and Japan’s Pro Wrestling Noah.

During the camp World League Wrestling has provided top-notch training from wrestlers with world-renowned credibility Harley Race, Ricky Steamboat, Dr. Tom Pritchard, John Laurinaitis, Takashi Suguira, Takeshi Morishima, Naomichi Marufuji, Atsushi Aoki, KENTA, Kenta Kobashi, Trevor Murdock, Go Shiozaki, and Ted Dibiase Sr.

Though Kevin had the Von Erich name, that alone was not the reason they were able to draw record attendance night after night. Learning from the best in the sport like Harley Race in St Louis’s Wrestling at the Chase during their earlier days prepared them to rise to the occasion when the time arrived. Now the wrestlers of today will have a chance to learn from Race and Von Erich at the 2011 WLW/NOAH Camp in October.

One of the special guest this year will be Kevin Von Erich.

Kevin along with his dad Fritz and brothers, David, Kerry, Mike and Chris Von Erich became one of the biggest draws in the history of the sport. With the Von Erich’s on top of the cards, fans rushed to the arena’s to see them take on their arch rivals the Freebirds, Chris Adams and manager Gary Harts stable.

The Von Erich’s were loved from their home state of Texas to Japan all the way to Israel. Kevin would capture the AJPW All Asia Tag Team Championship with his brother David, as well as defeating Dick Murdoch for the NWA Missouri Championship. In 1984 Kevin was apart of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter award Match of the Year with Mike and Kerry Von Erich vs. the Fabulous Freebirds (Buddy Roberts, Michael Hayes, and Terry Gordy) in an Anything Goes match on July 4.

Watch video tapes of the Von Erich during their prime and you can see how much loved they had from their fans. Just as Elvis and the Beatles in rock music, the Von Erich’s were wrestling’s equivalent in fan reaction. The connection the Von Erich family had with their fans were second to none in the sport. If Hulk Hogan was the most popular wrestler of all time, I would make a case for the Von Erich’s to be the most loved at that point. They had to shut down Six Flags one day because the Von Erich’s were there and the fans was in such a frenzy….Let me repeat that, they had to close Six Flags cause they were so popular.

On March 16, 2009, the Von Erich family were inducted by Michael “P.S.” Hayes to the WWE Hall of Fame, with Kevin Von Erich accepting the induction for the family.

A lot has been said about the tragedy of the Von Erich’s, but make no mistake about it there is a lot to learn from Kevin Von Erich. A man who was able to connect with the fans by not only his matches but with some great promos while, having main event matches with Harley Race, Ric Flair, and many more. Come to the camp to learn from one of the most influential men in the sport, second generation wrestler Kevin Von Erich.

To prove how important this camp is, Kevin has announced that he will have his two sons Ross and Marshall take part in this years camp that will also feature special guest WWE’S Ricky Steamboat, Steven Regal and World League Wrestling’s sister promotion in Japan (Pro-Wrestling NOAH), will be represented by company president Ryu Nakata and fellow employee Ken Hirayama.

WLW/Noah has presented you with a week long camp that is sure to improve your game while being able to be seen by the most influential men in the sport today.

Don’t miss it!!

The 2011 Harley Race training camp is turning out to be a great success, but is gaining popularity by the day. Spots are filling up and with the announcement of Ricky Steamboat, William Regal, Kevin Von Erich, Ryu Nakata, and Ken Hirayama, it is expected to fill up completely. Now is the time to sign up. World League Wrestling has set up an online payment system for this camp. Of course you can also pay via mail as well. Cost for the camp is $500.00. This is for the camp itself. World League officials will be setting up hotel discounts within the next week to allow our camp visitors to save money at their hotels. Other expenses such as food and travel costs are not included in this fee. Some participants of the camp MAY be selected to wrestle on the 10/22 event in Eldon itself. Selections will be announced at the end of the camp. If you think you may want to try and wrestle on the event, please have a completed physical (completed by an M.D.), blood test showing that you do not have HIV, Hep A, B, or C, and a Missouri License ($40.00 and can be paid at the event).

To sign up, please visit http://www.harleyrace.com and click on the 2011 camp information. Or for more information, please email 2011wlwcamp@earthlink.net or call 573-392-4100.

For more on Kevin Von Erich check out their website here.