Can Ace Hawkins remain the the MWR MO Champion this coming weekend at Harley Race’s World League Wrestling when he defends his title against Jack Gamble in Troy, Missouri? If so this match may prepare him for his upcoming tour of the U.K. because Gamble has toured Japan for NOAH with multiple years attending the WLW/WWE/NOAH/ROH camps in the years past. Gamble is formally one half of the MWR Tag Team of the Year recipient with partner Jon Webb, so there is a great chance that Hawkins could be boarding the plane without the belt in hand.
Regardless of what happens, Hawkins is one of the truly exciting young stars in the country. Fans of the U.K are about to see why many people believe that he often has the match of the night when looks to take on all challengers in a huge tour.
Here is the early preview of the MWR Missouri Champions tour schedule.
OCTOBER
22nd – Belper – Belper Leisure Centre 22nd – Chapel St. Leonards – The Club Tropicana 24th – John Fowler Holiday Parks – South Bay 25th – John Fowler Holiday Parks – St. Ives 25th – Ingoldmells – Coastfields Holiday Village & Parks 25th – Skegness – Embassy Theatre, Skegness WOW!! 26th – John Fowler Holiday Parks – Trelawne Manor 26th – Skipsea – Skirlington Leisure Park 28th – Private Event 29th – Chapel St. Leonards – The Club Tropicana
Many wrestlers retire from wrestling, but almost all return to the ring at
some point. Ric Flair had an incredible send off at Wrestlemania XXIV,
wrestling his final match on the biggest and grandest stage of them all,
but Flair returned to wrestling less than 2 years later. Nick Bockwinkel
retired in 1987 but wrestled in 1992 and 1993 for special return matches.
The great Verne Gagne retired and came out of retirement numerous
times.
Chris Guy, who wrestles as “Sexy” Ace Steel, never actually retired, but
the pull of wrestling for one of the top independent promotions in the
country, was too much for Ace Steel to ignore. Steel has once again
returned to active wrestling as part of the “Foundation” in the National Wrasslin League. Steel was happy, living a comfortable life in
Springfield, Missouri with his wife working a regular job.
Steel plans to continue with his full time life outside the ring, but as the
NWL has increased the number of their monthly wrestling events, the
call to the veteran Steel was made and his interest piqued. “They wanted
me to come in as a trainer, but I didn’t want to leave my life and pick up
and move again. I am not going to wrestle on every event, but I
definitely will be more active in the ring than I have been.”
Steel worked for Chris Gough, former owner of Metro Pro and current
director of wrestling operations for NWL at Metro Pro Wrestling before
Gough closed Metro Pro Wrestling to work for Major Baisden and the
NWL.
Steel attended a NWL show in Kansas City on July 8 and was so
impressed with the talent, the shows and NWL owner, Major Baisden;
he wrestled on the NWL show in Joplin, Missouri on August 4,
defeating Stevie Richards.
“Ace steel has such a tremendous reputation, both as a worker and as a
trainer. The years we worked together at Metro Pro hatched some of the
best moments we ever had. I was asking him for months to come back to
NWL, and when he told me he was ready, I knew it was going to lead to
great things again. He has joined Jeremy Wyatt and Michael Strider in The Foundation, and they will be a trio that will be hard to overcome”,
Gough explained.
Steel grew up in Chicago and fell in love with professional wrestling. “I
grew up watching the AWA and as soon as I graduated high school, I
started training with Windy City Wrestling.”
Steel debuted for Windy City Wrestling in 1991 and wrestled in
independent promotions for most of the hey day of the wrestling wars in
the 90’s. In 1998, Steel became a wrestler and trainer for St. Paul Championship Wrestling, which later became Steel Domain Wrestling.
Steel became friends with two other Chicago natives who were making a
name for themselves on the independent circuit; Colt Cabana and CM Punk. Steel trained both Cabana and Punk.
“Ace Steel has worked for Steel Domain Wrestling and has incredible
respect in our locker room”, says Steel Domain owner Ed Hellior. “The
last time he was here, I watched him do a coaching session with a couple
of Ken and Shawn’s students. (Ken Anderson and Shawn Diavari). What
I noticed is it’s once thing to be a world class wrestler, but he his an
outstanding coach and teacher. There are a number of great wrestlers,
but it does not mean they can teach. Even Steven Regal (William Regal)
got wind of the session and commented on Ace. “
In 2003, Steel made his first appearance in Japan wrestling for NOAH.
“I couldn’t wait to be in a place where at times wrestling, the pure mat
wrestling techniques and training, were common and the norm,” Steel
told Slam Wrestling. “The Japanese have such a level of dedication and
to workout and train everyday, and get on a bus to the next town was the
best. I’ve been in the ring many times with (Mitsuharu) Misawa, (Yoshinari) Ogawa, (Akira) Taue, KENTA (Kenta Kobayashi), (Naomichi) Marafuji, (Yoshinobu) Kanemaru –– you name it. And each
time learning so much and to gain their respect is awesome. NOAH is
the top Japanese company.”
Steel briefly worked for TNA after its inception, forming a tag team with
Punk and also wrestling in the X Division. After his TNA contract
expired, Steel signed with Ring of Honor, forming a tag team with
Cabana and Punk called the Second City Saints. Steel also has wrestled
for WWE in the past. During a September 27, 2004 edition of Raw,
Steel wrestled as Scott Colton (real name of Colt Cabana), losing a
match to Eugene. As a repayment of the inside rib, Cabana wrestled as
Chris Guy, (Steel’s real name) on an April 10, 2006 episode of Raw.
Maybe Steel’s most memorable performance on Raw occurred on
January 8, 2007, when Steel portrayed Donald Trump in an inter gender
match against “Rosie O’Donnell“.
Steel later was signed to a
developmental contract with WWE and wrestled in both of the WWE
developmental territories at the time, Deep South Wrestling and Ohio Valley Wrestling.
On December 5, 2008, Steel returned to ROH at the “Wrestling at the Gateway” event, teaming with Necro Butcher against Jimmy Jacobs and Delirious. Steel also appeared in the 10-man cage match at the “Caged
Collision” event on January 31, 2009.
Ace Steel once held onto Harley Race’s WLW Championship.
Steel recently turned 44 years old, making him a veteran presence and a
natural locker room leader. “I am really impressed by the guys in the
locker room. They are all really excited to be wrestling for the NWL.”
Jeremy Wyatt cryptically told NWL fans “Foundation” members
Michael Styder and Wyatt had an “Ace” up their sleeve weeks ago.
Steel debuted in Kansas City as a surprise opponent for Gil Rogers on
August 5 and affirmed his affiliation with the Foundation during an
interview later that evening.
Despite being a former Steel Domain Champion and Metro Pro
Champion, some of Steel’s greatest accomplishments have come from
the words of other wrestlers. “Having Regal (William) choose me to
work with him (on Harley Race events) is such an honor. Regal said he
chose me because he trusted me to do what needed to be done” Steel
explained. “Having Ricky Steamboat tell me ‘you made that match worth
watching’ is really special to me.”
For now, Steel is content to wrestle part time for NWL and also loves
training younger wrestlers.
I know that some may have thought that I was crazy, driving close to six hours to cover the first ever KC Pro Wrestling Training Center Tryouts on a Sunday morning. To be honest, I was excited to see an area that is so red hot with wrestling as one of the best companies in the country, Metro Pro Wrestling, had endorsed the school and I have had the honor of covering the four trainers of the school for the past eight years in hundreds of the best matches of this era. As I came into the school, Trainers Derek McQuinn, Trevor Murdoch, Steve Fender, and Mark Sterling were instructing the students who have taken a chance on themselves to show the pros that they had the dedication, heart, and talents to become the future of pro wrestling. Students from not only Kansas City, but Oklahoma, Kentucky, and beyond made their way to the school.
The Tryouts were setup in a professional and positive environment from the four men who had all learned under the tutelage of Harley Race. Trevor Murdoch, of course, had made his way to the WWE, including training and wrestling in Japan; Steve Fender has enjoyed several tours of Japan; Derek McQuinn is a Professional trainer and recently a WLW trainer; and Mark Sterling, a former MWR Wrestler of the Year, has been all around the country and trained in camps with WWE, TNA and ROH while being considered around the Midwest as one of the top talents today. The students were pushed to excel during drills and given instructions on the proper techniques and safety in the ring. Metro Pro Wrestling Promoter Chris Gough was on hand to videotape the event as the students who had wrestled were allowed to showcase their skills as well give promos as the school will boast a complete foundation of what Promoters around the country will want, as well as what the WWE wants.
I was so impressed with the effort that the students gave and the desire of the trainers to help them improve. As the day came to an end, I said my goodbyes right as the students were about to meet with the trainers one on one for feedback on what they can do at the KC Pro Wrestling Training Center to improve and start the journey to be a top name someday. Aspiring wrestlers that were unable to be there on that day and want to become a pro wrestler, do not fear–know that you will be in good hands with the KC Pro Wrestling Training Center, so please do not hesitate to call them today.
The Kansas City Pro Wrestling Training Center has arrived. Former 3 Time WWE Tag Team Champion and KC native & Personal Trainer Derek McQuinn
Fans attending the World League Wrestling event on June 26th expected to see new Tag Team Champions being crowned…but an unexpected team walked out with the gold that night.
The night started with the roster assembled at ringside for a ten-bell salute. Several legends of the wrestling business had recently passed away and those in attendance paid tribute to “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, Tommy Rogers, “Nature Boy” Buddy Landell, and Cora Combs.
The opening match saw Jon Webb made his triumphant return from Japan as he faced Michael Magnuson of the Black Hand Warriors. Webb had learned a lot in his stint with the NOAH promotion as he went toe-to-toe with the bigger and stronger Magnuson.
Jon Webb is back!!
Magnuson nearly powered his way to victory, but Webb surprised him with a rana into a pinning combination for the win.
“Dangerous” Derek McQuinn had been on a roll since his return to action, but the fans were on the side of his opponent John E. Rock. Rock had momentum on his side due to the support of the audience at the Harley Race Wrestling Arena, but the former WLW Heavyweight Champion had the edge in experience as well as underhanded tactics. When Rock climbed to the top turnbuckle, Dangerous Derek shoved the referee into the ropes to knock his opponent off balance.
Rock tumbled to the mat and Derek took advantage of the situation, winning with his trademark spear.
“The Legacy” Leland Race had a tough test as he defended his WLW Championship against “The Ego” Dustin Bozworth.
The challenger had recently appeared on “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Ranch show and was hoping to ride that fame to greater in-ring success. However, Race had held the title since November and wasn’t planning on his reign being ended so soon.
Leland Race rocks the Ego with a beautiful dropkick.
Bozworth seemingly had control of the match when Superstar Steve Fender and Dangerous Derek attacked the champion, causing a disqualification win for the titleholder. Bozworth didn’t participate in the two-on-one beatdown as the pair had just ruined his chance at winning the belt…when Fender teased a cash-in of his Harley Race Invitational Tournament trophy for an impromptu title match with Leland, Bozworth’s presence made him reconsider and Fender left the ring with McQuinn.
Fan Favorite Stacey O’Brien
A long-standing rivalry continued as Stacey O’Briendefended the WLW Women’s Championship against “Miss Natural” Heather Patera.
Miss Natural won the title for the first time in 2002 and has held it a record-setting seven times in total. However, Stacey’s first title win came at Miss Natural’s expense in 2008 and the two have been battling since that time. On the heels of their best-of-five-match series over the belt, Stacey was a six-time champion and was hoping to close the book on the long rivalry However, the bout ended in controversy as a pinning combination seemed to leave both women’s shoulders on the canvas. Miss Natural thought she had won, but Stacey got a shoulder off the mat and was declared the winner.
Miss Natural taunts the crowd and lets them know that at the Night of Champions she is coming for her WLW Ladies Championship
Miss Natural angrily grabbed the title belt before it could be presented to the champion…she wanted the feud to end as well and she challenged Stacey to a best-of-three-falls match at the Night Of Champions event in August. Stacey accepted the offer and the two shook hands, but Miss Natural kicked her in the midsection and laid her out with the Natural Disaster!
When Jon Webb and Jack Gamble left for their tour of NOAH, the WLW Tag Team Titles were declared vacant and a four-team tournament was held to determine the next champions. The Black Hand Warriors duo of Dave DeLorean and Jayden Fenix had defeated John E. Rock and Matt Creed to advance; on the other side of the bracket, the upstart team of Kickin’ Kyle Roberts and Justin D’Air scored a huge upset over Superstar Steve and Dangerous Derek. However, Roberts suffered a broken collarbone in the matchup and Brandon Espinosa substituted for him in the tournament finale.
Despite their limited experience as a unit, Espinosa and D’Air worked well together; however, DeLorean and Fenix had the advantage in tag team continuity. They gained the advantage when DeLorean dropped Espinosa onto the edge of the ring with a modified Death Valley Driver, but Espy finally managed to make the tag to D’Air. D’Air lived up to his name as he flew around the ring, culminating in a huge somersault plancha onto DeLorean and a Van Terminator-style dropkick with DeLorean seated in the adjacent corner. Espy powerslammed DeLorean and D’Air followed up with his 450 Splash, but Fenix broke up the pinfall attempt in time.
DeLorean and Fenix rallied and were able to take Espinosa out of the match long enough to finish off D’Air with their Tombstone/flying double-stomp combination…DeLorean pinned D’Air after that and the Black Hand Warriors were once again Tag Team Champions!
The night wasn’t quite over…as DeLorean and Fenix celebrated their win, Superstar Steve and Dangerous Derek attacked them from behind! The teams battled it out, but Steve and Derek had the advantage over the worn-down champions…and Steve revealed that he could cash in his trophy for ANY title shot, electing to use it for an impromptu challenge for the tag belts!
Superstar Steve and Dangerous Derek strike!
The former Gold Exchange members isolated the less-experienced Fenix and Derek took him down with a spear…the referee barely had time to call for an official opening bell before he was counting Derek’s pinfall! Just like that, we saw new WLW Tag Team Champions crowned for the second time in the span of a few minutes!
The night provided more questions than answers…will the Black Hand Warriors be the unlikely fan favorites against the newly-named “Elite Aggression” duo?
WLW Tag Team Champions Superstar Steve and Dangerous Derek
Will they be on the same side as their old rivals Gamble and Webb, who just recently got back from Japan and will surely be wanting their belts back? Where does Michael Magnuson stand after being noticably absent while his partners were being screwed out of the championships? We don’t know the answers to those questions yet, but the fans certainly saw a memorable night of action in Troy!
World League Wrestling and Harley Race Present Live Pro Wrestling
Wednesday – July 15, 2015 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm
World League Wrestling and Harley Race Present Live Pro Wrestling
Driving Directions to the Fairgrounds
The Lincoln County Fairgrounds is located on Fairgrounds Road, Troy, MO 63379.
From the St. Louis Area: Take Hwy 70 or Hwy 40/64 to Wentzville. Take Hwy 61 North at Wentville to Hwy 47 exit in Troy. Turn left onto Hwy 47 headed west. Follow Hwy 47 until you pass Clonts Field (Football) on your left. After the field you will turn right onto Fairgrounds Road. The grounds are approximately 1/4 mile on the right.
From west:Take Hwy 70 East to the Hwy 47 Exit in Warrenton. Take Hwy 47 North to Hawk Point. At the four way stop in Hawk Point turn right continuing on Hwy 47. Turn left on Hwy H, just west of Troy. Take a right on Fairground Road. The fairgrounds will be just past the church on your left. Or stay on Hwy 47 until Fairgrounds Road is on your left. Turn left and follow for approximately a 1/4 mile. The fairgrounds will be on your right.
One of the coolest moments of my career, Yogasaulting for Dragon Gate at Korakuen Hall! I love yoga and wrestling!!! – Mike Sydal
Mike Sydal has entertained fans around the world for the past few years and shows no signs of slowing down. He captured the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Rookie of the Year award in 2009 by paying his dues through his many hours of travels in cars to wrestle in front of small and big crowds alike throughout the United States. Sydal could of easily of lived off of that accomplishments of the PWI honor and being the brother of former WWE Superstar Evan Bourne, yet he has continued to strive to improve his skills to become the very best that he can be. Hours in the gym has given him the ability to wrestle at an exciting pace while he has sought out the best to combine the psychology and ring generalship from the likes of the Harley Race Wrestling camp that has featured WWE, NOAH as well camps with the hottest company in the United States, not named WWE, Ring of Honor.
Sydal first toured in Japan with Dragon Gate from September to December in 2013. So impressed with his work ethic and matches, the door was open for Sydal to have return to Dragon Gate this summer as the company is currently on their road to their biggest event of the year, Kobe World.
Sydal has been on tour with Dragon Gate wrestling against several of the most amazing wrestlers in the world today, while having the honor of wrestling in one of the truly historic wrestling grounds of all –time the famed Korakuen Hall.
Look for Sydal to be in action at Kobe World in a must see 6-man match before returning in August to thrill fans around in the States.
MWR was honored to catch up with the current World League Wrestling and Metro TV Champion recently at the WLW/Noah camp.
Though Murdoch has been an ornery son of a gun in Kansas City with the hottest young promotion in the KC area , while back home at his roots he has been more at ease taking on all challengers to his belt including Trent Stone, Brian Breaker and Jason Jones in recent months while being in good spirts with the fans.
Trevor Murdoch answers the challenge of former WLW Champion Steve Anthony at the WLW/Noah show (Photo Credit Bill Smith)
We took advantage of that situation and got this message from the former 3 time WWE World Tag Team Champion along with a special guest.
Midwest Wrestling fans Trevor Murdoch will be in action for Metro Pro Sports on November 6th for another fun filled TV Taping.
Why does Trevor Murdoch have former MWR’S Josh Ray on his knees holding the Metro TV Belt? Tune in to Metro Sports to find out why (Photo Credit Brian Kelley)
7:00pm – All Ages
Where Turner Rec Center
831 S 55th St
Kansas City, KS, United States 66106-1307
Catch them every Saturday night at 11pm on Metro Sports (find your channel below) with a replay on Wednesday at 11pm!
Time Warner Cable’s Metro Sports is a regional 24-hour sports network.
And Metro Sports is the ONLY place you can see Metro Pro Wrestling
Catch us on:
• TWCKC 30
• TWC Nebraska Coming Soon!
• Comcast 258
• Sunflower-Lawrence 37
• MS 2 on TWCKC 222
• MS HD on TWCKC 1030
• MS On Demand on TWCKC 130
World League Wrestling fans we have just got word that WLW will be returning back to action on November 19th, 2010. Look for more details coming soon from Missouri Wrestling Revival.
We are thrilled to have one of the top wrestlers in the world Eddie Edwards as the twentieth card in the MWR Trading Card Series. Edwards has wrestled around the world and can be seen in R0H on HDnet every Monday Nights.
Having been trained by not only the legendary Killer Kowalski, but the Pro Wrestling NOAH Dojo, Eddie has become a talent that is desired on wrestling shows all over the world since his 2002 debut. While he is most noted for his work in Ring Of Honor, Eddie is known to work for many companies in the New England area, as well as NOAH in Japan.
While he debuted in Ring Of Honor in 2006, Eddie probably gained most notoraity after forming the team of The American Wolves with Davey Richards in 2008. It wasn’t long after their formation that the two captured the Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles from rivals Kevin Steen and El Generico in April of 2009. The feud continued well into 2009, only to be put to a halt after an “Anything Goes” match with Kevin Steen in Boston, Massachusetts at “The Final Countdown Tour: Boston” on September 25th that resulted in a serious injury for Eddie.
The next night, with his elbow broken, Eddie went on to team with Davey to take on Steen and Generico in a ‘Ladder Wars’ match, retaining their championship. It wouldn’t be until December 19th of that year that Eddie not only made his return to wrestling, but that the Wolves lost their tag belts, being defeated by the Briscoe Brothers.
With feuds against men like Steen & Generico and The Briscoes, the Wolves championship run also led to numerous memorable tag title defenses including a 45 minute draw again Tyler Black and Bryan Danielson now known as “Tag title classic”. While he is widely known as a tag team wrestler, when he captured the first ever Ring Of Honor TV Title, in a tournament that lead him to face his own partner, Eddie was able to show doubters that while he worked good with a partner, he may be even better on his own.
Add Eddie Edwards Website to your favorites by clicking here. : http://e-edwards.net/
For a complete list of Missouri Wrestling Revival trading cards as well as WWE , TNA and Japan sets check out the website Wrestling trading cards.com here.
The great Bill Kersten was on hand with WLW in Richmond Mo earlier this year to give WLW announcer Dan Gier and the fans a treat to start the show with his famous saying. (Photo Credit Brian Kelley)
I try my best to keep up with all the wrestling news in the Midwest but even at times some great information passes by and we miss them. This is the case with this must see video from FOX4 from Kansas City spotlighting the great Bill Kersten.
As much as I grew up with the likes of Harley Race, Rufus R Jones, Bulldog Bob Brown there was always one man who was always the first voice I heard every Saturday night after Saturday Night Live and that was Bill Kerstin
I have had the pleasure of meeting Mr Kerstin several times at World League Wrestling though out the years and it has always been a pleasure and an honor.
This looks to have been recorded last July, 2009 prior to Kerstin being inducted into the International Wrestling Institute and Museum in Waterloo, Iowa.
As the saying goes better late than never and if you have seen it then I am sure it will still be worth another look at one of the Midwest most loved announcers in sports history.
KANSAS CITY, MO – Derrick Thomas isn’t the only metro area sports legend entering his sport’s Hall of Fame this summer.
Longtime metro professional wrestling announcer Bill Kersten, who announced All-Star Wrestling on local television from 1966 through 1985, is being honored this weekend at the International Wrestling Institute and Museum in Waterloo, Iowa.
FOX 4’s Dave Froehlich has the story of the legendary broadcaster and former Liberty mayor and Clay County commissioner who gained part of his fame broadcasting wrestling matches from our own WDAF studios in the 1960’s.
Wrestling fans in Kansas City you will have a chance to check out wrestling once again as Metro Pro Wrestling returns on September 4th with a who’s who of superstars in the sport in the Midwest today.
For more information please check out their website here so you don’t miss this historic evening of wrestling.
If you are a wrestler that wants to learn from the best then do not miss this years WLW/NOAH CAMP. For all the info click here.
Missouri Wrestling Revival 