To be honest I looked for a photo of Madden with myself or Dubray Tallman but maybe we have never taken one together. Regardless that does not reflect the amount of respect I have for Madden as a person. In the ring he brings a 100%, as the monster Kevin X finds out as Madden uses a great wrestling move to get him off his feet- Photo Credit Brian Kelley

Good day to each and every one of you that have taken the time to support Missouri Wrestling Revival.com and pro wrestling in the Midwest throughout the past 5 plus years. Today, marks the day that we celebrate Missouri Wrestling Revival’s 3, 000 post.

As a lifelong wrestling fan, it has been a great journey to travel the roads throughout Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Illinois to work with many promoters, wrestlers, and fans that love the sport as much as I do.

For the promoters I hope that MWR has helped fans want to come and purchase a ticket to your show.

For the wrestlers, I hope MWR has been a way to get your name out to the fans and just maybe an extra booking here and there.

For my friends that are fans, I hope that you find MWR to be a nice place to visit to keep up with the news and to make plans to enjoy a weekend of pro wrestling in and out of the area.

MWR has no power to help wrestlers move up to WWE, ROH, or Japan; men like Brian Breaker was heading to WWE because of his talent and a smart decision to pay his dues at WLW with Harley Race. ACH was well on his way to ROH with his hard work at Anarchy Pro Wrestling and natural charisma so the two past MWR Future stars were going to get there with or without any support of MWR. Just as Zero-One star, Jonathan Gresham and Jake Dirden of Pro Wrestling NOAH have to be able to travel overseas with or without MWR.

I do hope that some extra love from the site has helped them and each and every wrestler that has been mention on this very site.

While MWR continues to grow stronger with each and every day, and after traveling this weekend with the a 10 plus hour round trip to both St Louis Anarchy and Zero One I was wandering just how I had hoped that MWR and myself would be looked at when it is all said and done.

For some reason a man came to mind that represented just what I had hoped would be how most would feel towards the site. That man is “The Human Wrecking Ball” Pete Madden. Throughout the Midwest there are some really great people that are involved with the MWR Promotions that we cover. Just as there is in your day to day life, sometimes there are cliques, hard feelings and yes, sometimes back stabbing. It’s just a way of life.

From what I have heard, in Pete’s prime he was one of the very best in St Louis in his day. I can believe that as I have seen him “re-debut” in Kansas City for Metro Pro Wrestling for a retirement tour, and though the fans did not know who Madden was before then, after some really great matches with the likes of Outtkast , MsChif, and Steven J Girthy he is now one of the most loved men in that promotion. I have had the pleasure of speaking to and photographing Madden in action quite a few times in the past couple of years.

For the MWR fans that have not seen Madden or met him, let me say it is not only the skills that he is respected for in the ring that I want MWR and myself to be compared to, it is the person he is out of the ring and the respect that he has among his friends that I have strive for MWR’S reputation.

Whenever his name is brought up from others, I have yet to hear anyone speak badly on him. More impressive than that is when Madden mentions others it is always a positive vibe.

If you are a friend of Pete Madden, I would have to say that you could not ask for any better. When Madden tells a story on his friend “The Magic Man”, you can really feel that he cares for him. Mention his friend and fellow wrestler the Drill Instructors, book “Blood Tables and Chairs” and a smile will come to his face and a funny story that puts his friend in the best of light. The same can be said for his friends Keith Smith, Chris Gough, the promotion SHIMMER, and Jim and Crystal just to name a few.

Steven J Girthy and Pete Madden had one of the most entertaining matches of 2012 at Metro Pro Wrestling. Us at MWR did not give it the proper coverage due to time just slipping away faster than we could up with the news and life in general. Still do yourself a favor and check out MPW on Youtube for a very fun match. Just one of the thousands that MWR has covered through the years.- Photo Credit Brian Kelley

When Madden wrestles a rookie, I can tell he wanted to do the best to have a great match with that youngster. He was supportive with his opponent; the fans and the man across the ring were rewarded.With Pete Madden, I truly believe that after he comes up to say hello to myself and Dubray at a show that he is happy to see us. That he appreciates what little we do. To put it crudely, Madden is not fake.

I strive for myself and MWR to be like Pete Madden. The goal is to be sincere with each and every promoter, wrestler, and fan that we meet through our travels throughout the Midwest. From day one we have done our best to treat everyone as if they were Ric Flair or Harley Race. If a deal was struck between us and the promotions or wrestlers I hope they can say that we are a group that stands by our word.

I can only guess that there is people that Madden dislikes, and feels as if they are better than others in the ring, but I have yet to hear from him a negative comment about the person from Madden just to make himself sound better or to knock another just to be talking. I am sure that Madden is aware that he may have a friend that is not perfect and he may not agree with, but Madden seems to surround himself with people that he truly likes.

Though many of his friends are/were awesome in the squared circle, I don’t believe that he chooses who his friends are by where they are considered talent wise among others. In other words he does not let other people choose who he likes. He appears to be happy to see others succeed while at times some are a little jealous of the success of others.

At times I contemplate if we were to work with one promotion, if I would be able to grow in my talent of photos and I would have stronger friendships with that group. For instance this week our good friend Dan Gier is celebrating his last match with WLW as a ring announcer, and I have even yet to mention it on the site.

Not out of disrespect for him, but time has flown by with school and life and now we are a week away and I have yet to honor him on the site. Wrestling friends this is one of my closest friends in the sport and I have not done that Dan, I feel bad, but be sure that he will be shown some love in the 2013 Yearbook as well during this very important 3,000 post.

A great compliment came from promoter Justin Clark of New Midwest Wrestling, at the end of 2012, I called to let Clark know that we were wanting to cover their show after an 6-8 month absence of being at one of his shows. I mentioned to him that I was concerned that he was upset that we had not been there during that extended time period and that he took it personal and wouldn’t want us back. Clark’s reply to me was a blunt and honest statement, “Brian, I don’t pay you to do the great work that you do with MWR, so whatever you do for NMW and my wrestlers I appreciate it and you guys are always welcomed at my shows.”

If you are looking at this photo by the skills of the photographer (MWR’s Brian Kelley) then you would not be impressed. Yet, the photo shows off a very small portion of our friends via the MWR Site. Seen here at St Louis Anarchy back in July is Patrick, Drew (Ringsyders ) an original MWR family member Kari Williams, Dubray Tallman and Gary thus making this photo a great example of the good times that you and your friends can have at a local pro wrestling show.

A part of me hates the fact that we even have to set up room on the merchandise table at shows that we appear. The reason though is that the money we make at the shows recently has been the difference of us coming to the following week’s shows or not. So please let it be known that I do appreciate the fact that the promotions and wrestlers have understood why we do that, and the fans know that your purchase helps out MWR, as we hope that you purchase items from the wrestlers and promoters while you are there at the show. Money does not drive me, being a part of pro wrestling is what has brought the 3,000 post to a reality. Though I can not lie, it softens my heart to see you all support MWR by wearing our t-shirts and hats.

With that said I hope that if we are your friend you know we care for you and we are sincere. There are so many that we will support and speak high on. All of the MWR friends are the Ric Flairs to us, if you think less of us for calling the men and women such as Herb Simmons, Chris Gough, TNT Keny G, Jason Jones, Lucy Mendez, Adam Testa, Great Cheyenne, Hardcore Andy, Darla Saggs, Darin Corbin, Miss Natural, Patrick Brandmeyer , Evan Gelistico Jeremy Wyatt, the Iceman, Raven Johnson ,Ben Simon, The Hooligans, Mike Van Hoogstraat,Mike Gordon, Showtime Bradley Charles, Jerry Creager, Cody Murphy, Gary Jay, Mike Sydal, Kyle Valle, Sean Chambers, Dee Clark, Bull Schmitt, Brandon Espinosa , Peyton Mitchell, Eric Allen, Steve Bishop, Matt Murphy and Corrie Mcdowell as just a few of our friends ,then I do respect that, but know that we are happy to call them friends.

Some of the before mentioned are among the most influential men and women in pro wrestling in the Midwest today while others have no power at all. Still all the names have our appreciation just the same.

If by chance you feel as if your name should have been mentioned in the list of friends above then yes you are just as important. Please know that not to be mentioned in this one post, is something that I hope that you understand is trivial compared to what you truly mean to MWR every day.

So with post 3, 000 we say thank you and let you know that we hope that we can live up to standards of Pete Madden as MWR heads into the next stage of the “MWR Years”