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Posts Tagged ‘Briscoes’

MWR Fan Spotlight: Randy and Brendan Phillips

Posted by flairwhoooooo on May 9, 2015

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Brendan and Randy Phillips are all smiles at SICW.

 

MWR Owner and Editor Brian Kelley: For many father and sons a night of pro wrestling is a wonderful way for them to spend time some quality time with each other while taking that rollercoaster of exciting night of wrestling action that will be memories for them for years to come. Today, I am joined with Randy Phillips and his son Brendan: . Guy, I would like to thank you for joining us at Missouri Wrestling Revival.com

Randy: Thanks for having us Brian!

Brian: Randy, let’s start off with you my friend. Where did you grow up and what were your first introduction to pro wrestling and who were you a big fan of?

Randy: I grew up in Homestead, Florida. It’s about 1 hour south of Miami. Born and raised until the age of 21. My first recollection of wrestling was Wrestlemania 2 with Hulk Hogan and King Kong Bundy in the big blue steel cage. I can remember sitting on the living room floor just amazed at how big Bundy was and how cool it was that Hulk could move around for such a big guy around the ring. Obviously in the early to mid 80’s, most kids gravitated towards Hulk Hogan. He was my guy to cheer for. I can remember having the tear away Hulk shirt that my mom watched me tear away and cringed cause that meant she had to buy another one lol. I had the old WWF ring and one Christmas got all of the wrestlers LJN produced. I can recall like it was yesterday waiting in anticipation for Wrestlemania V and the Mega Powers exploding. My cousin and I used to be the Mega Powers (he was Randy Savage and I was Hulk and his sister was Miss Elizabeth).

Brian: Did your dad and you make any wrestling events and what were some of your memories that you recall?

Randy: Dad was really into wrestling for as long as I can remember. He grew up with Championship Wrestling from Florida with Dusty Rhodes and the Briscoes and of course, the big dog back then, the NWA (National Wrestling Alliance). I remember like it was yesterday when Dad took me to my first ever live show, Royal Rumble 1991 at the Miami Arena in Miami.
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Of course, Hulk Hogan was my pick to win the Rumble and The Ultimate Warrior was gaining speed to succeed him as the man as he was the WWF champion. I remember my dad screaming at me because Randy Savage was racing down during the Warrior vs  Sgt Slaughter title match and he hit Warrior with the scepter. The crowd went crazy and we had a new champion. Dad said Hulk had to win the Rumble so he could take the title off of Slaughter at Wrestlemania VII. From then on, Dad had to order the WWF pay per views so we could watch them all. Mom was a big 4 Horsemen fan, especially Tully and Arn. She always threw up four fingers and told me that this is the symbol of excellence. If the WWF or WCW was in town, we went, house show, tv or ppv. I can recall going to Spec’s (CD store) and meeting The Rock and D’Lo Brown for autographs when The Rock’s autobiography came out. When my wife and I were dating, we heard on a radio station that Hulk Hogan would be in Key Largo to help promote the new gym owned by Kevin Sullivan. We drove 30 minutes to meet him.

Brian: In today’s mainstream wrestling (WWE,TNA,ROH) who are your favorite wrestlers?

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Brendan: WWE – John Cena is my favorite! I also like Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, Roman Reigns & Lucha Dragons. ROH – Moose, Michael Elgin and ACH

Randy: WWE – Triple H is my all time favorite. I also love to watch Randy Orton, Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt & Dolph Ziggler. TNA – Before they moved to Destination America, I was a big fan of Bobby Roode, Austin Aries & Taryn Terrel. Since they moved to Destination Amaerica, I do not watch them anymore and only catch the spoiler tapings to stay in touch. ROH – Moose, ACH & The Addiction. ROH is broadcast locally and I started watching them heavily since the wrestlers also come to High Risk Wrestling.

Brian: Prior to making it to a MWR coverage promotion, did you and Brendan attend any of the mainstream events and do you have any fond memories of meeting any of the stars or some of the matches.

Randy: Since Brendan is only 6 years old, we haven’t been able to attend any events as the cost is so high and I don’t want to take him and sit in the nosebleeds where he’ll possibly lose interest. He likes to be up close and that’s just not feasible at this time.

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Memories that will last a lifetime with be Brendan and his father spending time so close to the action of wrestling at an Indy event.

 

Brian: What was your first local promotion that you attended and how did you hear about it?

Randy: The first local promotion I attended was SICW to meet Ted Dibiase. I liked his page on facebook and heard he would be there. I then looked up SICW on Facebook and we then attended. Brendan’s first show was High Risk Wrestling and we heard about them through Facebook as well and I liked their page. The Belleville fairgrounds in only 20 minutes from us so I took him to see if he would enjoy it.

Brian: Thankfully, the shows were good enough for you to return. What and who did you enjoy from that event ?

Brendan: SICW – Ricky Cruz & the Midgets. HRW – Moose, Michael Elgin, ACH, Uhaa Nation, Chuck Taylor, reDRagon, & Mike Outlaw

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Ricky Cruz and Herb Simmons have been two men that have worked to bring back fans like Randy and Brendan to events that have featured some of the biggest moments in the Midwest.

Randy: From SICW, I liked Ricky Cruz straight away as he had a great flamboyance to him even though he was a “bad guy”.

We hope to have the opportunity to meet him and get a picture at a future show. Honestly, the legends were bringing me to the SICW shows and then we started to enjoy the wrestling. Brendan always asks me who the good guy and bad guys are so he knows how to cheer for them. He has been to enough shows now to know who these guys are and he wants whoever Travis Cook brings out to lose, lol. As for HRW, Frank (the promoter) and I conversed before and during the show and he was kind enough to bring out their champion, ACH for a photo op and the Magic Man Jack Sinn to show him a few magic tricks.

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Brendan loved having his photo with the exciting Ring of Honor and High Risk Wrestling Superstar ACH.

 

The sheer size of Moose instantly caught Brendan’s eyes as well. We have since purchased their DVD’s and watch them from time to time. We also got to meet Bobby Eaton at the first HRW show we went to in October and Brendan asked me who that was? I said, that’s Beautiful Bobby. Brendan went up to him and said, your Beautiful Bobby? Bobby said, I don’t know about Beautiful, but yeah, I’m Bobby Eaton! Lol. I loved it. We got autographs from him and pictures.

Brian: Since that time you have made your way to a few other events. What other promotions have you checked out and what show was your favorite and why?

Randy: We have seen SICW and HRW so far. I don’t like to travel too far for an event, so these promotions are local for us. My favorite show was High Risk Wrestling, Makes a Great Stocking Stuffer as we got to see reDragon, Michael Elgin and ACH. Those guys tear it up no matter how many people are there as long as we cheer loud and I can’t find anyone more pumped to see them than Brendan and I. As for personal appeal, I truly enjoyed meeting the One Man Gang as he was just so genuine to Brendan and couldn’t believe that a 5 year old, at the time, came just to see him.

Brendan: My favorite show was HRW, What High Risk have you done for me lately?. My favorite match was Bolt Brady v.s. Mike Sydal

Brian: Out of the local wrestling stars who have you enjoyed the most and why?

Brendan: I like to watch Mike Sydal, Bolt Brady, Moose, & Chuck Taylor

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Michael Elgin is as dedicated as they come in the ring wrestling against the top stars around the world as well as out of it with his fans.

 

Randy: I enjoy watching Moose, ACH, Ricky Cruz, reDragon, Michael Elgin, Jonathan Gresham.

Brian: You have attended both SICW and High Risk Wrestling, and both have been willing to bring in legends of the sport including the likes of the One Man Gang, Ted Dibiase, Bobby Eaton and Nikolai Volkoff. Randy, you and I grew up with these stars, but prior to making your way to meet them, do the two of you check out old videos of these and Brendan, which one has been your favorites from your dads younger days to watch wrestle?

Randy: Before we go meet a legend, I look them up on the internet and show him pictures. If I have a DVD with them on it, I show Brendan as well.

Brian: I have been a fan of wrestling myself for all my life. During that time I have met some that I really loved, but when I met them in person I was disappointed, and on other occasions have met wrestlers that I became bigger fans of once I did meet them due to their actions to myself and other fans around me. Which one out of those legends has been your favorite to meet in person?

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The Phillips join the One Man Gang Army.

 

Brendan: One Man Gang was my favorite legend to meet. And I asked my dad to buy me a OMG t-shirt to wear. We also got a picture with him.

Randy: My favorite legend to meet so far has got to be the One Man Gang as we discussed earlier. We got to meet Ace Cowboy Bob Orton last week in East carondelet.

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When so many people have nice words to say about you, then it must be true. That is the case as we hear another testament to the kindness and down to earth of one of the greatest tag team wrestlers ever, Beautiful Bobby Eaton.

 

I also garnered a better appreciation after meeting Bobby Eaton as he is just so humble and acts like it’s a pleasure to meet you rather than it is to meet him. So classy.

Brian: You have also had the opportunity to meet the likes of Trevor Murdoch, Michael Elgin, ACH, redDragon and Moose. Out of these or any of the other Indy superstars or former WWE wrestlers you have seen wrestle at this level, whos matches have you enjoyed and why?

Brendan: My favorite match to watch was for the HRW High Risk title, ACH v.s. Ricochet.

Randy: reDragon has amazed me the most as they wrestle at such a high speed that you can’t help but get excited watching them. I get pumped up for Michael Elgin as I love the long standing vertical suplexes he does. He is also very humble and is easily approachable for pictures and just talking in general.

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Brian: If I was to start a promotion and I came to you and asked you what I should do to improve on what you have seen, what would it be?

Randy: I know everyone’s not perfect but I see little things like the wrestlers or referees not exactly knowing the rules of certain matches or promotions. For instance, at HRW last time, we had a three way match and the wrestlers had to tag in and out to always keep it one on one. Didn’t make sense to me as the same style match but a 5 way had all of them in the ring at once. Just consistency issues. HRW has no count outs, but one referee kept trying to count them out and we are screaming at the referee that there are no count outs in HRW.

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Brendan’s grandparents Maw Maw and Paw Paw.

 

Brian: What are your upcoming events you hope to attend and if someone was to ask you why they should purchase a ticket to a local wrestling event, what would you say?

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Getting photos and autographs with Volkolff at SICW.

Randy: HRW moved to Cahokia, IL. So we are pumped to see who Frank brings in next. SICW keeps bringing the legends that we have to go see and we are truly grateful for that.

Herb was also kind enough to surprise Brendan with letting him hold the SICW Classic title.

Brian: Randy and Brendan thank you so much for joining us today with this interview. I always enjoy seeing you guys at the events that we cover and I feel safe to say that I speak for all the promoters and wrestlers in the Midwest that we appreciate your support of pro wrestling by attending the events and we hope to see you in 2015 soon.

 

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A Reporter’s Reflections: ROH Commentary, Dec. 5

Posted by reimaginejournalism on December 14, 2008

By Kari Williams

For the second time this year, working with Missouri Wrestling Revival initiated me to the live experience of a class-act wrestling show I otherwise may not have attended. I was not sure what to expect upon arrival, but I got everything I could have asked for—and so much more.

Once the doors opened, I quickly scoped out the merchandise table and planned to splurge on ROH gear. However, I first needed to find Brian Kelley to discuss the website and this piece you are reading now. Upon finding him, I talked with the High Voltage Wrestling promoter, TNT Keny G, and saw many familiar faces—Pierre Abernathy, Evan Gelistico, Billy McNeil, Kurt Styles and Gary the Barnowl, just to name a few.

I soon made my way back to the merchandise table and proceeded to spend $50 on a t-shirt and a hoodie, where I ran into Greg Jovi, who designed the FIST t-shirts. He told me that he needed to find Steven Kennedy because Kennedy told him that he would be there with bells on. Greg brought bells for Kennedy. Haha.

Prior to the actual start of the show, there were two ‘dark’ matches (for lack of a better word). The first one put Hunter Matthews against Steve Anthony. As the bout began, Matthews told the fans, “No cat calls, please.” Then, only moments into Matthews’ entrance, a “Hannah Montana” chant started. Anthony ended up catching Matthews with a quick roll-up for the pin. Having  never been to a show before, the opening match opened my eyes to what ROH truly is—entertaining, enjoyable and filled with superb wrestling.

The next dark match set Dirty Ernie against Brandon Marino. This bout did not do as much as the first to make me become an active follower of ROH, but it did keep me intrigued. Ernie secured the win after choking Marino on the ropes early in the game and then after losing control, he quickly regained his dominance and secured victory.

As the show truly got under way, the announcement came that MsChif would not compete and that the SHIMMER title would not be defended. However, a bonus match came about as a replacement.

Kenny King wrestled Kenny Omega in a spectacular display of athleticism. King had the first big takedown, which was followed up by back and forth action into a standoff that produced applause from the captivated audience. Soon after this, King and Omega found their way to the outside, where King pummeled Omega into the guardrail. Once they moved back into the ring, King delivered a beautiful snap suplex that received respectable praise. Omega gave the match a bit of humor when he said, “You son of a B!” following a nearfall. After connecting with an enziguri kick, Omega secured victory with a roll-up.

Rhet Titus and Sal Rinauro took on Grizzly Grimwood and Bushwhacker Luke Williams in the first of many tag team matches. Grimwood and Williams played to the crowd, causing Titus and Rinauro to use that to their advantage; but they were quickly thrown out of the ring. As the match progressed, both teams took it to the limit to please the crowd. They also proved their worth and showed me what I’ve been missing out on. Titus stole the victory for his team with a roll-up where he grabbed the tights.

The bonus match took place next, pitting Tony Kozina versus Bao Nguyen. Many people seemed uninterested in the match, and I heard grumblings from those sitting around me that this was not a good replacement for the SHIMMER title match. Personally, I thought the match was fine. It could have been better, but then again it could have also been much worse. Nonetheless, Nguyen and Kozina wrestled a fairly even match, where Nguyen’s athleticism outweighed Kozina’s near the end. Nguyen suplexed Kozina into a bridge and earned himself a three count.

An insanely impressive tag team gauntlet followed, with the first two teams being Brent Albright and Eric Stevens and Irish Airborne (Jake and David Crist). Both of these teams amazed me with their skill in the ring. Albright and Stevens advanced to the second round of the tournatment, and faced Sweet & Sour’s Davey Richards and Bobby Dempsey. Richards’ intensity translated to the fans, who ate up his presence. However, everyone seemed to care more for Dempsey, who Richards intentionally kicked and pounded on. The two did work together long enough to make it to the next round as Stevens tried to use a boot that Larry Sweeney threw into the ring, the referee disualified Stevens.

The Briscoe Brothers, Jay and Mark, rushed to the ring and made their presence felt against the weakened Dempsey and Richards. Bringing additional, pure athleticism to the bout, the Briscoes astounded me with their skill, as I hade never seen them prior to this show. As cohesively as the Briscoes worked together, Dempsey and Richards seemed to fall apart at the seems, which more than likely caused their downfall. After Jay and Mark left the ring, Sweeney attacked Dempsey and slapped him right across the face, which, among other things, caused Dempsey to sulk to the back, bloody nose and all.

A brief intermission ensued, and then the match I deemed my personal favortie began—Jimmy Jacobs and Delirious versus Ace Steel and Necro Butcher. The moment that Age of the Fall’s (AoTF) music blared through the speakers, I was hooked. I had heard a lot about AoTF online and from other people, but I did not fully appreciate them until seeing witnessing their presence live. So much happened in this match, and I got so captivated by the match, that I did not write down the specifics of what happened. These four men battled in and out of the ring, eliciting an “ROH” chant and applause from the crowd. In the closing moments of the bout, as Jacobs and Delirious had Necro and Steel in a weakened state, Jacobs gave a foreign object to Delirious who contemplated using it. Daizee Haze then came to ring side and talked him out of doing so, ultimately costing them the match. Haze apologized to Jacobs who walked away in disgust; she then raised Steel and Necro’s hands. When everyone else left the ring, Delirious received an overwhelming applause.

Tyler Black took on Austin Aries in a classic match that had fans raving for more. Before the bell rang, Aries got on the mic and said that he wanted to put everything aside and have a classic match with Black—and that they did. Both men showed their strengths and gave the fans everything they asked for. Aries and Black battled inside and outside the squared circle, in a match with too many nearfalls to count. Impressive move after impressive move warranted a “This is awesome!” chant. In the end, Black established his dominance as he defeated Aries, much to the delight of the jam-packed crowd. Aries received a standing ovation for his work as Black walked victoriously to the back.

The highly anticipated main event put Claudio Castagnoli and the ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness against Jerry Lynn and Brian Danielson. A “Best in the World” chant rose up out of the crowd as McGuinness made his way to the ring. This was simply tag team wrestling at its best. Frequent tags, cutting the ring in half, multiple near falls and an all-together great chemistry between the teams made the match fantastic. Lynn secured his team’s fate while delivering a piledriver to Castagnoli.

After the final match, I spoke with Brian Kelley and Chuck from Slamzone, who only had positive things to say about the night. The matches were spectacular, the atmosphere was almost cult-like and everything came together perfectly. Now, I know I am not an expert, but, in my humble opinion, this show proved what wrestling is all about—pure competition, incredible athleticism and quality matches every match.

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MWR Spotlight: Johnny Vinyl

Posted by Admin on June 15, 2008

A look into hopes and dreams of “The Brand New Classic” Johnny Vinyl

By Kari Williams


“Ever since I found out you can make a living at wrestling outside of WWE, it’s what I’ve wanted to do.”

When Johnny Vinyl walks to the ring, he hears the echoes of jeering fans, but that has not stopped “The Brand New Classic” from pursuing his dream — in fact, “getting someone so mad that they take a swing at you is a great feeling.”

Vinyl’s initial attraction to wrestling was a casual glance on Saturday mornings, but soon grew into much more.

“I became a serious watcher the same time everyone else did, the Attitude Era. Some kids on my baseball team at around 2nd or 3rd grade were talking about it during our Monday afternoon practice. That night I went home and turned on Raw. I remember the first main event I ever saw was Austin/Undertaker vs. Mankind/Kane vs. Rock/D’Lo Brown vs. New Age Outlaws,” Vinyl said.

However, it was not until seeing the straightedge superstar C.M. Punk that Vinyl had an interest in pursuing wrestling as a career. He noticed that Punk did not have the biggest and best body (at the time) and that he was not 6’8”, but still had a presence that translated to fans.

“Throughout school I was always on speech and debate teams, and did a little bit of drama for half a year before I realized the girls weren’t as hot I was hoping. So I knew I could talk in front of people and if I could just get the athletic side of things down, I’d do alright,” he said.

Opportunity presented itself to “The Brand New Classic” in the form of the now-defunct Gateway Championship Wrestling (GCW) in the St. Louis, MO area. For approximately 18 months, Vinyl trained under Ring of Honor (ROH) star Dingo.

“Davey Vega and I went to [GCW] shows all the time in high school. One day they put up an ad on their website about guys interested in training. I was the only one to respond to it. Since I was 17 at the time, I had to drag my mom out there to Overland, which is where they were doing the training at the time, and she was pissed,” he said.

In addition to the GCW Dojo, Vinyl has “done seminars with Samoa Joe, Nigel McGuinness, Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin and Mike Quackenbush.”

For Vinyl, getting “Quackenbush to namedrop [him] and wear [his] t-shirt on the CHIKARA Podcast was pretty cool.”

However, he may not go so far as to call that a success because of the circumstances.

“I don’t know how much of an ‘accomplishment’ it was since it was a big rib, but I still enjoyed it,” he said.

Within the next two years, Vinyl aspires to be working for CHIKARA, however, his overall dream is to wrestle “in Europe and Japan and make a living through wrestling.”

Up to this point in his career, two specific matches have stuck out in his mind — one was working with MsChif and Daizee Haze, which he considers “a real cool honor,” and the other is being involved in the eight man elimination street fight main event at Lethal Wrestling Alliance’s [LWA] upcoming “Circus Maximus” on July 12, 2008.

“When Vega and I were put together, a whole lot of people only saw us a jobber team that would probably be dumped in a couple of months, so being in the main event of what could end being LWA’s biggest show to date is really a great feeling. When you look at that card and you see Ms.Chif on there, you see Billy McNeil’s comeback, you see Adam Raw and Nick Tyson wrestling each other for the last time, it’s going to be very diffilcult to main event that show, but we’re going to do our best to tear the house down,” he said.

Lastly, Vinyl has a shout-out of sorts to all of his female fans.

“I’m considering making a baby tee or spaghetti straps or something like that for my next [shirt]. If any girls would be interested in buying something like that or, even better, have some idea on what style to make and what to put on it, visit my Myspace at myspace.com/bncjohnnyvinyl and give me some feedback,” he said.

Johnny Vinyl Fast Facts:

Years Wrestling: I first walked into a wrestling school three and a half years ago, [and] I’ve been doing shows for almost two years now.

Companies Worked For: I wrestled a couple [of] matches under a mask for GCW, but as Johnny Vinyl I’ve worked for LWA, UWA [Ultimate Wrestling Alliance], LAW [Lethal Attitude Wrestling] in Arkansas, TLCW in Tennessee, one match for CSW, [and] maybe a couple others here and there.

Most Important Lesson From Wrestling: If I could sum up the wrestling business in one word, it would be ‘respect’. Wrestling taught me to respect people who deserve it, even if you don’t personally like them that much.

Favorite Match Thus Far: Fairview Heights with [Davey] Vega against K.C. Karrington and Steven Kennedy. Nobody thought we could pull off that match because all four of us weren’t exactly loved by the crowd. But we did some mic work at the beginnning and some little touches in the match that got the crowd behind the Ego’s. And the finish with Vega blasting Tiffany LaFane with a forearm was the loudest reaction I’ve been a part of yet.

Dream Match: Myself and Davey Vega versus Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black. I think those two as an overall package are the best tag team going in North America. No offense to the Briscoes, Motor City Machine Guns, or Steen and Generico because they are all fantastic, too, but I enjoy The Age of the Falls’ gimmick, character, and chemistry together. I would love to have that match.

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