Christmas Blues or Why Am I A Wrestling Fan Anyhow?

Definition: Smark - (noun) a phrase coined by Internet wrestling fans to describe a fan who enjoys pro wrestling despite or because they know that it is staged, as well as generally knowing the "ins-and-outs" of the (or "a") company and knowing many things about the industry or wrestlers collected by sources and are posted online. "Smarks" are generally looked down on by wrestlers as well as other wrestling fans for supposed inability to suspend their disbelief. Smarks may also be criticized for believing they know more than they do in reality about the workings of the wrestling industry.

Wikipedia - list of popular wrestling terms

I guess that's me.

I certainly have knowledge of some of the inner workings of professional wrestling on our local level, as well as a speaking acquaintance with more than a few wrestlers who labor in the sparse vineyards that are the working promotions entertaining fans from Tallahassee to New Orleans. I know the difference between a lazy and an all-out performance by a wrestler simply by watching and I can pretty much tell who has been trained to several degrees of separation to a "real" wrestler, and who has been legitimately brought along using more traditional methods under the supervision of seasoned professionals at or above the rank of "Journeyman."

I used this knowledge to write a book - "The Absolute Beginner's guide To Gulf Coast Wrestling" and sold copies of it at local wrestling shows. Though less than stellar in its performance, the book sold out all copies except for the two that were ripped to pieces by disgruntled wrestlers, one of which was flung in my face.

"Smarks are looked down upon by wrestlers," says the Wiki. Most wrestlers who know me though, know I was simply trying to "put over" local area wrestling with that effort.

Professional wrestling seems to me to be the only performance art in the entertainment world where the artist may feel free to disrespect the patron (person who pays to see them perform) outside the context of the show. This year of 2009, I have seen more juvenile behavior from "professional" wrestlers than at any other time since I have been following the sport. It is as though select people have been trying to redefine "pro wrestler" to be a synonym for "immature, self centered egomaniac with delusions of grandeur."

I hope this effort to denigrate wrestling fails.

I remember Cameron Frost in XW-2000 years ago, coming out to the ring with the energy and enthusiasm of an atomic explosion. His work - the actual execution of a match against an opponent - was close to flawless, even then, some five or more years ago and now - as recently as last week, when he won the Ultimate Wrestling Heavyweight Championship, he seems to have grown impressively in skill, execution and presentation.

Mr. Frost is one on a long list of wrestlers whom I admire as not only professionals, but also as persons. Pretty much every one on that list knows who he or she is. Many of them do or have done things for charity that uplift the whole Gulf Coast area experience for those less fortunate. Others simply conduct themselves in a manner that bespeaks their style, their class, and their status as persons worthy of praise, respect or fandom.

Babyface or "good guy" wrestlers have it easy. All they have to do is look good, act friendly, kiss a few babies, hug a granny or three and stomp a mudhole all over the bad guy. Establishing a babyface identity is more difficult than simply being set against heels in matches. "Goodguydom" is a state of mind that requires being friends with everyone, like 'em or not. Pulling that off is not so easy to some, and a piece of cake to others.

Polynesian Prince, of All Pro Wrestling, comes off as a consummate babyface. He's personable. He's humble. He's from the islands. What's not to love? Truth is, in the short time I have known him, I have grown to respect him - for the talent he has shown so far and the awesome potential he has for the future. Should he ever turn heel, I will boo him louder than anyone. But he still will be a great guy, well worth a word of encouragement when no one is listening but him.

Smark's privilege - to be a fan of a wrestler for his ability to entertain, not just because his story calls for him to be popular.

I have preferences and prejudices where wrestling is concerned.

I intensely dislike "hardcore" matches. Bang a guy on the head once out of sheer heeldom, fine.

The "banger" is a heel and the "bangee" is a victim. I get it. Spend twenty minutes knocking down chairs in the audience, terrorizing little kids and their grannies while throwing trashcans at one another and you lose me. I see it as pointless, and an egregious violation of the trust we fans place in wrestlers "not to cross the line."

Seriously - pay ten bucks to see hooligans whack each other in the head with pie pans? That is so last decade.

Hardcore matches seem more like "Jim Jones kool-aide" than wrestling gospel to me and I find them boring and predictable. Other fans disagree vehemently with that opinion, which may or may not be a minority one. For me, though, if I know there's going to be hard core, I generally don't show up, where my counterparts might drive 50 miles to see one.

I know too many heels.

Death Row scares me to death in the ring. I totally believe he is homicidal when he is wrestling and I feel bad for anyone who enters the ring against him because they are just gonna die.

Bobby Doll and Uncle Jim cheat incessantly.

Brian Cage is an insufferable egomaniac.

Lord Humongous is big and bad.

Chris Tighe is . . . indefinable but a world class heel anyhow (as of the last time I saw him).

These entertainers are successful in their portrayal of "the bad guy."

Not one of them has ever given me grief on a message board or outside an arena.

Why am I a wrestling fan?

Good question.

Wrestling done right and wrestlers doing right entertain me. It is as entertaining to me as the sci-fi books I read or the movies I go to see. I expect a degree of excellence and I afford wrestlers a degree of celebrity in my eyes.

Someone told me recently that my being involved in pro wrestling (presumably as a fan because I do not wrestle) "makes me a target."

This seeming truism has been illustrated by behavior coming from the recently disenfranchised GAWF and its odd-duck spokesperson Steve Goins. And apparently unsatisfied with simple Christmas wishes, an incredibly lame display of assholeism coming from Brandon Blevins formerly known as Steve Cheetum, a ho-hum "retired" wrestler of limited imagination, bitter feelings toward wrestling and a house trailer vocabulary complete with 4th grade spelling.

What is sad is the shadow these and other "message board heels" cast on legitimate wrestlers and their legitimate on-line work.

I think it's getting close to time for real pro wrestlers in our area to start weeding out the fools. Bookers can do this by simply not booking wrestlers who don't have their act together - whether or not they work for free.

Promoters can instruct bookers that undesirable wrestlers be not booked.
Let's put "professional" and "wrestler" back together to form a proper noun that means something.

Who should decide who gets blackballed for poor behavior?
Wrestlers should.

Fans already do by avoiding shows featuring wrestlers they do not like.
Message board moderators make their own rules. Deleting messages that are sophomoric or stupid is just part of the job. Fans should avoid message boards they do not like and support boards that they do.

In my opinion, everyone should support the Gulf Coast Wrestling Reunion. Even if you're not allowed to attend (it's for workers and not fans).

Lastly, why am I a wrestling fan, considering what people put me through?

I'll have to get back to you on that one. I am still thinking it through.

The Grinch That Stole Wrestling

T'was the week before Christmas and throughout Gulf Coast Wrestling
It seemed like about everybody was fighting and hassling
Throughout all of Online there arose such a clamor
that promoters seemed ready to draw down on a rumor!

Petty fights over venues and personal name calling
spun wide across message boards scratching and clawing
Shoot posts from green wrestlers and videos tasteless
and wild accusations both useless and baseless

With different non wrestlers throwing gasoline on the pyre
It looked like pro wrestling would be consumed in fire.
Everyone it seems wants to get in some blows
and they tell me , "Yeah, there'll be peace when it snows.

It's the Grinch that stole wrestling rearing his ugly head
sowing hatred and discontent, wanting wrestling to be dead
and promoters are all buying into his ugly plan
being selfish and boorish again and again.

But there's hope - yes there's hope for our wrestling scene
if only folks would just stop being so mean
and looked to the season's unselfish clime
and just thought of families and fans for a time.

No sniping or snipping or smarmy revelations
no deep cutting words or angry proclamations
no lables or gossip or idle mud slinging
Kill the Grinch who stole wrestling and the hate he is bringing

And maybe, just maybe we all can agree
that our sport is entertainment for the whole family
So let prosperity for all promotions come forth
and lead to indy wrestling peace on the earth.

GAWF Rides Again or Another Video Slaps The Face

Not surprisingly, GAWF got its panties in a bunch over yesterday's comments about decertification.

Goins even posted yet another video about it.

So far, the GAWF booker has posted more videos about me than he has posted promos about GAWF. Nice to know I am so loved.

It's 9 in the morning here in Pensacola, and I pretty much didn't feel like dealing with another long, rambling video about how fat I am, or how I wheeze when I walk, or that I use a wheelchair to cover distances when I am away from the house. Physical imperfection seems to be an obsession where this wrestler is concerned, but hey, if all the perfect people in the world support GAWF, then their attendence will go up (by one or two or so).

Anyhow, I deleted Goins video without watching it. What do I care if this mope doesn't like me?

At least he reads my blog, and apparantly, my message board as well, it would seem.Hmm. Maybe he's MY fan.

Truthfully, I don't think Goins or Skipperman really understands the rules of this game.

You see, as a fan, I get to focus on any wrestler that attracts my attention. I can praise any babyface, the former Short Bandit, now known as Pitt Bull, for example; or Scarface Waylon Barley. I can boo any heel, make life miserible for Bobby Doll by photoshopping an image of him in his new gorgeous ring robe to suggest that he is now King of Vampires. I can complain that Brutal Joe Gibson is too brutal, or that Brian Cage is haughty. I can be so excited about The Invasion winning the Ultimate Tag Team Belts that I nearly blew a battery in my wheelchair.

That's what being a fan is all about. Responding to "the work" is a fan's job.

Wrestling companies routinely control their outgoing PR content. "Come to GAWF," a promo might read or say, "because the feud between Goins and so and so is heating up and there's going to be a hard beatdown this weekend in Hosford!"

As a fan, that's what I want to hear. "Wrestler A VS Wrestler B was a killer match right up until the time that Goins hit B with a chair shot in a cheap Pearl Harbor attack."

Wrestling; you know what I mean?

I have never claimed to be anything but a wrestling fan with a web site and an opinion. Not in all the years I have been associated with wrestling on the Gulf Coast. For some reason though, the GAWF seems obsessed with stating the obvious.

A clue, guys. I am a wrestling fan. Not a fan of GAWF's amateur hour videos, for sure, but a wrestling fan.

It happens also, that I am a fan with a web site. Go figure.

I display the latest posters from area promotions. I host a variety of message boards. I write a blog. I attend shows on the invitation of a given promoter and with permission (by the rules of the promotion) I set up a table that sells this and that. I am friends with virtually every promoter on this part of the coast and would do just about anything for a friend, including creating posters when needed or printing flyers or whatever my skills can provide that someone needs.

That's what fans and friends do.

I have said before, but it bears reiteration, I have been invited to GAWF on several occasions. It's just too bloody far! It's 176 miles, including some of the darkest, roughest back roads rural Panhandle Florida has to offer. I am 62 years old. Gimmie a break with the driving! Chipley or Dothan is just about my limit and even that's pretty dang far!

It wasn't personal that I turned down GAWF's invitation. And it sure as heck wasn't because, as Skipperman said in his video, " he wouldn't let me set up a table." It's simple economics. 1.5 tanks of gas @ 20 gallons per tank VS a night of wrestling in a remote place where I know very few of the wrestlers. Do the math. It doesn't compute for me in Pensaola.

Panama City, maybe . . .

And so it goes . . .

It's now 10:48 AM. Another voice has entered the conversation.

Baddlnbill- Bill Weaver asks a pertinent question on the GAWF message board. He says, "Does all these BS videos and posts add one more seat filled at a GAWF show?"

The short answer is, "Nope."

Bill's post is the most intelligent thing that has appeared on the GAWF message board since the original Goins video dropped the "F" bomb.

Mister Weaver continues, "Thats my question. Have I pissed anybody off? I have no clue. Dont really care."

He hasn't pissed anybody off. He shouldn't care. He is a wrestler with promos to cut and wrestlers to wrestle, belts to win. He is focused. I admire that.

He says, " I have been in and around this Business for over 15 years. I have promoted shows for over 5 years of that time. My job then and my job now is to put butts every 18 inches in the GAWF Hosford Arena."

See? Focus. I will drive to see him wrestle if he gets a little closer so I can afford the gas.

"Most everyone that comes to the GAWF arena has no clue who any of these people are."

Well, they know Goins but could care less about me. I'm not a wrestler. No need for 'em to do.

"I have a hard enough time getting them to know me and what story I am trying to sell. Lets get to the business of filling up the GAWF Arena."

The voice of common sense, Baddlnbill- Bill Weaver advocates wrestling and selling tickets and going forward with the business of wrestling. No BS - just straightforward cut the crap, guys.

I like the message. It doesn't say, Bob, you're an idiot, or Goins, you should not drop "F" bombs or do yellow promos, both of which are truisms. he simply says, enough of play time. Let's get back to business.

Great idea.

Bill wraps up by saying, "If i am missing something and someone can tell me how this BS is filling seats i want to know. The story i am trying to sell is the Brawl for it All, No DQ, No Countout, Falls count anywhere on the property. Thats what happens this "next show" at the GAWF Arena this Saturday Night December 12th. Baddln Bill Weaver vs Curt "The Hustler" Nichols"

You know, I am tempted to drive the 176 miles just to see this honest man take apart his opponent piece by piece.

Now that's wrestling.

The Departure of GAWF and The Changing Face of Professional Wrestling On The Gulf Coast

Fans looking for the GAWF (Great American Wrestling Federation) on Gulf Coast Wrestling Online will be disappointed to find the link gone. Depending on who you talk to, the reason ranges from vengance for some unspecified transgression, to megalomania on my part in which I want to "control wrestling on the Gulf Coast."

It's ridiculous, but absolutely somebody's opinion in the offices at GAWF.

The reason behind GAWF's decertification as a member of the Gulf Coast Wrestling Online family is much more mundane and far less melodramatic than that. Simply put, their message board had fallen of the edge. Message boards in general are only as family friendly as their moderators. Over the years, Skip Skipperman has alternated between keeping his message board clean and obscenity free and being a scratch pad for the lunatic fringe of wrestling to scribble pretty much anything they want to. In order to remain linked to GCWO, one's message board must be as close to family friendly as possible given that it's wrestling. Failure to do so is grounds for disconnection by agreement.

So along comes Goins.

Now Goins is the GAWF Booker. This means he is responsible for acquiring and utilizing talent (read as wrestlers) who come to Hosford to work. He is the go to guy to get "booked" or awarded a spot to wrestle. In other words, second to Skipperman, the promoter/owner, Goins is the voice of the promotion.

Goins decided to make a video putting down SPW (Southern Pro Wrestling) and SXW, both out of Dothan, Alabama. Well, that really didn't qualify as any of my business except for the "F" bomb in the video. Now "F" bombs in plain english, spoken by the #2 honcho of a "family friendly promotion on a "family friendly" message board is a breech of both protocol and, I might add, common sense.

So I waited to see when it would be removed and when it wasn't, I issued a warning.

I also commented, as I have been known to do, about the poor taste and unprofessional demeanor of both the video and Goins.

What I got in return were two more videos, each more tasteless than the previous one, along with a personal attack (video) aimed squarely at me, my disabilities and my credibility as having "never gone anywhere or done anything for wrestling."

People who know me know I have logged more than 40,000 miles and more than 2000 hours in behalf of Gulf Coast Independent wrestling in the last 14 years. What I know about public behavior of pro wrestlers comes from constant contact with the sport and its people.

In the same way you don't have to be a pilot to lobby for change in the airline industry, you don't have to have laced up boots to have a sense of what's right for wrestling.

It is my opinion that public hooliganism outside the form and structure of "work" is an abomination and should be chastised when it gets out of hand. The fact that any moron with a video camera can become a "YOUtube" promo producer simply cheapens the product. Adding the "F" word and its derivatives to "yellow promos" does not help. All it does is to confirm to the non-wrestling public that pro wrestling at the Indy level is shotgunned with punks, hooligans, and stupid people.

That said, the GAWF owes an apology to its fans and a removal of objectionable material from its message board. Only then will the promotion be reconsidered as a GCWO associate.

My guess is that Hell will freeze over before that happens, because Skipperman made a video of his own, denigrating me and several promotions in our area using lies and half-truth as his weapon of choice. As far as I am concerned, his bed is made.

Being as how Hosford, FL is two cornfields past the far end of the cornfield, 176 miles from my front door, I'm not feeling much loss, anyhow. Don't look for a GAWF expansion anytime soon either, because they have neither pot nor window.

Wrestlers looking to wrestle there, consider the distance from your base, amount you are being paid and the locker room climate. Then do what you think is best for you.

Fans, the same. Is GAWF worth driving a very dark road back into the toolies? You will know when you check it out whether the promotion is right for you.

We haven't seen much action out of ALL PRO since they vacated their Pensacola building a couple of weeks ago. But they are scheduled for a roaring comeback at the Brewton, Alabama National Guard Armory on Friday, Dec 11th.

I know what you're thinking - isn't that where Johnny Angel's DSPW works?

Yep.

Tiny's move is a part of a sea change around here, where pro wrestling promotions are concerned. Everybody is "on the move" so to speak; repeated attempts to broaden their fan base are thought to result from going "to a new town."

Well, APW's move to Brewton can hardly help but improve their bottom line, because they are not attached to a town right now at all.

DSPW's expansion into Castleberry, Alabama, which had in the past been served by SPW, has been good for the organization. DSPW hasn't abandoned Brewton. For now they will be sharing the Alabama National Guard Armory there, running on (we hope) different nights.

The former Terry Ryker, now Waylon Barley and associates, moved New Heights Wrestling from Florala, Alabama to Defuniak Springs, traditionally where Southern Pro offers monthly shows. NHW acquired the Boys and Girls Club of Defuniak Springs as their venue, located less than 3000 yards from SPW's Walton County Fairgrounds front door.

That set off a little tension, but strangely, more so between NHW and Culture Shock, out of Mossy Head, during a fund raiser being offered by the latter. Defuniak Springs is not so large a place, but nonetheless, the two promotions are battling it out, with SPW offering $1 tickets the weekend of DEC 12th, and NHW offering a talented lineup that is tantalizingly tempting.

That Milo is quite the whiz kid.

Meanwhile, DSPW has announced a Florala show on Jan 2nd, and is confident of at least 6 more, thus completing a triangle of promotions in, around and near Mossy Head, where CSW labors before a dedicated audience who will seldom accept anything less.

2010 will be interesting.

Rumors are flying that 3 different promotions are taking a hard look at Hosford and that area, to see if battling GAWF for supremacy in the plowed rows is economically feasible. My advice is don't bother. GAWF fans have stuck with Skipperman through thick and thin and changes of booker and misadventures in Georgia and Tallahassee. I doubt they would be intrigued with an unfamiliar show coming into town.

Rumors also have ICON wrestling coming to Pensacola at the Fairgrounds, an attempt to do battle against Ultimate's dominance of the port city scene. Tex Galento is rumored to be looking at "high value former WWE stars to supplement an all-star cast such as he has worked with before. If that means the return of CzR, then surely fans will get a workout.

Come to think of it, CzR VS Goins might be a benchmark match.

With Ultimate running two shows a month in key venues (Pensacola and Milton), nothing seems likely to unseat them. Truth is they have earned their fan following with solid personalities, good matches and an ongoing Grade A concession stand. I gain 3 pounds at every show.

Inhibitions have been set aside between promotions.

Yellow promos have tainted the waters and caused some fans (me for one) to question why the hobby of wrestling fandom is even viable anymore. Why bother taking to the road and driving 5o miles to see a show at all?

That kind of fan thinking will fragment the fragile grip that Indy wrestling in our area has on profitability. We could end up a dead zone very easily if promoters don't pay attention to not only their own image, but the image of Gulf Coast pro wrestling as a whole.

Denigrate one, denigrate all.

Let's all pull together for the health of the sport. There are tickets to be sold, and if somebody is selling them in a town YOU work, just work harder. You don't win a contest by being dumber than your opponent.

Don't be like GAWF and throw out the baby with the bath just for cheap heat and quick cyber bully laughs. The loss is yours and ours as well.

Yellow Promos

YOUtube has made video publishing so simple that a caveman can do it. Consequently, every idiot with a video camera and an adolescent sense of humor is out there publishing wrestling promos about how "great" his own promotion is while denegrating other wrestling promotions by saying "they suck" or some equally childish crudity.

I call these backyard videos "Yellow Promos" in honor of the yellow bellied cowards sho "shoot" them.

They are all pretty nearly identical. Some yahoo sits on a dimly lit set or perhaps in a car, while driving, and goes off on who or what he thinks is bad for wrestling. The audio is almost always crappy. Production value ranges somewhere between bad porn and muslim beer commercials and always - always the poor viewer has to slog through 6 to 8 minutes of stuttering to get to the point, which always is that there is no point.

Yellow promos make wrestling look stupid.

Yellow promos make wrestling promoters look stupid.

Yellow promos make wrestlers look stupid.

Yellow promos make fans feel stupid after they have wasted 8 minutes of their lives watching them.

Promotions who need to bash other promotions in order to aggrandize themselves are in every way undeserving of a single dollar from an honest wrestling fan.

Promoters should concentrate their energy on promoting the virtues of their own shows.

Promotions as a team should be prepared to outperform other promotions - overwhelm them with excellence, not lay down false promises of being "better than so and so" only to just be crappy.

Yellow promos hurt everyone and should be banned.

In Pensacola, We Knew Umaga As A Home Town Wrestler Made Good

The first time I ever met Eckmo Fatu was more than 10 years ago in Bobby Doll's back yard. The young Samoan and his cousin Matt had stopped by for a friendly chat with other professional wrestlers and student trainees from our area and a bit of a workout as well in one of the only real wrestlings around at the time set up and good to go.

Over the subsequent years prior to his sudden meteoric rise to WWE fame, Eckmo wrestled for many of my favorite promotions. He appeared frequently in the XW-2000 shows that rivaled PWA and wowed audiences up and down our coast with his atheleticism and dedication to entertaining fans everywhere he went.

There were times when he and I were in the same venue, he to wrestle, I set up at a table doing my thing. He always made it a point to stop by and offer me a handshake or a word of acknowledgement. Truth be told, it wasn't just me. Eckmo enjoyed fans - he enjoyed people and he was never afraid to show it, whether slapping the hand of a kid, hugging a lady or making an old man feel more important than he actually was.

That was Eckmo - first and foremost, he was a great guy.

Then came WWE and fame and fortune and worldwide recognition. No one I can think of deserved the world-wide spotlight than the two earnest hard working Samoan youngsters from Pensacola. How proud it made me that my friends made it to "the show." Matt and Eckie, Rosie and Jamal (right) - so light they could bump a 90 year old woman, yet so devastating they could cut a swath through the toughest tag teams on the planet.

Then, they went away.

Matt stayed in the WWE as "Super Hero In Training" for a while. I never liked that gimmick personally. I felt that it diminished the talent and heritage Matt brought to the ring. But Vince gets his way and doesn't ask me for permission.

Eckmo, meantime, dropped off the wrestling radar for a while, only to re-emerge as Umaga - this incredible Samoan fighting machine. He burst back onto the WWE scene like a bulldozer in an egg factory. His gimmick and the style and charisma that went with it was just incredible. He was simply invincible. His meteoric rise was enough to get me back to WWE TV for a while and I enjoyed every moment of it all.

But "up" is 50% of "down."

Eckmo was injured on several occasions. Pro wrestling is not pillow making. It is a rough and tumble world where the slightest mistake can hospitalize you and big errors can kill you. Pro wrestling hurts. Big hurts or small, it is still pain and you can only suck up so much of it.

Eckmo was released from WWE, "for violation of the wellness policy" we, the public were told in typical WWE mumblespeak. He had reached the end of his WWE "push" and went home to Houston, where he had chosen to live and raise his family.

There were other gigs. Japan, I am told, where he performed spectacularly. Other places I know not much about because it was his life - his career and there was so much of it that only his closer friends could keep up.

Most recently, Eckmo, as Umaga toured Australia with Hogan and Flair. Great company to keep as a young wrestler and he deserving of peerdom with them. He was successful in that as with everything else he did. He was a good man and an inspiration to others in his profession.

At age 36, Eckmo died today. Rushed to a Houston area hospital, he had been sitting, watching TV in his house when his wife found him not breathing, bleeding from the nose and unresponsive. Shortly after that, relatives were notified, life support was disconnected and just like that a great soul departed.

From Bay City Blues in Pensacola, to the WWIWC arena in Mobile, to The XW-2000 shows at the Pensacola Fairgrounds and beyond, Eckmo entertained thousands - then at the WWE and beyond, millions. He was a man who always knew what he wanted and always lived life on his terms.

Eckmo Fatu was my friend.

I miss him very much.

Goodbye Eddie. You inspired me.

What's in a Name - The Great Search For Gimmick Perfection

Nobody in professional wrestling is ever exactly who he seems. Terry Bolea, for example, is Hulk Hogan. The intimidating Booker T is really Booker Huffman and Rob Van Damme's actual moniker is Rob Szatkowski.

A name can be the difference between "cool" and "fool," a fact that is understood by most, if not many new wrestlers, but one that steadfastly eludes others.

Take All Pro Wrestling's new champion, The Polynesian Prince, (right) a man who burst onto the Gulf Coast Wrestling scene a few weeks ago with all the subtlety of an asteroid strike. His gimmick fits so perfectly that he seems almost to have been born with it. And why not. Not menacingly tall, Prince is, nonetheless imposing by means of general physical presentation. His distinctive Samoan Polynesian build suggests strength and quickness even in dormancy, which is not very often, because he is a constant blur of motion.

Prince's entrance gimmick is a simple combination of a colorful native wrap around garment and serious, handsome facial features that silently speak volumes as to how much danger his opponent is actually facing.

Among All Pro Wrestling audiences (the only place I have seen him work), Prince is wildly popular. Fans of all ages clamor for that passing handshake before he steps into the squared circle to deal a measure of fate to his opponent. It isn't hard to imagine a similar reception being handed to The Wild Samoans, Sika and Afa, back in the day.

The name chosen - Polynesian Prince, is direct, straightforward and tells the whole story to fans as it is spoken. What is offered in the introduction is who fans get when he bursts through the curtains, a young Samoan warrior capable of infinite damage, but humble enough to kiss a baby on the head on his way to do combat in the ring.

Hit or Miss, a gimmick name sticks, almost invariably, unless a wrestler is intuitive enough to change it by morphing his character to a new level.

Ultimate's "Chocolate Boy Wonder" Marcus Gibbs, successfully kicked "Chocolate Boy Wonder" to the curb, becoming "Mr. Marcus Gibbs" in a Sidney Potier-like move that made up in newfound dignity what he lost in name-recognition notoriety. Likewise, Jester McCain, became Carlos DeAngelo in a move that increased his overall recognition factor among fans. Both of these examples pale in comparison to the changeling "Vortex," who became "Nick Vortex," who became "Nick Virtue" and then "The former Sinner, Nick Virtue," one of the most controversial characters the coast has seen in recent years. Not since WWF's Brother Love and his catch-phrase, "I Luuuuve YOU." has anyone horrified fans quite as much or stirred them to outrage. All it took was a bible, a white shirt and a single word added to the gimmick name - "Virtue."

What should a new wrestler look for in a name for himself that not only defines his wrestling personality, but sets the tone for his future interaction with the audience? It's a tough question, one that plagues every rookie in training.

APW's Cowboy Ray is an example of how to get it right and wrong at the same time. Small and lean, school boyish in appearance but at the same time well muscled for his frame, Ray's choice of moniker is traditional and uncomplicated. "Cowboy" Ray, the character, though, is as uncowboy-like as could possibly be presented. His entrance music suggests traditional southern roots - but his ring gear consists of not the smallest hint of the word "cowboy" in his name. Neither hat nor duster, nor rope, chaps, boots or anything suggests that Ray-Ray is a cowboy. This is a lost opportunity, in my opinion.

As a cowboy heel, an appropriately black hat, and a black shirt with chaps would offer an authentic look as well as possibly a light touch of charcoal where beard would be if he were older. His attitude then would be enough to carry his heel persona forward to the crowd disdain needed for success. A baby face turn would then be no more of a problem than a change of hat color.

Costume tells a story started by a name. It fills in gaps left by careless naming or speaks volumes while the actor (wrestler) remains silent.

Black Scorpion doesn't need to say he is from parts unknown. He LOOKS LIKE a graduate of Parts Unknown High School. Just that alone puts him over.

"Brutal" Joe Gibson's recent image change from "dangerous" to "universally intimidating" is amazingly subliminal. Just a haircut, one might say - but no. It's so much more than that, but one can't quite bring it to the surface for scrutiny, such is the power of the wrestler's in-ring personality.

"Bobby Doll," (left) often heckled as "Barby Doll" has acquired a magnificent "Twilight" style vampire robe which suggests (though not yet a push) that fangs and a end-match ritual may be in Mr. Doll's future.

Gimmick - name and costume combined can spell success or failure for a new or even experienced wrestler. Doink The Clown, Cousin Cledus, Moondragon; all these names conjure images in a fan's mindset. The Tye Die Kid, Damian LeVay; same guy, two very different characters.

Rainbow Warrior, Short Bandit, Street Bandit, all are names that evoke an image whether or not one has seen the wrestler perform. Tiny Tiswell is exactly that, Eddie G. (right) and his costume match perfectly. De’Luscious certainly is as the name implies, as is PVT 1st Class Angel.

So newbies - choose your gimmick thoughtfully and then pursue it relentlessly. Remember, you are literally as good as fans perceive you to be. You’re there for them so be your very best.

A Clash of Giants - The Tale Of The Tape

Dirty South Pro Wrestling, out of Brewton, Alabama, has put together a match comparable to Godzilla VS Rodan.

6'11", 500 pound Lord Humongous VS 6'8" 380 pound "Mr. Hardcore" Jon Ryker, is one of those matchups that makes you wonder if the steel in the ring frame and the wood in the ring floor are going to be enough to keep everything from imploding or collapsing.

Mr. Hardcore, of course is one of the heavyweight icons of our indy wrestling area. His fighting skill and tolerance of pain are legendary among Culture Shock Wrestling fans who are legendarily intolerant of weakness, and among fans of other promotions that have seen him cut a swath through their rosters like a bulldozer through sugar cane.

Lord Humongous (right) is just BIG! Tall as an NBA basketball player and as body dense as two linebackers, he is the immovable object to Ryker's iresistable force. What he lacks in speed, he makes up for in sheer bone crunching power. In the photo, he is seen making short work of Marine Gunny Kage, sending him flying across the top rope as if he were a toy.

Then there is the "X" factor of which one of thse two incredibly powerful men is the more insane. Ryker, with his hard core background is certainly prone to attack with chairs, staple guns, flourescent tubes, trash cans, baking paraphenalia and loose bits of wood, is the more kinetically aggressive, whereas Lord Humongous is more personal in his aggression and will simply do everything he can to pound his opponent to a pulp.

Gotta feel sorry for the referee in this main event match. That poor skinny little dude is going to inevitably going to end up a zebra sandwich between two gigantisauric hunks of combatting fury.

This "Clash of the Titans" is going to take place on Nov 14th in Castleberry, right up the road a lick from Brewton, Al.

Also scheduled to appear that night, Rainbow Warrior, who will be loking for a victim to humiliate among the DSPW roster.

This show is a fund raiser for a cancer victim. Let's get out and show some support.

Dates Clash - Message Boards Clash - Fans Clash - That's 'Rasslin'

October 31st is Halloween; everyone knows that from the tiniest kid to the most grown up among us. October 31st is also the evening of multiple competing wrestling shows. All Pro Wrestling in Pensacola, Culture Shock Wrestling in Mossy Head and New Heights Wrestling in Defuniak Springs all have shows scheduled for that night. It's just another day in the life of indy pro wrestling, right? Not correct, if you answered "right."

You see, in Mossy Head, FL, at the community center there, CSW is having a special event. A special little boy is being honored with a fund raiser wrestling show, billed as "A Night For James," proceeds of which will go to defray some of the expenses involved with repairing or replacing a malfunctioning pacemaker in the chest of 6 year old James Rimmer.

CSW is pulling out all stops to make the event a party to remember, and indeed it will be. That little building in Mossy Head will undoubtedly have its roof raised by wrestling fans, friends of CSW and others from as far away as Pensacola and maybe even Mobile as well.

New Heights Wrestling is having a show on the same night, 12.3 miles away at the Boys and Girls Club in Defuniak Springs. It's a "free" show in that no admission is being charged. These facts alone have set off a firestorm of criticism leveled at the NHW team.

". . . I find it hard to belive these guys would run a free show on the very night that little James needs our help," commented GAWF's Skip Skipperman.

". . . if they go ahead and run this show and try to mess it up for james, we in the bussiness should take this as a slap in the face," wrote SPW's Ron Ivey.

". . . I think it is BS that someone is running a free show right down the road." posted an anonymous wrestling fan.

Negative opinion turned upbeat when Dwaine Henderson of the Alabama Wrestling Federation wrote that he would "donate a wrestling turnbuckle pad signed by The Greatest Intercontinental Champion Of All Time The Honky Tonk Man . . . to raffle off."

This was a generous offer considering how much Dwaine loves memorabillia.

There are two sides to every story. New Heights star BTY wrote, "I know for a fact that the city of DeFuniak Springs & the Boys and Girls Club came to the New Heights promoter and asked that a show be ran that night to give the children of the town a place to be on Halloween. The decision was made and it wasn't out of spite of a James running his show 15 minutes down the road."

Actually that is a much more plausible explanation than "heat" between CSW and NHW. Defuniak Springs is a small place. It is entirely consistant with what I know about small towns and Boys and Girls Club staffer, that such an arrangement be set up. Add this to the fact that (as I remember it) the NHW show was announced prior to young James' benefit being announced as such.

BTY says, "I will be wrestling on both shows as I am loyal to both and will work my tail off for both next Saturday night. I was more than happy to be a part of the little James' first fund raising show and my mood hasn't changed for this one."

That's pretty reflective of the attitude that wrestlers have concerning benefits for sick kids and entirely consistant with BTY whose good character is well formed and firmly in place.

It's easy to see how CSW fans would have their ire raised by a free show so close by, but truth be told, Halloween is a night for just about anything but wrestling, so already the fix is in that only dedicated wrestling fans will be motoring out into the country to CSW and mostly parents with costumed kids who are members or prospective members of Boys' and Girls Club of Defuniak Springs.

Here's an idea that addresses the problem more head on.

What if promotions in our area voluntarily collected funds for little James and delivered it to CSW the night of the benefit? What if NHW for example, took up a collection for that purpose and sent it over with BTY?

All Pro Wrestling is already on board with that idea. Promoter Wayne Sellers said, " We'll work something up this weekend. Good idea," when approached.

It is easy enough to turn a negative into a positive. Simply discard the negative and embrace the positive.

My own travel is limited now by quite a bit as my health gradually declines, so I will be in Pensacola on Oct 31st and not at either Mossy Head or Defuniak. But my thoughts go with each of the groups of wrestlers in CSW and NHW. May they stay safe during their respective shows.

Captain Lou Albano - July 29, 1933 – October 14, 2009 - En Memorium

Another wrestling legend passed away yesterday. It seems like they are leaving us in ever increasing numbers now, and it is sad. I speak now on the passing of legendary manager, Captain Lou Albano.

The first time I ever saw Captain Lou was on a snowy, not too stable 19 inch TV hooked to a bent antenna on the roof of the cabin I occupied in the North of New England, sometime around 1980 or so. I am a little fuzzy about the details because that cabin was so far back in the boondocks that the TV itself was pretty fuzzy.

What I do remember though was that Captain Lou managed The Wild Samoans, that outrageous Island Tag Team that won the World Championship way back in the (former) WWF's archival past.

According to Wickipedia, "Louis Vincent Albano was an American professional wrestler, manager and actor. With an over-the-top personality and a penchant for boisterous declarations, "Captain" Lou Albano was the epitome of the antagonistic manager that raised the ire of wrestlers and incited the anger of spectators. Throughout his 42-year career, Albano guided 15 different tag teams and four singles competitors to championship gold."

"A unique showman, with an elongated beard, rubber band facial piercings, and loud outfits, he was the forefather of the 1980s Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection. Collaborating with Cyndi Lauper, Albano helped usher in wrestling's crossover success with a mainstream audience. Capitalizing on his success, he later ventured into Hollywood with various television, film, and music projects."

That's the skinny, true enough, but a simple citing of the facts does poor justice to the man himself or how he touched people's lives. Captain Lou made it OK for people to be themselves. His outrageous look and behavior threw a bright spotlight on freedom of expression and individuality. That he could hold his own, even stand out among the likes of Bobby Heenan and Freddie Blassie spoke volumes about his personality and chutzpah.

One WWE Hall Of Famer, who lives here in Pensacola, Sika, The Wild Samoan, released a statement of condolance and respect honoring the passing of his long-time friend. It appears on the front page of Pensacola's All Pro Wrestling:

"I remember Captain Lou Albano as a beloved life long friend, a great wrestling professional and a beautiful, unselfish person. When my brother and I first came to Professional wrestling from Samoa, it was Captain Lou who showed us the kindness and respect that made us feel at home in America."

"Captain Lou was and always has been our brother and we will miss him as he travels onward from this earth to his new job as Manager to the stars."

I wish I had known Captain Lou personally. His dedication to charity and his lifelong commitment to individuality influenced me greatly. I am sad that he is gone.

That's What's Killing The Business

I see it a hundred times a month on my message board and others, "...that's what's killing the business," a lament from some nameless self proclaimed "guardian of wrestling." It has become such a cliche' that I mostly don't pay any attention at all whenever someone slides this whine into a thread about this or that promotion.

The reason I refer to this ubiquitous phrase as a "whine" is because it is used as a trollish weapon against every wrestler in our area who does not fit precisely into the "old boys club" fraternity of wrestling. It is exclusionary, prejudicial, elitist and downright snotty coming from anonymous sources as it most often does.

"Wrestlers for hire to work for promoters who organize wrestling shows" are a hierarchical group; of that there can be no doubt. As it is with any group of boys or men, there is a pecking order, complete with bullies, snobs, and quiet competent journeymen who labor unsung in the trenches, improving their act as they gain experience.

At the top of the wrestling food chain are the glamor guys, the "on TV and Touring The Country Seven Days A Week, Genuine Article WWE Superstars." This is the Holy Grail to in ring talent" It is what amnd where they dream to be, entering a ring in Madison Square Gardens on TV to an accompanying voice over by Jerry Lawler, admiring some particular characteristic that fans should recognize as appealing. Oh, to be Triple H, or Randy Orton, or even Eugene or Hornswaggle. WWE is an indy wrestler's wet dream.

Next are those who "were there." Buff Bagwell comes to mind. He lives a wrestling life that is a spotlight of envy. In demand every weekend, Buff travels from Atlanta to a hundred places a year or more, he skims the cream from indy shows and basks in the more intimate glow of indy audience worship. Having "made it" to the bigs, no matter how long or short one's time there, he occupies this second rung from the top of the ladder by grace of word of mouth and a delicate balance between affordability to the promoter and a living wage for himself.

The Legends; those who made it, kept the bubble from bursting long enough to be universally known and loved (or hated), aged out or their injuries became too much for the rigorous schedule of top dogdum, or fell into the trap of addiction and got dismissed. They too labor in the Indies as guest stars, selling the magical elixir of "the draw," a medicine show dance that sometimes succeeds and sometimes fails.

These top three rungs of the ladder are the elite positions. They are statistically unattainable to the indy guy appearing at local shows. To be John Cena, one has to literally be John Cena. Nothing less will do. To go to the Billion Dollar Circus requires one to beat one in 1 million odds. Like any show business opportunity, one literally has to catch a break against enormous competition.

Now lets move to the other end of the ladder, the bottom. In our area, which stretches from Tallahassee to New Orleans there are dozens (probably more) of promotions operating at least one show a month that employs on average per show, 30 local area in-ring talent each. These "workers," a term that disturbs some nay-sayers enormously, earn anywhere from no money at all to as much as $150 for a well known name among fans. There are ring-crew, concession persons, ticket sellers, security guys and a gaggle of others involved in production, so quite literally, everybody is in for a piece of the action, who ever nurtured or professed a "love of wrestling."

The promoter at our local area level is an entrepreneur and a risk taker. His brass ring is a payday for himself after "his boys' have been white enveloped (paid) and sent along home. He often has a large investment in an individual show; it may consist of the cost of a ring, the rental of a building, the printing and distribution of advertising, and or the cost of other advertising. He not only has no guarantee of that elusive "profit" he seeks, but faces the very real possibility of negative numbers if he has a poor showing.

The promoter's brand of wrestling "rocket science" is to juggle "The Draw" in such a way as to encourage a boatload of fans to show up. It is a balancing act worthy of the Flying Walendas and has the potential to end up in a 'wallendic" disaster if he miscalculates.

The Alabama Wrestling Federation, Mobile, relies heavily on a pool of expensive Legends of Wrestling for "Shock Draw," as in "OMG The Honkey Tonk Man? I saw him on TV when I was a kid!" Shock draw will put butts in seats reliably. Promoter Henderson then builds a program of the locally know wrestlers that make up the AWF ensemble and delivers that production to a Theodore (AL) high school. It is an elegant formula that has stood the test of many, many false starts and bad crowd nights when Club Casino saw 20 paid admissions to AWF bar wrestling. Henderson paid dues. Unquestioningly.

Ultimate Wrestling in Pensacola does just the opposite. No shock draw for this team. Ultimate relies on continuity for its bread and butter. Its roster reads like a "who's who" of interesting personalities from our defined local area. Truthfully, in my opinion, they have never showcased an unappealing wrestler. For example: Joe Gibson, Carlos DeAngelo, Aeon Flexx, Death Row, Bobby Doll; standouts, one and all. Others, such as Marcus Gibbs, occupy an entertaining niche that strengthens the ensemble as a whole.

These two promotions do more than one show a month in different venues. Each is profitable to its owner. Each has seen its share of downputters and smashmouthers. Each have been accused of "killing the business." Each has made spectacular errors in the learning curve to steady profitability, and each has recovered its balance to arrive at that coveted platform whereupon reside that most sought after creature in the wrestling universe, the dedicated fan.

How about DSPW, ICON, and ALLPRO? These are the "other" wrestling promotions that often find themselves on the tip of the spear of anonymous negative verbiage suggesting that they are "killing the business." And how about those kids just getting started in wrestling, the ones wrestling in jeans and Nikes, the 4 move wonders everybody with a keyboard swears are "killing the business? How about me, and the message boards of Gulf Coast Wrestling.com and my gimmick table full of "flea market junk" as my detractors so vociferously denounce as "killing the business."

Are we killing the business? Can we or anyone "kill the business?" Is "the business" so delicate that it can be killed? Or are the harbingers of doom and gloom themselves "killing the business?

Heady questions.

From the most wealthy (WWE), to the least wealthy (ICON), and all in between, the wrestling "business" is actually a component of "show" business or the entertainment industry as it is universally known. Entertainment is the name of the game. A musical metaphor for wrestling might be, "not everybody can be Garth Brooks," even though that kid in that Pensacola tavern belts out a helluva tune that he wrote himself and had the entire bar rocking, he only picked up a hundred bucks in pay and tips for three hours work and the dues paying goes on.

Not everybody can be Ric Flair, even though DJ Durst picks up twenty dollars in gas money for a show in Castleberry during which his wrestling was extraordinary and he made his very green opponent look like a seasoned veteran. It's an apples and oranges comparison, I know, but no single individual or group of individuals or even a hoard of individuals can "kill the business. Michael Jackson's trial didn't kill the music biz and Tiny Tiswell's homage to Rikishi can't kill wrestling.

So what can kill wrestling? Is it possible?

Apathy is wrestling's biggest enemy. When Smarks like me, super fans like Gargoyle, promoters like Hurst, Godwin, Ted Turner and Vince McMahon and ordinary TV fans stop seeing wrestling as fun, the cross will be erected and the nailing will begin.

How is it that the WWE can't fill the Pensacola Civic Center; that Ultimate seldom sees more than 200 at the American Legion Hall and Tiny is only averaging 75 paid tickets a week? Apathy and competition from other interests is one possible answer.

Has the Internet changed Wrestling for the worse? Undoubtedly. Chris Tighe defeated in Florala is instant news in Pensacola via the net. A heel must consistently heel from one venue to the next, lest some Internet message board take him to task over being too bad or good on a particular night.

Is the training network breaking down around our area? Not as I see it. Ultimate offers a school, and soon so will All Pro aided by Wild Samoan connections. Bob Holley in Mobile? Well, doesn't it seem reasonable, if not inevitable?

So "the business" is alive and well to those who know how to work it. Maybe 80 fans is a bad number or maybe it's a good one. Maybe a visit to All Pro convinces a fan that Ultimate is a better fit for his taste. Maybe ICON will add a third venue to Pensacola and further dilute a fan base that is wafer thin.

Maybe. . .

Maybe Bobby Wilson will bring back WFW.

Maybe. . .

Maybe what's killing the business are people who proclaim that someone is killing the business.

Some prophecies are self fulfilling.

And some are just bluster and nonsense.

Opinions, Rebuttals and Conversations - APW Under Discussion

On any Sunday, after a show, and because I have usually been "away" from the message board, I can expect to see that trolls have dropped by and left their graffiti for others to see. A "troll" for those Internet challenged persons, is a message poster who deliberately picks a fight by introducing inflammatory material about a person or promotion.

With the introduction of All Pro Wrestling to the Pensacola area came controversy all on its own accord. Wrestling 'purists" are annoyed, some Ultimate Wrestling fans didn't like the "quality" of the production and the unfinished edges of the construction in the building, and the board lit up like a cowboy with a pack of Marlboros.

First opportunity I had available, I visited the All Pro Show. I looked into the criticism leveled by "Mrs Internet," a mom and fan, and I found some of what she had to say to be credible. More on that in a moment.

Subsequent to the second show I attended, the one in which appeared The Road Dogg, Jesse James, DJ Pringle and The Manager, Eddie G., a message appeared on the main GCW board that I took as having been written by a troll.

I was wrong. She was a real person with a real opinion and here are her comments with my replies:

"I had the misfortune of going to there show over the weekend. I would not recommend it to anyone who wants to see a entertaining show."

Well, opinion is subjective, of course. I have difficulty understanding what the deficiency is though. Maybe it's just me.

"I used to go to all the shows but stopped a few years ago."

A "few" years ago could mean that she became accustomed to shows like Old School Wrestling or WXW, featuring standouts like Saxon, Northcutt, Whisper, Flexx; these guys could wrestle alligators in tutus and make it look like ballet.

"Since ive started going back to see wrestling shows I have seen 2. I went to DSPW and APW. Neither show was very good though DSPW was alot better than APW."

There is a whole perpetual list of reasons why any wrestling "purist" would make a statement like this. I won't go into it though. She obviously didn't like what she saw.

" Here is what was wrong with APW."

I will address them one by one.

"1. Building is 2 small"

Small, yes. "Too" small, No, I disagree completely. The APW building is larger than the space provided by our beloved PWA, and it is air conditioned as well. On a hot muggy night, the temperature was quite comfortable.

"Too small" to have people flying out of the ring, landing wherever, fighting on the floor. Yeah, maybe. But APW is larger than Mossy Head as well, and those guys recreate WWII every month.

2. 80 pound guys beating up 300 pound guys

One need only remember PWA's Kato Storm, but that may be an unfair comparison, since Kato's gimmick was a kind of Kung Fu.

This may be a reference to "suspension of disbelief" where the wrestler "Tiny" Tiswell is concerned. Yes, the guy is 4'10 or something like that. Yes, that is smallish. But he sure did get a lot of pop from the crowd for what he was doing, so maybe the critic in question has her sights set kinda high.

I have complained about the credibility of "Tiny" as a wrestler myself, but let's face it. Anybody attending APW is going to get "The Tiny Tiswell" show in the same way that AWF Mobile is the "Doink The Clown" show, and so on. There are principle roles for principle players. Don't like it? Attend an alternative show, or boo the good guys like the FRF does and sit back and enjoy yourself, as do they.

"3. Other than a few there guys dont look like wrestlers."

I had to laugh at this one. What does a wrestler look like. Buff Bagwell? Bob Holley? Ray Mysterio? Hornswaggle? William Regal? Greg Valentine? Roddy Piper? Mick Foley? George "The Animal" Steele? Squat, bald, Kurt Angle? The Road Dogg? The Stieners? Black Jack Mulligan? Don Fargo?

Or how about Carlos DeAngelo? Bobby Doll? Aeon Flexx? Jerry Reiner or Cruze? Maze? Joe Gibson? Marcus Gibbs? Johnny Rebel? BTY? Chris Tighe? Jon Ryker? Cameron Frost?

Which of these stereotypes wrestling?

Wrestling is as many body and personality types as there are wrestlers. You go with what you got.

True that DDG, 610 and Billy Wayne look like skinny teenagers. They are skinny teenagers. Prepare for it. It's a truth.

DJ Pringle is big and loud. Eddie G. is flashy and brash. Tiny Tiswell is diminutive and aggressive.

Fans come to wrestling to escape from the world and submerge in fantasy for a while. If you are expecting a ripped bulging body builder and CzR isn't on the card, mostly give it up (Gino Galento being an exception and Evergreen McQueen looking somewhat the part).

4. The guys that look like wrestlers are ripping off the WWE

So she doesn't like anybody. That's cool. But again, Indy wrestling gives fans what they believe fans want. So you end up with Ray Ray clones, and an stream of imitations of everything under the sun. If you want the WWE buy a ticket when they come to town. It's hard to take tis complaint seriously because the critic doesn't say what she wants, only what she hates.

"5. The owner is a rip off of Rikkishi"

The owner weighs 90 pounds. Rikishi tops 450. It's hard not to see the difference. But she is referring to the "stinkface" performed on Pringle and Eddie G., at the finale of the l;ast show. 99% of fans were delighted to see the "cheating arrogant evildoers" get just reward for more cheating. The Road Dogg whipped them into the ropes and Tiny "stinkfaced" them. Justice prevailed and I was laughing so hard I almost fell out of my chair because Pringle is such a consummate performer that he sold the whole deal like a Corvette to a Wall Street Newbie.

DJ was GREAT! and Eddie was too, for having played so well their roles.

"6.The lighting sucks."

I don't disagree. They are trying for ambiance and that low light interferes with my photography. But that's me and I am a whiner anyhow.

"7. The ring looks like its covered with a tight plastic bag."

That comment is just silly. The ring has a particular cover on it that dates back to PWA. It is the ring and cover PWA originally used. So WTH?

"8. I wont even talk about the Gothic guy.(It would be 2 easy)"

True again. Gothic wasn't exactly burning barns last show or the one before that. But the makeup looks good and the kids love him. 'nuff said.

"9. Who trained thes idiots."

Who trained this lady well enough to ask that question? See that's the trouble with us "Smarks." We know just enough to see discrepancy, but not enough to be credible in challenging it. I include me there.

"I could go on but I think you get the point."

Indeed I do. She went to APW and didn't like the show. That means she has two choices; she can give up wrestling fandom completely or try again with Ultimate, which she will IMHO find to be satisfactory.

"The last good show I went to was the P.W.A. Is there anything close to that anymore or have all the local companies turned into Backyard shows."

We all miss PWA who were there. But comments like this made me initially suspect a troll was doing the writing, since nobody talks like that except smart### unbooked wrestlers and smarmy disguised promoters looking to put themselves over at others' expense.

"These are all just my opionions. If you get offended than fix the product that you are trying to sell us. I for one want my money back."

Anyone looking for a refund from a $5 wrestling show needs a new hobby. This is my opinion. Likely she was just making a point that she was disappointed with the product, but I saw the same product as she did and what I saw was a wrestling troupe doing their damnedest to entertain 135 people who seemed bent on letting them do it.

"On the other hand you might better keep it. When you have fixed the problem I will return to watch your show APW."

Magnanimous, for sure. Methinks though that when she samples Ultimate and finds so many performers who come so much closer to her expectations, she will be content there, having found what she was looking for.

Considering that UW is a Monthly show in Pensacola with a monthly show in Milton as well. APW is weekly and is really going to have to scramble to stay fresh. It's really apples and oranges.

Let's do a little metaphor here. Suppose that UW and All Pro were theatrical companies each producing "The Music Man" All other things being equal, UW would be featuring seasoned performers in key roles, where All Pro would be spotlighting up and comers from PJC in the same roles. It's like that.

UW has momentum and has used it well. It has seasoned performers, a ensemble, carefully selected and culled, with dozens of competent wrestlers sent on their way for reasons well-founded but unknown.

It's going to be well oiled.

APW is in its 3rd week of production. Do the analysis. Of course there will be rough edges.

Meanwhile. Ms. Ericka Stevens (author of the review) has stated her preference, well and good. The empty seat will be filled by someone who wants to be there, while she seeks out her ideal. Who knows. Maybe what she needs is AWF Mobile, with it's liberal sprinkle of legends, or maybe hop on the bus to Pell City for the magnificent card there.

I imagine though that if she shows up a month from now, fiver in hand, she'll get a warm welcome and a better show because these guys are improving steadily.

I've been watching them do it.

Photos From All Pro 9/26 - Some by Erick and some by Bob

Gunny Kage USMC - OORAH!

Gunny Cage gives a Marine Corps Greeting to fans.

Gothic Warrior arrives for his match.

Creighton Hobbes - Master of Ceremonies (Ring Announcer).

This little guy won an "All Pro" button.

She won a black Scorpion Tee Shirt .

This guy heckled Black Scorpion and upset him a bit.

Supplex at All Pro Wrestling.

All Pro Wrestling Pensacola - Reaching for The Brass Ring

The Brass Ring of any Local Independent Professional Wrestling organization is a dedicated fan base willing to attend all shows, enjoy all wrestlers and embrace all storylines with enthusiasm and unquestioning loyalty. The Pensacola Wrestling Alliance achieved this around the turn of the century and so did Old School Wrestling, a couple of years ago in Milton. Culture Shock Wrestling out of Mossy Head, Florida and Ultimate Wrestling in Pensacola are riding that wave now, as is The Alabama Wrestling Federation in Mobile. It is this elite club that All Pro Wrestling aspires to join and truth be told, they just might do it.

All Pro is the brainchild of Wayne Sellers, aka "Tiny Tiswell," of Pensacola, who has dreamed and breathed pro wrestling for as long as I have known him. A long time associate of Wild Samoans Sika and Afa, Tiny has long aspired to run his own successful professional wrestling organization.

As recently as last summer, he took up residence on the green at the Hadji Temple in Pensacola and promoted several outdoor shows to a modest degree of acceptance by fans who enjoyed not only the variety of wrestlers, but the pastoral setting as well.

Tiny went on to ramrod Dirty South Professional Wrestling out of Brewton, Alabama but despite bringing energy and dedication to the job parted company with that organization. It was thought at that time by wrestling watchers and skeptics, myself among them that this was the end of Tiny Tiswell. Turns out that the obituary was premature.

I know of at least eight people who are or have been actively scouting the Pensacola area for a permanent venue site in which to hold regular shows. UW, of course already has one, the Legion Hall on Barancus Ave, DSPW used the Knights of Columbus Hall on Palafox for a while, but could not sustain a fair but expensive rent. No one else, since the PWA and XW-2000's Bay City Blues night club have been able to pull off what Tiny Tiswell has done; he has established a fixed business address for a wrestling promotion and initialized weekly shows.

On Pensacola's Mobile Highway, in a small shopping mall and next to Rivera Fitness Center is an empty store front that once housed the controversial "Spinners" slot machine establishment, All Pro Wrestling now has set up shop there. The interior is dominated by the massive 18x18 foot ring that once belonged to PWA's Bobby Doll. According to several wrestlers "it's a good bumping ring."

Steel chairs for fans line three rows deep on 3 walls, a close but safe distance from ring's edge, a situation that Tiny assures fans is not dangerous because wrestlers are strictly ordered to "Keep it in the ring," meaning that "floor falls" are to be kept to a minimum. That edict doesn't always hold when a wrestler, in the heat of combat, sends his opponent flying over the ropes and crashing to the floor, as did DJ Pringle, on Sept 26th. DJ, possessed of excellent wrestling skills, protected himself and the audience with a short fall that inadvertently gave him a lump on the head. Sorry about that.

Much credit goes to the layout designer. With a full crowd such as there was on 9/26, I can maneuver my oversized wheelchair down the aisle past the snack bar and into a disability friendly rest room through an epicly oversized door that passes me though easily. Bar none, this is the most wheelchair friendly restroom on the panhandle. This is not to say that APW's new building is not tight. It is that and then some. But my particular wheelchair is the test by which others are compared.

The snack bar, the locker room / entrance are built-in and permanent. Above the ring is a ring-sized hollow space containing lights and is lined in a silvery wall board of some kind that bounces photo flash around and (at least with my camera) lights up the ring's occupants quite well. Perhaps to create a mood of mystery, strategic fluorescent wells are tinted blue so that when the lights are down during a show, people can still see if they wish to move around (most stay seated).

The place is intimate to say the least. Being right up on top of the action means that the action itself is under much closer fan scrutiny than it would be in larger quarters. That means a slap to the chest sounds like a gun shot and the audience can feel the wrestler's pain; but it also means that if a wrestler throws a drop kick and misses by a foot while the opponent still sells, the audience is acutely aware of the faux pas. Because of this, talent has to "work tight."

Tiny has chosen a weekly schedule to pursue. Every Saturday Night, All Pro Wrestling opens its doors to the public to attend their weekly show. This places a burden on talent and booking personnel to stay fresh and original. Heavyweight Champion, Gothic Warrior will face the difficult job of being the man on the top of the mountain that every hungry wrestler will be trying to topple. This will require strategy, tenacity and a certain amount of willingness to cheat to stay alive as the holder of the belt.

DJ Pringle will be a determined challenger and is no stranger to underhanded trickery. This rough and tumble youngest member of the "Pringle Dynasty" learned from the best when it comes to strategy and tactics. Uncle Marcel and Pops, Percy have a bag of tricks a magician would envy.

Gunny Kage, USMC (right) shouldn't be counted out either. In Tiny's wrestling world, size does not matter as much as heart. On 9/16, Gunny took on Evergreen McQueen, a giant of a wrestler from Alabama, and cleaned his clock. Tenacity can win over size and this diminutive Marine has the right stuff - ooRAH!

Drop Dead Gorgeous and Cowboy Johnny Wayne (left) had one of the better matches of the night. It was a back and forth slam-fest that saw both youthful wrestlers get a little beat up around the edges

The 610 Kid employs speed; rattlesnake like abilities to strike and dodge. That ability was snuffed by the cheating ways and ringside weapon wielding of Manager Eddie G., who shamelessly disgraced DJ Pringle by beating his opponent senseless outside the ring while Referee Adam was distracted. The same Eddie G. then assaulted the referee with knockout powder, a dastardly deed for which he was not reprimanded. It seems as though there are already factions of rule breakers forming in the once sportsmanlike APW. What looks (right) like humanitarian assistance on the part of Eddie G, is actually him rolling 610 over after a brutal assault, in preparation for setting him back in the ring.

It looks like All Pro Wrestling is on its way. The promotion experienced its first "near capacity" crowd on 9/26; almost every chair had a fan in it. Conspicuously supporting indy wrestling, a group from Ultimate bought tickets and engaged in good-natured banter throughout the show.

Before the event began, Tiny Tiswell distributed candy to adults and kids alike, with Ultimate's Turbo Ted getting several pieces for himself as well as seeing to it that back row kids got a helping. Seeing Turbo just enjoying a show from the audience was interesting, as was observing Bobby Doll, Amish Assassian and Brutal Joe Gibson, sitting in the fan chairs and enjoying the action.

Periodically, during intermissions, Tiny gave away door prizes, one of which was a $100 tattoo from Kaos, and another was an exotic oriental vase provided by yours truly. T-shirts courtsey of Black Scorpion, flew through the air. Erick wore his Black Scorpion shirt to the show and displayed it proudly, so the wrestler is over, really over with the #1 fan at my house.

The snack bar was a treat. Hot dogs not only had chili and cheese available but also red onions; delicious to say the least. I had two and popcorn and also one of the coldest Diet Cokes I've drunk this summer. The "Hot Dog Combo" for $2 is a best buy since you get a dog a drink AND chips for what looks to be the cost of the former two alone.

With appearances scheduled ahead for The Road Dogg, Jesse James, and The Armstrong Family Reunion, plenty of seats available and great hot dogs, APW is well underway in its quest for the brass ring. How soon they achieve it will be a topic of much conversation in the future.

Now if they would just change their show day to 3:00 Sunday Afternoon, I would be able to go every single week. Well, here's hoping.

Johnny Rebel - A Confederate Hero for Modern Wrestling Fans

Jon Sloan, aka Johnny Rebel has been steadily rising as a star in the Gulf Coast Wrestling area. In demand as a fan favorite, Jon has wrestled most recently in Brewton at DSPW, and Milton, at Ultimate Wrestling.

Equally popular among older and younger fans due in measure to his outgoing personality and no-nonsense "git-'r-done" ring philosophy, he is a cinch to be mobbed by autograph seekers anytime he ventures away from the locker room and out among the legions of admirers who very much enjoy his work.

Look for Jon at a promotion near you, or if you get a chance, drive to a promotion where he is appearing. Johnny Rebel is one Confederate hero for modern wrestling fans.

I really enjoy the wrestling antics of The Lord Humongous. He has been around our Gulf Coast area for some time now and was, in fact one of the first local wrestlers to call my attention to the fact that wrestling wasn't (and isn't) just WWE and TV.

Lord Humongous is just that. He weighs the same 500 off pounds that I do, but carries it on a very tall 6' 10" frame, rounding off the package with considerable ability to overpower other wrestlers he might be pitted against.

When this true giant of Gulf Coast wrestles, the ring trembles and then explodes under his feet. Despite his formidible demeanor, he is popular with the kids, many of whom are a little fuzzy about the line between babyface and heel.

Currently wrestling in DSPW, Look for Lord Humongus on a card near you.