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Posts Tagged ‘Lou Thesz’

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Missouri Sports Hall of Fame snubs pro wrestling

Posted by flairwhoooooo on February 9, 2010

By Matt Murphy

I won’t rant long about this. The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame has inducted exactly two professional wrestling legends in its 60-year history. Sam Muchnick was inducted in 1992 and Lou Thesz was inducted in 2002. This is a slap in the face to professional wrestling and to the many wrestling legends deserving of inclusion.

Wrestling fans, wrestlers, promoters, writers — let’s let the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame know exactly how we feel about it! Whether they like it or not, professional wrestling has been a major part of Missouri’s rich sports history. They owe it to the legends and to all of us as fans to recognize our sport.

Here’s their info:
Website: www.mosportshalloffame.com
Address:
Missouri Sports Hall of Fame
3861 E. Stan Musial Drive
Springfield, Missouri 65809
Phone: (417) 889-3100 or (800) 498-5678
Fax: (417) 889-2761
Hours: Monday – Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

I’ve included an email exchange between me and Todd Yearack, who at the time worked for the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. For the record, no wrestlers, wrestling promoters, or wrestling announcers have been inducted since these letters.

From: Matt Murphy
Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 10:21 PM
To: Todd Yearack
Subject: MO Hall of Fame

Dear sir:

I am writing to inquire why an organization whose catchphrase is “All the memories and all the thrills of sports” has neglected to recognize so many stars of professional wrestling.

Harley Race with the Missouri State Heavyweight Championship belt.

(A total of 17 wrestlers held the Missouri State heavyweight championship from 1972 through 1985. Eight would hold major versions of the World heavyweight championship.)

Lake Ozark resident Harley Race was one of the most respected athletes of his era. He was an eight-time NWA World Champion professional wrestler (he broke 2002 Missouri Sports Hall of Fame inductee Lou Thesz’s record of six World Title reigns). He was also inducted into the WCW Hall of Fame in 1994 and the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004. Race currently runs World League Wrestling, an Eldon, MO-based small independent wrestling organization which has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for various charities in the state since 1999.

I certainly feel Mr. Race’s inclusion from the Hall of Fame is necessary. He is, after all, considered by many to be the greatest wrestler ever to lace up a pair of boots. Mr. Race is now sixty-one years old, and I think he should be inducted in the very near future.

Warrensburg native Bruce “Butch” Reed was a star football player for CMSU and one of the ground-breaking African-American athletes in professional wrestling. A former World Tag Team Champion and one of the top wrestlers of the 1980s, Bruce was among the first black professional wrestlers to achieve national superstardom.

Cowboy Bob Orton

St. Louis-area resident “Cowboy” Bob Orton is the father of current WWE superstar Randy Orton and a former WWE superstar himself. He is being inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame this year.

Bulldog Bob Brown

These are just a few notable pro wrestlers deserving of being recognized as the elite athletes in Missouri sports history. Others who deserve induction include wrestlers “Bulldog” Bob Brown, Rufus R. Jones, Mike George, and Bob Geigel, announcers Bill Kersten and Larry Matysik, and promoter Gus Karras.

While many don’t consider wrestling a sport, it is undoubtedly an important part of Missouri sports history. Just ask a bunch of Missourians about wrestling. “I remember watching Harley Race and Bulldog Bob Brown at Memorial Hall” and “I watched ‘Wrestling at the Chase’ every week with my family” will likely be responses you’ll hear often.

Please let me know what I can do or how many like-minded Missourians should contact you to accomplish my goal of seeing the elite of those who contributed to “All the memories and all the thrills of sports” in Missouri recognized properly.

Please let me extend my invitation for assistance. If you need anything, from doing research to writing bios to conducting interviews with any professional wrestler deserving of Missouri Sports Hall of Fame inclusion, please don’t hesitate to email or call me.

Thanks for your time, and I look forward to a response.
Matt Murphy
__________

Todd Yearack wrote:

Matt:

Thank you for your note about Mr. Race and a few of the other wrestling icons from Missouri. You are certainly on the right track with your suggestion that Mr. Race be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

He was given very strong consideration for our most recent induction ceremony (February 13th) and will be up for consideration again for 2006. If you wish, feel free to mail us a letter of recommendation/nomination on Mr. Race and I’ll be glad to include it in his nomination file.

Again, thank you for your interest in the Hall of Fame. I hope to hear back from you soon.

Received your letter, and thank you! If you wish, you are welcome to look into additional letters in support of Mr. Race. While the number of letters doesn’t have any true direct affect on the individual’s induction, it is nice to hear from a broad range of folks who support a given inductee. Anything that is sent to us will be put in Mr. Race’s file, which will be reviewed by the selection committee later this year.

Thanks,
Todd

__________

From: Matt Murphy
Sent: Friday, March 04, 2005 1:28 PM
To: Todd Yearack
Subject: RE: MO Hall of Fame

Dear Mr. Yearack:

Thank you for the speedy reply. I have attached a letter to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. If I need to send it through postal mail, please let me know to what address it needs to be sent and I will have a letter in the mail next week.

Please tell me if my letter will suffice. Would several dozen letters from other fans help the cause or would it just make a lot of unnecessary work for you and others involved with the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame? I’m willing to do as much work as it needed to witness Harley’s induction to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.

Matt Murphy

__________

Todd Yearack wrote:

Received your letter, and thank you! If you wish, you are welcome to look into additional letters in support of Mr. Race. While the number of letters doesn’t have any true direct affect on the individual’s induction, it is nice to hear from a broad range of folks who support a given inductee. Anything that is sent to us will be put in Mr. Race’s file, which will be reviewed by the selection committee later this year.

Thanks,
Todd

MWR Editors note:

Just recently MWR fans we pulled together to support the future of Midwest wrestling by having our voice heard in regards of Mike Sydal, a wrestler that we felt very strongly deserved to be the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Rookie of the Year.

Now it is time for us to pull together to remember the past wrestling stars that gave their body hearts and soul to entertain the Midwest before there was cable TV, internet and PPV, families came together too boo the bad guy and cheer their heroes. On a personal level my dad who is not a wrestling fan at all does not have a clue who Shemus or The Miz is, but he knows who Rufus R Jones and Harley Race are.

I was shocked to hear that “MR. Race” had to have a file to be inducted in the Hall of Fame, just as Cooperstown would not be right with out Babe Ruth inducted or Michael Jordan in the NBA shrine, I just could not imagine that Harley Race was not there. Hopefully, once we are able to get the ball rolling with Race in the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame the many other great men and women who entertained the very rich history of athletes in the sport of wrestling will be inducted as they should be.

No sport has a more passionate fan base that pro wrestling, lets show the support for Missouri’s greatest mat stars from the past by taking our friend Matt Murphy’s advice and send Missouri Sports Hall of Fame a letter requesting that Pro wrestling not to be over looked.

MWR Fans remember when sending the request to be professional and respectful in your letter to each and everyone at the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.

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The Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum team up with WLW for the Hall of Fame.

Posted by flairwhoooooo on July 6, 2009

By Brian Kelley

This week I am excited to take the trip to Waterloo Iowa for the annual George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. A wonderful weekend set aside for wrestling fans old and alike to pay respect to the sport that they love.

On Friday July 10, Harley Race’s World League Wrestling will excite the fans with a Night of the Legends pro card at Young Arena. This is one event every year that I mark on my calander and so should you.

Thanks to World League Wrestling I was able to catch up with rising star “The Vietnam Phenom” Bao Nguyen eariler this year.

Nguyen is scheduled to be at the Night of the Legends card along with WLW Stars “King of the 450” Steve Anthony, Brian Breaker, Curt Hennig’s daughter Amy, Ricky Steamboat Jr, Darin Waid, Jason Jones and WLW Champion “Superstar” Steve Fender.

The pro hall of fame is located inside the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum. The museum was nearly destroyed by the historic flood of June 10, 2008, but re-opened this month.

The 11 th class is comprised of living wrestlers Nick Bockwinkel, longtime world heavyweight champion in the AWA; Ricky Steamboat, a superstar in the WWF, and Fritz Von Goering, who wrestled many of the top stars of the 1950s and ‘60s, and all five of the other inductees at one point in his long career.

Three deceased wrestlers are also being inducted: Bronko Nagurski, Luther Lindsay and Karl Gotch.

NICK

Bockwinkel was the son of former pro star Warren Bockwinkel and was a top college football prospect at Oklahoma University before injuries put him on the sidelines. He then turned his attention to pro wrestling full time, early in the 1950s. Over the next 30 years, he wrestled every major star in the business and held the AWA world heavyweight title for nearly seven years, as well as dozens of lesser belts. One of the most popular heels in wrestling history, he has been president of the Cauliflower Alley Club (CAC) for the past several years and resides in Las Vegas.
ricky-steamboat
A native of Hawaii, Steamboat was an amateur wrestler in Florida before entering the pro ranks in 1976, for Verne Gagne’s AWA. He entered the WWF in 1985 and became known as The Dragon and often struck karate poses in the ring, and electrified the crowds with his skills and antics. His title bouts with Ric Flair are among the best matches of the past two decades. Ricky captured the NWA world championship in 1989. He retired 1994 and lives today in Denver, N.C., working for the WWE.

FRITZ

Von Goering was a street-tough kid from Chicago when he turned pro in 1950. He learned the business the hard way, traveling around the country to take on the biggest names in the industry and learning all he could. He spent gym time with pure wrestlers like Dick Hutton, Lou Thesz and Luther Lindsay to learn the craft and today is one of the last from his generation. He won numerous regional titles in his 27-year career. He lives in Campbell, California.

From northern Minnesota, Bronko Nagurski is one of the greatest football players of all time, and is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Professional Football Hall of Fame. While starring with the Chicago Bears in the late 1930s, Nagurski approached Lou Thesz about wrestling in the off-season and used his great athletic skills to become a huge draw in wrestling, holding the world NWA title several times in the late 1930s and early 1940s. He died in 1990, at age 82.

Lou Thesz was one of many who considered Luther Lindsay the best African-American wrestler of all time. Big, powerful and fast, he played football at Hampton Institute in Norfolk, VA, and later in the Canadian football league. He then turned to pro wrestling and was trained by Stu Hart in the art of hooking. Well known for his skills and athletic abilities in the ring, he was popular outside the ring as well. He died from a heart attack during a match in 1972, at the age of 47.

Karl Gotch holds a near mythical spot in the history of wrestling. A native of Belgium, he made the 1948 Olympic team at age 18. He then moved to England, where he trained in the legendary Wigan “Snake Pit,” learning hooking and ripping techniques that made him one of the most feared wrestlers of all time. He was an absolute legend in Japan and all places were shooting ability is revered. He died in 2007 at age 82 in Florida.

The induction ceremony is the key part of the big weekend. It begins with a Celebrity Golf Tournament at noon Friday, July 10, and continues with a big pro card at Young Arena on Friday night, starting at 7. Harley Race and the WLW are putting the event together for the third straight year.

The official inductions will take place at noon on Saturday in the Gable museum. After the ceremony, fans will be able to meet with the inductees and former hall of famers in attendance.

The induction banquet takes place at 7 p.m. at the beautiful Five Sullivans Convention Center two blocks from the museum. Seating is limited and tickets are $60, and includes the souvenir program.

Dan Hodge, Class of 2000, and the only man to ever win national titles in both boxing and wrestling; he will be signing copies of his new book, “Oklahoma Shooter: Than Dan Hodge Story;
• Harley Race, Class of 2005 and eight-time NWA world heavyweight champion;
• Baron Von Raschke, Class of 2002, great star of the 1970s and ‘80s, who was third in the World as an amateur wrester;
• Bob Geigel, Class of 2002, former wrestling star and legendary Kansas City promoter;
• Mad Dog Vachon, Class of 2003; a former Canadian national amateur champion who wrestled in the 1948 Olympics before becoming a pro icon
• Larry “The Axe” Hennig, Class of 2006 and father of the late Curt “Mr. Perfect” Hennig, Class of 2007.

FRIDAY, JULY 10
10 a.m. – Museum opens (until 5 p.m.)
Noon – Celebrity Golf Tournament at Irv Warren Golf Course.
7 p.m. – Night of the Legends pro card at Young Arena
WLW JULY

SATURDAY, JULY 11
10 a.m. – Museum Opens (until 5 p.m.)
Noon – Official inductions at museum, fan festival afterwards
7 p.m. – Banquet at Five Sullivan Brothers Center (advance tickets mandatory)
SUNDAY, JULY 12
9 a.m. – Museum opens (until noon

For more information, persons can contact Kent Sesker, marketing director, at 319-233-0745.

For more information on theThe Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum go here

To find out where you can check out more World League Wrestling. go to their website here.

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Oklahoma Shooter: The Dan Hodge Story.

Posted by flairwhoooooo on February 10, 2009

Oklahoma Shooter:
The Dan Hodge Storyhodgebook

NEWTON, Iowa – The incredible athletic career of Dan Hodge, the only man to ever win national titles in both boxing and wrestling, has been published by Culture House Books and is now available.

It is called Oklahoma Shooter: The Dan Hodge Story.

Hodge came out of Perry, Oklahoma, to set the amateur wrestling world on fire in the mid 1950s. He won three NCAA Championships at 177 pounds for the University of Oklahoma, never losing a match or even a takedown. He also won three national titles in freestyle wrestling and one in Greco-Roman.

He also competed on two Olympic teams. He made the 1952 team as an unheralded 19-year-old, at that time the youngest wrestler ever to make an Olympic team. In 1956, he won the silver medal in the 174-pound class in Melbourne, Australia.

On April 1, 1957, Hodge was on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine, the only amateur wrestler ever accorded such an honor.

After completing his amateur wrestling career with his third NCAA title in 1957, Hodge turned to boxing. He was 17-0 as an amateur boxer and on March 24, 1958, won the National Golden Gloves heavyweight title with a dramatic knockout victory in Madison Square Garden!

Hodge boxed briefly as a professional, posting a record of 8-2 and at one time was being considered for a world title shot against champion Floyd Patterson. In the book, he discloses for the first time the behind-the-scenes problems he had with the business, and why he left boxing even though he had a promising future.

After his horrible experience in pro boxing, Hodge became a professional wrestler and is regarded as the greatest junior heavyweight champion of all time. He is also considered one of the greatest “shooters” (a wrestler willing to wrestle for real at any time) in the history of the sport.

The book concludes with a ranking of where Dan Hodge fits on the list of the greatest shooters of all time, dating back to the start of the early 1900s.

Author Mike Chapman has known Dan and his wife, Dolores, for over 30 years and has spent considerable time with Dan talking about his incredible career. A recognized author and historian, Chapman is the founder of the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum in Waterloo, Iowa, and the founder of W.I.N. magazine, one of the top wrestling publications in the country. He has been named National Wrestling Writer of the Year six times, by five different organizations. This is his 21st book, and 15th on wrestling.

The book includes 66 photographs, many never seen before. The photos cover Hodge’s careers in both wrestling and boxing, as both an amateur and professional
.
“Dan Hodge has lived a truly amazing life,” said Chapman. “He has rubbed shoulders with some of the biggest names in sports history – from Jack Dempsey to Rocky Marciano, from Ed “Strangler” Lewis to Lou Thesz. There are photos of all of them with Dan in the book, plus many stories about them.”

The foreword was written by Jim “J.R.” Ross, one of the best-known announcers and commentators in pro wrestling history.

Oklahoma Shooter: The Dan Hodge Story is published by culture House Books of Newton, Iowa, a small publishing company that specializes in books about sports legends and movie personalities. It sells for $22.95, with $5 shipping and handling costs.

Persons can order the book by calling Culture House Books at 641-791-3072.

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MWR’s History of the NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship

Posted by Admin on October 22, 2008

History of the NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship

By Josh Ray
Owner-Editor
Inadvertent.nerd@gmail.com

This is the first in a series of features on championships in the MWR coverage area, where MWR looks at the history, importance, and the future of the wrestling belts that help shape the Midwest independent wrestling scene.

The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) has been around since 1948, but the Missouri Heavyweight Championship has been around in some way, shape, or form since 1899. Records are spotty, but George Baptiste is in the books as the first Missouri Champion, winning in 1899. There are no details as to whom he defeated for the title or whom defeated him.

The next Missouri Champion doesn’t appear in the record books until 1921. Jake Reed defeated Lloyd Carter sometime that year, but again the records are so poor for that time period that no other information is known.

In 1933, some 12 years later, Fred Peterson entered the scene and began claiming that he was the Missouri Champion. He continued to make this claim until March of 1934, which happens to be around the same time that Billy Wolf is listed as champion. Records are unclear as to whom he defeated for the title, but Fred Peterson could be a good guess.

1937 brings more clarity to the title, as Lou Thesz defeated Warren Bockwinkel for the title on June 18th in Kansas City, MO. The clarity wouldn’t last long, however, as the title did a disappearing act until October 17, 1947 in St. Joseph, MO. Over ten years after Lou Thesz won the title, Ron Etchison defeated Sonny Myers for the title. There is no more information on how Thesz parted with the belt.

Less than a month later on November 7, 1947, Sonny Myers won a rematch with Etchison and became the Missouri State Champion. Before 1947 was over with, though, the title would be vacated and would remain that way until 1950.

As the National Wrestling Alliance began tying the smaller regional promotions together, the Missouri title was reestablished. Unfortunately, records are still in bad shape from 1950 to 1955. Tommy O’Toole defeated Sonny Myers in a tournament final on March 10, 1950, and from then until it was vacated in 1955 Bob Orton Sr. and Ron Etchison would win the title. Once again, there are no records as to whom either of them defeated.

The title stayed vacated from 1955 until 1972, when the title became a secondary singles championship for the NWA’s Central States Wrestling and St. Louis Wrestling Club. On September 16, 1972 in St. Louis, MO, the title gained legitimacy when Midwest wrestling legend Harley Race defeated Korean wrestling star Pak Song in a tournament final for the championship. In the years to come, Race would become the area’s most dominant champion and a true wrestling legend.

The title was held up after the ending of a Harley Race and Johnny Valentine match on December 16, 1972 in St. Louis, MO. A rematch was scheduled a month later, and on January 19, 1973, Valentine defeated Race for the title. The remainder of 1973 saw Terry Funk, Gene Kiniski, and Harley Race with the title.

St. Louis, MO continued to be the location for each and every Missouri Heavyweight Championship title change through February 1986 when Jim Crockett and Jim Crockett Promotions bought the St. Louis Wrestling Club. Later in the year Crockett also purchased Central States Wrestling as the NWA attempted to compete with Vince McMahon Jr. and his World Wrestling Federation (WWF).

Fittingly, the last Missouri Heavyweight Champion of that era was Harley Race. He won the title by defeating Jerry Blackwell on August 2, 1985. From Harley Race’s 1973 reign (his second) to his final reign in 1985, he would hold the title four other times. This left him with a total of seven reigns as Missouri Champ and made him the wrestler with the most reigns as champion. Others that held the title in this time period include Dory Funk Jr., Jack Brisco, Dick Slater, Ted DiBiase Sr., Dick Murdoch, Dick the Bruiser, Kevin Von Erich, Ken Patera, Kerry Von Erich, David Von Erich, and “Nature Boy” Ric Flair.

The list of Missouri Heavyweight Champions reads like a who’s who of NWA wrestlers of the era, but a new era began in 2002. Gary Jackson entered the record books as the first Missouri Heavyweight Champ of the new era by defeating Steve Stone in St. Robert, MO on July 27, 2002. The title’s tumultuous nature returned, but unlike the early 20th Century, records were kept in good standing.

Jackson was stripped of the title on June 3, 2003 due to his inability to frequently defend it, and Shane Somers stepped into the forefront as perennial Missouri Heavyweight Champion. He would win the title a total of three times in less than a year, winning it twice in one night (June 17, 2003) after Missouri State Athletic Commissioner Karl Lauer stripped him of the belt for using an illegal chokehold. He won the belt again later that night by pinning John Epperson in a tag match.

The Missouri Heavyweight Championship has changed hands in a state other than Missouri twice in its entire history, once in 2003 and once in 2005. On October 10, 2003, Ricky Murdock defeated Shane Somers in Parkersburg, WV at the NWA 55th Anniversary Show. The title was vacated a year later and then on December 7, 2005 in Lawrence, KS, Abyss defeated Tyler Cook for it.

A year later, the title was vacated once again. After a less than respectable run, the Missouri Heavyweight Championship gained a savior who goes by the name “Dingo”. Dingo won the title on January 19, 2007 in St. Joseph, MO by defeating Kraig Keesaman, Mark Sterling, and Jeremy Wyatt in a four-way scramble. As of this writing Dingo is still the champion, having held the title for over a year and a half. He’s defeated some of the top wrestlers in the Midwest, including Jeremy Wyatt, Mark Sterling, and Michael Strider. Under the NWA CSW: Missouri banner, Dingo is doing his part to bring the title back to the Harley Race standard of the 70s and 80s.

Only time will tell what the future holds for the NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship. If the current champion and the promotion sanctioning the matches are any indication, the title will have a bright future. The title is only as strong as the promotion, champion, and his challengers, though, so here’s to a competitive future for the NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship!

For a complete listing of NWA Missouri Heavyweight Champions, go to the Wikipedia Page at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NWA_Missouri_Heavyweight_Championship

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MWR June 2008 Awards

Posted by Admin on July 5, 2008

Missouri Wrestling Revival’s
June 2008 Awards!

Six months down for the year 2008. Six more months to go. Let’s take a look at the winners and runners up for the June 2008 Awards, as voted by the Missouri Wrestling Revival Awards Committee.

Interested in becoming a member of the committee? Contact Josh Ray.

Wrestler of the Month

“The Rebel” Jeremy Wyatt [LWA/3XW]
1st Runner Up – Dingo [LWA/IWA:MS/ROH]
2nd Runner Up – Tyler Black [AAW/ROH]
3rd Runner Up – Brandon Aarons [LWA]

Others receiving votes this month from the committee:
None.

Tag Team of the Month

Adrenalin Overdose (Bryce Benjamin & Shane Hollister) [AAW]


Benjamin and Hollister continue to gain steam as a tag team combination. This past month, they defeated Northstar Express to win the AAW Tag Team Titles!

1st Runner Up – Full Throttle (Brandon Marino & Aaron Scott) [Full Throttle Wrestling]
2nd Runner Up – Steve Anthony & Marc Godeker [WLW]
3rd Runner Up – Sage Ramsey & Jason Wells [NMW]

Other tag teams receiving votes from the committee:
None.

Promotion of the Month

World League Wrestling [WLW]


Harley Race’s WLW always puts together quality events with an old school feel to them, Mr. race and company have started a great tradition of helping the Dan Gable/Lou Thesz Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in Iowa raise money each year. This year the museum in Waterloo, IA was devastated by the flooding and who was there to help them? World League Wrestling. They held a great event on June 27, 2008 to raise money for repairs.

1st Runner Up – Lethal Wrestling Alliance [LWA]
2nd Runner Up – DIEHARD 4-EVER [Wrestling tribute to Steve “Botch” Szoke]
3rd Runner Up – Impact Zone Wrestling [IZW]

Others receiving votes this month from the committee:
None.

Woman of the Month (Female Wrestler)
Sara Del Ray [ROH]

When Ring of Honor made the trip to Chicago in this past month, Sara Del Ray made her presence felt by defeating two women who’ve made a name for themselves in the Midwest in MsChif and Daizee haze. Hopefully the entire Missouri Wrestling revival coverage area can see more of this talented wrestler!

1st Runner Up – MsChif [WLW/SHIMMER/ROH]
2nd Runner Up – Stacy O’Brien [WLW/MMWA-SICW]
3rd Runner Up – December [PCW]

Others receiving votes this month from the committee:
Kimberly Kash [PCW]

Personality of the Month

Mark Bland [Absolute Wrestling Radio]

Mark Bland is one of the men behind Absolute Wrestling Radio, a radio program in the St. Louis are (syndicated on the Internet) that covers pro wrestling and mixed martial arts. The great thing about the show is that it also lends broadcasting power to local independent wrestling promotions. AWR and the broadcast team were the first writre-in winners of an MWR Award!

1st Runner Up – Crimefighter [St. Louis Wrestling Community]
2nd Runner Up – Al Snow [WWCW/IZW]
3rd Runner Up – Pat Tanaka [USWO]

Others receiving votes this month from the committee:
Candi Summers [AAW]

Match of the Month

LWA Medallion Match:
“The Rebel” Jeremy Wyatt (C) defeated Mark Sterling to retain.
House Springs, MO on June 28, 2008
[LWA]
1st Runner Up –
5-way Match for IZW Impact Division Title:
Kenny Campbell defeated Mitch Carter, Jermaine Johnson, Dustin Heritage & Seth Allen.
Oklahoma City, OK on June 14, 2008
[IZW]
2nd Runner Up –
Dingo defeated Steven Kennedy.
House Springs, MO on June 28, 2008
[LWA]

3rd Runner Up –

Ladder Match for PCW Midwest Title:
“Hot Bod” Shawn Davis (C) defeated “Feature Presentation” Johnny Mac to retain.
Oak Park, IL on June 20, 2008
[PCW]

Others receiving votes this month from the committee:
Egotistico Fantastico & Gilbert Lewis vs Kyle Rich & Prince Ali (Lincoln, IL) [DIEHARD 4-EVER]

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MWR Spotlight: Luke Roberts (Part 3 of 3)

Posted by Admin on May 17, 2008

Luke Roberts (Part 3 of 3)

by Brian “Flair” Kelley


As far as wrestlers and the St Louis scene are concerned, we will start with the WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton. Have you had any past interactions with “The Legend Killer“?

I have had some indirect contact with Randy through his father. However, as far as direct contact, I have not had the privilege of working with him. He came to South Broadway about a year after I left to wrestle on the St. Louis wrestling scene.

How do you feel of his work as a wrestler?

As a wrestler, Randy Orton is coming into his own as one of the best “bad guys” in the sport. He has developed an attitude that incites professional wrestling fans to hate him. Given the right opportunities, I feel that Randy will be at the top tier of the WWE for years to come.

Let’s stay with the Orton family and talk about his father “Cowboy” Bob Orton, who I met at an OSWA show a while back.

I have had several run-ins with “Cowboy” Bob Orton. Every time I work with him, I always have a great time. Even though he may not be in his prime, he still can provoke a crowd to hate him. From working with him, it is easy to see that many of the skills that Randy Orton has are genetic.

St Louis has been represented well here recently with Delirious, MsChif, and Daizee Haze wrestling in LWA for the Michael Johnson Benefit show on May 3rd. Matt Sydal and Dingo have also made a splash. Which one has surprised you the most with their success?

If I had to choose one, I would have to say MsChif. The successes of the men notwithstanding, to excel as a women’s wrestler is a much more difficult task. Right now, she holds two of the most recognized championships in the world. That, combined with her athletic skills and her attitude, is the reason why I would choose MsChif as the St. Louis wrestler who has surprised me the most.

Who would you say in the past 18 years was the most underrated wrestler in the St Louis area?

In my career, the most underrated wrestler was John Blackheart. This man was technically sound and knew what it took to get a reaction out of the fans. He could go out and fly with the light heavyweights, brawl with the brawlers, manipulate the rules in the world of tag team wrestling, and do things behind a referee’s back that were pure gold. John Blackheart could go out to the ring with anyone and have a good match. He was just that good.

Who do you feel is the best tag team ever in professional wrestling?

The best tag team in professional wrestling, in my opinion, would be Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard. They thought and wrestled in almost perfect harmony with little to no communication necessary.

Who do you feel is the best tag team in St. Louis in the past 20 years?

That’s easy! Billy Bob and the Techno Kid! Just joking! Seriously, the answer to this question will stun a lot of people. From all of the tag teams that have wrestled in St. Louis on a regular basis, I would say that the Ego Express is the best tag team that I have seen in the past 20 years. They know what the other one is thinking at all times. They genuinely seem to like and trust each other. Their knowledge of the rules and how to break them is outstanding. Also, they have a manager/valet that fits their plans perfectly. The Ego Express, whether you like them or not, has all the tools to hang with any tag team in professional wrestling.

Is there anyone that comes to mind that never got the chance, but really deserved it?

I feel that “The Punisher” from the MVWA never really got his time in the spotlight. In his heyday, he could drive a crowd to almost riot status before he even entered the ring. If he would have had a company like an MMWA, GCW, or LWA to sign him and he could have stayed healthy, he could have been huge.

At the moment, you have the chance to become LWA President. You are running against Jacob Dangle, Steven Miller, Bavarian Boy. For those who have not been a part of LWA, tell us what that is about.

Since Yuletide Terror 2007, the LWA has been without a president. Management has decided that someone needs to take control of the LWA before chaos destroys the company. Seeing that I have refereed and ring announced for the LWA, a friend of mine tried to convince me to run for the LWA presidency and I brushed it off. Yet, as time went on, I heard that Steven Miller had found a loophole and weaseled his way into the election process. Once I heard that he was running, I knew that I had to give serious thought about running for LWA president.

Steven Miller thinks that, if Bavarian Boy or Jacob Dangle is elected president of the LWA, he can use his influence with Donovan Ruddick to intimidate them into doing what he wants. However, Mr. Miller knows that I am not, nor will never be, scared of anyone. I know that since I am running for LWA President against Steven Miller, if I lose, I will probably be out of a job.

The fans of the LWA need to make their opinions known. I recommend that everyone goes to www. lwawrestling. com and vote for who you think should be the new LWA president.

Let’s go to Word Association

South Broadway – lacking originality

MECW – professional

LWA – talented roster

UWA – rebuilding

CSW – tradition

AAPW – dedicated to its fans

WLW – Harley Race

SLAMZONE – hardworking

SHIMMER – true women’s wrestling

FTW – The Independent Icons

RCW – misunderstood

NWA – territorial professional wrestling

WWE – cheese

TNA – innovative

ECW – WWE light

ROH – True Professional Wrestling

St Louis Hall of Fame – tribute to St. Louis wrestling history

Best pro wrestling book – “Hooker” by Lou Thesz

Hulk Hogan – all about “the Benjamins”

Ric Flair – legend

Ultimate Warrior – joke

WrestleMania 24 – lackluster

HHH – heart of the WWE

Samoa Joe – class act

Kurt Angle – machine

Motor City Machine Guns – great people

Davey Richards – tough as nails

“The Future” Donavan Ruddick – monster

Michael Strider – crazy

Shorty Biggs – the “fifth”

Gary the Barn Owl – Bearded Men from Space Station 11

Brian James – “It’s All Good”

Scott Murphy – true friend

Stacey O’Brien – future of St. Louis women’s wrestling

Sean Vincent – Canadian superstar

Cameron Cage – funny, funny, funny

Cabal – Chewbacca

Edmund “Livewire” McGuire – outstanding

Adam Raw – intense

Pierre Abernathy – Submission Squad

Playboy HH – hides behind his stable

Austin Aries – quiet

Pete Madden – Trainer

“Atomic Dog” Ali Stevens – Powerhouse

Steven Miller – power hungry

Phoenix Twins – Tag Team Specialists

Brandon Aarons – Hollister

Mephisto – psychotic

Douglas O’Shea – hated everywhere he goes

Evan Gelistico – Zero Gravity

Jeremy Wyatt – The Rebel

Shaft – the heart of MMWA

Tyler Cook – underrated

Awesome Kong – brutality personified

Mark Sterling – intimidating

Trent Stone – impact player

Billy McNeil – death-defying

Lightfoot – Lightfoot Driver

Brandon Espinosa – No Fear

Johnny Greenpeace – Tree

Dingo – dedicated to professional wrestling

Ego Express – “old school” tag team wrestling

Johnny Vinyl and Davey Vega – arrogant

Eric Davis – versatile

Justin Wade – throwback

The Lumberjacks – tough

Dorian Victor – Must Be the Money

The Connection – Bullies

Editors Note: This has been the third and final installment of MWR’s Spotlight on Luke Roberts. Luke is a key piece of the pro wrestling puzzle in the St. Louis area, and I am proud that he chose to sit down and give us a little of his time. Hopefully we can chat again with him sometime soon.

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