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.

SPW Defuniak Show Invaded by "Snakes, Dominated by "White Trash" and Charmed by Chris Knight - Just another Saturday Night in 'Rasslin

The young fellow to the left is none other than Chris Knight of Shoot Comics' and message board fame, holding down a position of importance during SPW's much anticipated return to Defuniak Springs, Florida at the Walton County Fairgrounds. Chris was seen before the show, in the ring, running the ropes and doing other stuff a student wrestler might do to prepare himself for a trip to the squared circle as a performer, but when it came time for him to enter the ring, his role changed surprisingly.

Chris knight became the in-ring, go-to guy for whipping up crowd enthusiasm, disbursing free T-Shirts and door prizes to a crowd more than 60% happy kids, along with parents and other fans. As a wrestling enthusiast, Kris is surpassed only by the Front Row Fanatics in their love of the game. He was very happy to be a part of the show and is looking forward to other tasks being assigned to him; all this is a part of a long journey yet to come in wrestling. Who knows where the road ahead lies.

Erick Turner, seen here photographing the action in the ring, seems oblivious to the snake in the young fan's hand next to him. Erick takes his photography job as seriously as he does his other job of heckling heel wrestlers.
With no "Kangaroo, or Barby Doll" to give grief to, Erick's attention fell to Caution, Tiger Lee's opponent, who earned the dubious chant of "Bumble Bee" which distracted him completely from his stated goal of obliterating the aforementioned Tiger.

Snakes at a wrestling show, or should I say, Snakes "Invade" a wrestling show, came in the form of reticulated wooden snakes offered on the gimmick table for a dollar. We're not quite sure just which wrestler the snakes represented, but surely, "Brain Damage" comes to mind.

BD held a belt for a little over 10 minutes before getting mudhole stomped to lose it. It's a record. Shortest title hold in SPW history.

White Trash, consisting of Junkyard Joe and John Boy, has been steadily gaining a reputation as being a "must see" tag team in our area. Billed as being "from a trailer park near you," The irreverant tag team has wrestled and pranked their way into the hearts of SPW fans despite being pickup truck driving, coon dog havin, possum hunting, moon pie eating wise cracking, water tower name writing genuine Alabama sons of the south heelmen.

I swear, for bad guys,they are more "over" than many babyfaces.

I'm not supposed to tell you that they spent the whole night eating corn dogs. But hey. Sometimes secrets are revealed, eh?

Wrestling and Then Wrestling; The FRF Obsessed With Wrestling

I am probably obsessed with wrestling.

I photograph wrestling shows with permission of the owners, though I am not nearly as good as Lil Bub or Spiderman. Half the time Erick gets at least one better shot than I do; he's probably obsessed with wrestling as well, but that's another story.

Others are a bit obsessed; the Front Row Fanatics cheer for Bobby Doll and at the same time seem to cheer against Turbo Ted. Gargoyle in particular has more fun than ought to be legal when he is at a wrestling show and look whst he has to choose from.

Culture Shock Wrestling; I greatly enjoy this show, but the venue is a bit small for my wheelchair. Not fair to others for me to be there even as a spectator. I have seen Gargoyle holler himself hoarse there.

Ultimate Wrestling Pensacola; the Hearses try so hard to accomodate me there and other wheelchair bound as well, but again, I am so big that it inevitably crowds someone. FRF are in their glory there. No match goes silent with these fans around.

Ultimate Wrestling Milton; I can easily move about in the SRCA, and the acoustics amplify the FRF to an extreme, with the crowd following.

Message Board fandom. At least one member of the FRF takes me to task periodically when I am not doing things his particular way, and that's OK. When wrestling comes around, he is into what's happening and not any sideshow created online by me or one or all of my many enemies.

The "Lady In Turquoise" as I know her to be gives Bobby Doll more heat then the hood of a black Texas Cadillac. That's fun to be a part of.

Then there is Erick. Not good to be a heel when he fixes on you.

I've been dogging Marcus Gibbes some, but thuth be told, his wrestling improves steadily. And Death Row; he can scare the chrome off an oldsmobile with one look.

I cheer for Turbo.

I cheer for Marcel.

I think Steve Armstrong is teriffic.

I wish a Florida booker would pick up Adrian Whisper, because his wrestling is a treat to watch. Fans will be brough to their feet, one way or another!

I feel bad that I will not be able to cheer for Steve from Chicago again because I will never go to anotherAWF Mobile show.

1) because I can't stand Nathan Crown as a wrestler or as a person and
2) because their floor gets (as of visits in the past) too much traffic with wrestlers brawling in the crowd. I don't feel safe, though Garrett and Nightmare were very professional when they did it, so I might have caught a few bad times.

Speaking of brawling.

Ultimate paid out the cost of a good pickup truck for stainless steel barriers to surround the ring area, and it is rumored that the wrestlers will not wrestle "off" them due to the danger of concussion or other harm.

Now THAT makes me feel safer and it lends a sense of boundary to the proceedings. I can watch Brutal Joe Gibson VS Death Row without having to DODGE Brutal Joe or Mr. Row.

I wonder what an ordinary wrestling fan is like. I only know obsessed fans like Chris Knight in Defuniak who wants badly to be a wrestler and has only managed to become a toon celebrity. Perhaps (whoever it was) was right and I owe him an apology for the "shoot comix" of him, but at the same time, he was laughing pretty hard the last time I talked to him on the phone.

Maybe I will make him a Chris Knight button - I will see him tomorrow and speak with him to see if I do indeed owe him an apology.

So what kind of p### poor wrestling fan am I if I can't take a video depicting all the things I dispise to hear people say about me. That I am obese; duh. That my body is breaking down prior to my iminent death sometime in the next ten years and it occasionally leaks inappropriately; sad but not preventable. That I sell stuff at a table...

Well, hasn't that been a sticking point for a number of years.

I am not "in" wrestling. I am "at" wrestling.

I pay cash for the food I eat and I pay in pixels for the admission graciously offered me by promoters.

I believe wrestlers should be paid whenever they perform.

I believe wheelchairs should get into a show free.

I believe promotions should give to chairty; the Red cross, the Salvation Army, the USO, somebody.

I believe fans should be safe in their chairs when at wrestling.

I believe that any wrestler with guts enough to sell pitctures should sell them all and go home with jingle.

I believe that the FRF is a prototype for a fun time at wrestling.

I am obsessed. No doubt.

Quoting the late Ricky Nelson, "if you can't please everyone, got to learn to please yourself"

18 minutes of Bobby Doll video footage that shines.

They are doing video right.

The "others..." Well, they're obsessed with me for some reason and most of them aren't even gay.

Must be a "fat thing."

Sports Entertainment Presents - Wrestling In Bayou La Batre

Professional is a word we hear a lot these days, usually connected with the word "wrestling." It has holds different connotations and evokes different images, depending on what city/area one happens to be in. In Mobile, Alabama, Professional Wrestling is back after a long absence, in the form of a collaborative effort between Marcel Pringle, cousin of Percy, and Bob "Hardcore" Holly of WWE fame, who also has roots in the Mobile community.

On Friday, Sept 18th, at the Bayou La Batre Civic Center, a good old fashioned showdown is in the works, a wrestling "Hullabaloo" pitting WWE Superstar "Hardcore" Holly against Luke Hawx. It's going to be a wall shaker!

Bullet Bob and Steve Armstrong carry on the family feud against Marcel Pringle, with Joe Gibson as his TTP (Tag Team Partner). Queen Milessa will be manager for the Pringle / Gibson team, so you know there's gonna be some shenannigans at ringside.

Mobile, Alabama's own Achy Breaky Kid will square off against The Giant Mountain Man in what is sure to be a battle of psychology against raw Hillbilly Power, as the 6'11" Mountain Man tends to smush everything he intends to.

Two more of my favorites, high flying, fast moving "Son of Old School" Cowboy Billy Wayne will be going against "Former Chololate Boy Wonder, Now you can call me MISTER" Marcus Gibbes.

Carlos De Angelo, a very dangerous foe will be in the ring against Scott Black. Expect surprises in that one because Carlos has moves that are the envy of Mayflower!

The $12 and $10 and $6admission is fair considering the talent - but also because this is a fund raiser for the Bayou Hurricanes Atheletic Program. Sports Entertainment is on the high road, working for charity especially since many Mobile area Wrestling productions ignore charity in favor of profit motivation, which is fine; but wouldn't it be cool to "give back" the way these guys are.

DJ's Lounge, Shotgun Willie's and Mobile Ink are sponsors for the event which will help sports in the area of storm tossed Bayou La Batre, Alabama.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention "Roll Tide" in behalf of Percy Pringle III, whom I soeculate might show up to lend a little moral support to his "cuz."

The kids would sure enjoy Undertaker's pal, thats for sure.

If you see one Mobile area wrestling show this weekend, make it the family friendly charity wrestling bash in Bayou La Batre, Alabama.

Roll, Tide, PPIII.

The bottom Line Is . . .

On September 17, (Previously read 16th in error-sometimes I don't know what day it is) 2009 at 3:00 PM, in the absence of a video apology, the AWF web site will change status from "suspended" to "deleted."

No further explanation will be offered.

I expect it to be done - or not be done, depending whether ego and false pride are more important to the AWF Promoter than the Internet part of his business.

Either way, at 3:00 AWF fans will either be able to log onto their premotion's web site or be forced to wait until AWF management can figure out how to make a new one.

The offending videos that are at the heart of this issue hurt many people and I am doing this for them, and for myself. Somebody has to say enough to crassness and stupidity.

I say enough.

Alabama Wrestling Federation - Gone, But Not Gone

Disassociating the Alabama Wrestling Federation from the "faction" of "Heatseekers, INC." is a little like trying to disassociate cows from milk. "Heatseekers, INC" is a faction within the AWF and as such, as they cut promos and such, represent the AWF each and every time they do so, like it or not.

It follows as a matter of simple fact, that "Heatseeker" Doink The Clown is portrayed within the context of indy pro wrestling by AWF owner/promoter Dwayne Henderson. You didn't know? You;d have to have lived in Alaska to be unaware of this tidbit of Gulf Coast Wrestling Trivia.

I am told, with whatever reliability comes with such discussions that "Heatseeker" Nathan Crown is the current AWF booker (the guy who arranges the matches and brings in assorted wrestlers).

I don't know who yahoo # 3 is, nor do I care. Point is, "Heatseekers" were responsible for shooting and posting a series of bad taste videos on YOUtube, then locally linking them on the AWF message board, for consumption by local area wrestling fans. So distasteful were these video depictions of aids infection, simulated homosexual acts and bad behavior on the part of "Heatseekers" that I took unilateral action in behalf of decent wrestling fans everywhere and removed the links to AWF message board and web site from my own web site, which serves as a clearing house of sorts to direct folks here or there in local wrestling.

Retaliation was inevitable and swift on "Heatseekers'" part. This morning they posted yet another video, this time a depiction of me, containing various humilliations and jabs aimed specifically at hurting me as much as they possibly could.

One would be quick to point the finger at Crown, with whom I spent the entire day in verbal disagreement with, but that would be an error. it was in fact, my friend of 9 years, Dwayne Henderson calling the shots, because nothing happens in or around the AWF without his hand on the wheel.

In any war, when shots are fired, only the grass wins.

So disgusted was I at this betrayal and at the behavior of this grown man I have called my friend for so long, that I suspended the Alabama Wrestling Federation web site from the Internet and claimed as damages for (as lawyers put it) pain and suffering, the Bamawrestling.com domain name which happens to be up for renewal this fall.

Basically, Bamawrestling.com is out of business until I restore it to its former state.

Late this afternoon, Promoter Henderson tendered an apology on the GCWO message board and offerrd to and subsequently did withdraw the toxic videos from his YOUtube. I believe the apology to be insincere, although the deletion of the offensive material was a step in the right direction.

We are currently at a stalemate. He believes he is right and that he has the right to punk, humiliate, broadcast lies or do exactly as he pleases, and I believe that his idiotic behavior and that of his associates in "Heatseekers" is childish, immature and abominable.

Stalemate, right?

Maybe not.

I have something he wants; it is something he believes he cannot do without. Therefore, the leverage belongs to me and this is how it shall be in order to attain it.

What I want is for Dwayne Henderson - not Doink the clown or Crown the punk or dolacky the nameless, but Dwayne himself to cut a video apologizing personally and by name to each and every individual that the specific videos in contention tastelessly slandered. The apology must be contrite and sincere and bear no reference to "I thought you had a sense of humor."

The video is to be posted on YOUtube, and subsequently placed on my message board and his to run simultaneosuly for 24 hours from the time of posting.

When I see this video and am satisfied with its contents, I will restore the AWF web site intact to the Internet. It has only been suspended and not deleted as of yet.

If satisfied, I will fulfil the other requests that have been made insofar as restoration, after which the AWF can use the remainder of their hosting time to either find a new host and registrar or make further arrangements with me to continue services.

Failure to comply with this request will result in a continuation of present circumstances.

If the Alabama Wrestling Federation is to be a productive and functioning part of the Greater Gulf Coast Wrestling community (and I mean the actual community, not my web site), bizarre behavior needs to be regulated with some common sense.

If the AWF promoter is as smart as even I claim he is, then he will do this and learn and profit from the experience.

I will never have my friend back. That ship has sailed. But if the resolution of this incident serves as a pathway by which AWF can become a reasonable, mature and more family friendly web citizen, then my task will be complete.

It's a simple proposal and an easy task.

Your turn now, AWF.

Alabama Wrestling Federation Removed From The Internet

I thought things were settled.

They don't seem to have been.

"Heatseelers INC." has posted another video, this time aimed at me.

I am offended, as I imagine that the others these assholes have aimed their videos at were offended.

In response, I have ended my ten year friendship with AWF promoters and terminated their web site, which I own and they lease.

Bamawrestling.com is now suspended and will be permanently deleted from the Internet for cause, being gross misconduct in violation of Gulf Coast Computing.com Terms of Service, which mandates reasonable behavior.

To me, The Alabama Wrestling Federation no longer exists.

The Light After The Dark Of The Storm

After a weekend of bitter name-calling and rancor on the part of rookie indy wrestler Nathan Crown and precision return fire by yours truely, the Gulf Coast Wrestling Message Board has settled down to a bubbling simmer. It would be easy enough to continue the fight, but why bother? His mind is not going to be changed about me, nor mine about him, so further interaction is pointless.

I continue to be banned from the AWF message board, which is actually a blessing, rather than an annoyance, because now I have to do extra work to log onto there by routing my IP through an open relay server in the Ukraine and back through Pittsburgh. It's hardly worth the effort just to read what an "inglorious basterd" I am, written by someone anonymous who would probably celebrate my death by drinking a 24 pack of Old Frothingslosh .

UPDATE: No Longer Banned. So relations with AWF are improving.

After one of these episodes I usually question myself as to why I am a part of wrestling. As has been pointed out no small number of times by vitriolic pro wrestling cultists, I have never taken a bump; not true in the strictest sense because I did in fact take a bump in the late Billy Campbell's ring in the late 90's and in front of witnesses. But since I have never wrestled in the ring before an audience, and according to current enemy #1, Nathan Crown, I can never be "one of the boys."

As I answered back to him, not that he was listening; I do not want to be "one of the boys." Their gig is the performing entertainment art of professional wrestling. Their chosen activity is to go out before an audience (one of which is me) and through training, skill and cooperation with their opponent, convincingly beat each other silly without actually doing so, while receiving cheers or boos (depending on role) and afterward, depending on the promotion, being compensated with pay. It is a young person's game and frankly, just a little too kinetic for me.

I suppose that many of us fans wonder with a little envy what it would be like to enter the squared circle as a hero in a snappy uniform and vanquish the trash talking villain while rescuing the fair maid who has been captured by the evil faction that is threatening to cut her hair or force her to wear white after Labor Day. I did. But now I don't.

So again, I ask myself, why am I a part of wrestling? It's not so much for the friendship, for while many wrestlers greet me pleasantly, for some reason I still have not figured out, there are many more who literally dispise me if one is to believe Crown or any of the most-of-a-dozen anonymous posters on my message board, the GAWF or AWF boards. On the other hand, these are message boards - what credibility is there to be found in that environ?

Somewhere along my 14 year journey through wrestling, I discovered the talent and tools to create wrestling advertisement posters. I am proud of that. According to AWF, it has been a lot more than "not long ago" that I made posters for them, and that's probably true. Time means little to me now so I have no true sense of it. But I did make AWF posters at one time and helped with other AWF shows in non-wrestling ways. Once, at a show in Mobile, I ponied up a hundred dollar bill to the Mobile fairgrounds to keep the show from being cancled. The show went on as scheduled.

Now I am not picking on the AWF. Far from it. The AWF has come through for me as well from time to time in the form of allowing me to set up my table, and also teaching me valuable lessons in miniature golf. It saddens me to be at odds with them right now over something like "those" videos.

I make and (or) display posters for most of the wrestling feds on the Gulf Coast scene and my feet are being held to the fire by individual and groups of wrestlers who claim that by offering my help, I am somehow "harming" wrestling. So in their minds, making posters for SPW and displaying posters for APW ruins wrestling and homophobic videos somehow make wrestling better.

As I have said, wrestling is a strange religion.

Why do I put up with it all? It comes back to that question.

I wish I knew.

More importantly to me at least, I wish I knew why the question keeps coming up.

Stupid is as Stupid Does

The controversey still lingers over AWF Mobile's Crown Princes of Immaturity and Ignorance, otherwise known as "Heatseekers Inc. ," kinda like the stink from an unvented bathroom after a bowel clensing dump. While most people are quick to point out that "some" of the videoes made by these sophomoric idiots were "funny," most draw the line the same place I did.

Now that they think they have me banned from their playpen, they feel free to dump feces on anybody that is not in their personal "clique."

Here is the most recent post from the "legend in his own mind," rookie wrestler Nathan Crown, as reprinted in its entirity from the AWF Mobile Message Board. This also stands as a pretty good example of why they were booted from Gulf Coast Wrestling Online.

The message:

"LOL...Heayseakers have done exactly what they set out to do, and thats stir up HEAT !"

More like "Hee HAW" seekers, who can neither spell, type nor keep a mature thought in their heads. How retarded do you have to be to not be able to spell your own name?

"... the only difference between us and the other boys that wrestle in our area,the ones that are actually worth a ####,is they all say the same things about CBW, and Angel and the others, we just went a little further and said on camera..."

Another difference is that those wrestlers are smart enough to keep their opinions AMONG themselves. The FANS DON"T CARE! It takes a special kind of moron to aggrandize himself at the expense of his peers. Nathan Crown in particular lives in a glass house. As a wrestler, he is not only nothing special, but is actually MUNDANE, a ho-hum, 'is that all there is" performer, uncommonly short in stature and with the inevitable napoleonic complex that accompanies 'little people.'

As for Doink The Clown, here's Dwayne Henderson, business man, husband and father, who wants you to bring your families to AWF; he's standing around in a clown suit insulting everyone and pretending like that disguises him while he boosts his own ego at the expense of others. None of this is about wrestling. It's about crude, immature people being crude and immature.

It's laughable, but in a pitiful sort of a way.

"... there are only 2 promotions in our area that are halfway worth a ####,and yall know who they are, it dont take a smart person to figure it out,just look at the posters for God sakes..."

Yep, that's "graphics master," Nathan Crown's opinion of what makes a good wrestling promotion. So maybe the midget needs to be reminded that it hasn't been so long ago that AWF was driving over to Pensacola from Mobile to get their own posters done by me, and perhaps it would be good to remind him also that all wrestlers and promotions begin humbly. Perhaps he could look up the word humble on the Internet, because he sure doesn't seem to know what it means right now.

I am guessing that this next bit is directed at me, although one wonders why they bothered to "ban" me if they are writing messages to me.

". . . as far as being removed from your board, its not like the draw goes up because our poster is on your board, the boys only attend the shows they work, no fan goes on it anyway..."

The close to 350,000 hits on my web site say that "somebody" must be logging on to Gulf Coast Wrestling.com and I doubt that all those people are "workers." Still, since it's no sweat off AWF's brow to be disassociated with our network, and that's fine. I don't claim that AWF is going to dry up and blow away if I kill their links. Far from it AWF Promoter Henderson is a competent promoter and will continue to fill seats in Mobile, no matter how many times he shoots himself in the foot and certainly long after he has squeezed the last drop out of Nathan Crown and kicked him to the curb as, historically, he has down with every "featured performer" with whom he has been associated.

Crown is going to end up being a "has been" before the wet dries from behind his ears. When it happens, remember I told you so. He is the one "lump of coal in the jeweled crown of wrestlers trained at Pringle's School, and I wouldn't be surprised if he is embarassing them every one with his childish antics and petulant "see me" tantrums.

". . . for the so called wanna-be wrestlers we offended, learn to work and not be openly gay ..."

One could offer the same advice to Crown. Being an orange fish in a blue pond just makes it easier for the sharks to see you.

". . .and for all the e-mails and calls ive gotten from the boys who have enjoyed the videos and feel the same way about the poor state that our indy scene is in, thanks. . ."

Part of the "poor state 'our' indy scene is in is due to to idiots like Crown, who, instead of practicing his craft of wrestling, practices the dubious art of being a turd. What a shame he does not know that midgets with ego are passe'. His 15 minutres of fame are here and he will be rememberd as a real-time asshole, rather than a practiced wrestler playing a role.

"... and for buttonhole ..."

That's Crown's gay pet name for me, isn't it pink?

" ... on who would book me, lol, oh i dont know, i recently recieved an e-mail from a promoter that does tv in Nashville and another in Georgia, give it(up) scooter,youll never be one of the boys..."

Nor do I ever WANT to be "one of the boys." I am a 62 year old man who happens to enjoy professional wrestling along with a couple of million other fans. Believe me when I say that wrestling loses its luster and its mistique after a few episodes like this where the inmates are taking over the assylum.

The "email claim" begs the question, if he's getting all these offers, what's he doing wrestling in Lucedale Mississippi, population 3 mules and a librarian, or in high school gyms in Mobile? The AWF never sent a wrestler to a higher promotion in all its years. Does Crown think he will be the first? One has to laugh at the ignorance.

The personal insult that followed is just beyond stupid. Crown wants to hit "below the belt, anmd that is where is focus seems to be these days, on the crotch. It just goes to show what passes for intelligence among "Heat Seekers Inc.

". . . youll just try and play with little boys, and your stank a## wouldnt be in the hospital so much if you werent so #### fat, people like you make hard working men and women sick, drawing a check every month for being fat, shoving weiners and onions in your mouth at every show and getting paid from the government for it. . ."

And of course Nathan Crown wrestles on weekends for $25 a show instead of serving our nation in the military as I did during the Vietnam era to EARN the pension I now live modestly on. Pukes like Crown make me sick with their "holier than thou attitude" and their "scared "####lessness" when it comes to facing the REAL challenges of life.

Want to impress somebody, Crown? Actually WRESTLE in Georgia or Tennessee. Not gonna happen because midgets with ego are just cannon fodder. The boy and I do mean boy, doesn't have enough talent to even be a jobber.

"you peddle your flea market toys and take money outta the boys pocket . . . "

This of course is the same tired old company line that I have been hearing from "selected" Pringleites since Percy got mad at Johnny Angel and put me in the middle. I don't take money "out of the boys' pockets." If "the boys" would spend a dollar and buy some T Shirts or print photographs on quality paper and offer them instead of dashing them off a computer and trying to charge $10 for a picture to somebody they just called white trash from the ring, then maybe they would be selling gimmicks instead of hot air.

Truth is, many do. And those that don't or can't get money enough ahead to buy 12 T shirts just sit around and whine about it and blame me.

Get a clue, ###hole. A $2 dollar rubber Yoyo does not keep a anyone away from a wrestler's gimmick table if he is smart enough to have something on that table someone wants. It's economics 101.

"... watch out big boy, i may end up at a show your at, and your table and scooter might get turned over, if i can get enough guys to help me turn it over while your fat a## is in it."

I am certain that whatever county I happen to be in when that happens will be more than happy to incarcerate him in their jail for assault. At that point, ; lets see how far "fake fighting" gets him. He'll be married all right, not to some stripper, but to some 6'5" bull queer who will be happy to introduce him to the concept of the word "bitch."

At least Adrian Whisper is an honorable man. He fought me to my face and moved on. Crown on the other hand is a punk and the above threat just confirms what people already know.

The rest of the message was personal to other people, and none of my affair, except for Crown's referral to me as a "piece of trash."

I think that divorcing a good Christian girl to marry a stripper, acting like an ###hole and generally being unsavory qualifies Crown as a "piece of trash" but since all that is just "unsubstantiated rumor" I guess I won't resort to name calling.

Truth be known; for an industry that relies solely on fans, I have never seen anyone try so hard to discourage someone from being a wrestling fan as Nathan Crown, Dwayne Henderson and "the boys" who are constantly whining anonymously on-line about me. They attribute an importance to me that does not exist, they insult and denegrate me at every turn, threaten me with physical violence (not that the midget could pull it off) and generally disrespect me as if I were somebody important to them.

Wrestling is a strange religion and I am just unable to figure some parts of it out. One thing is for certain. Nathan Crown has sold his soul to the devil for a glass of Kool-aid.

I wish him luck in his self-made hell.

Crazy In Alabama

Being banned from an independent wrestling web site message board is a lot like being banned from the municipal dump sitting with no fence beside a public road. Who couldn't bypass such a simplistic barrier?

For the most part, the main reason I click into the Alabama Wrestling Federation Message Board is to double check on show dates and make sure that I have an up-to-date poster on my front page. Recently, however, that indy fed has been trying out a new style of promo that basically denegrates wrestlers and other federations in the area. To say that some of those videos are juvenile at best and occasionally bordering on obscenity, would be to treat the work kindly.

The AWF has somewhere near 10 years of continuous operation under its belt, and is consistantly successful in drawing a fair crowd to its events. I can't for the life of me fathom what role simulated oral sex and provocative jabs at independent wrestlers working in other feds has to do with promoting wrestling or putting asses in the seats in a Mobile, Alabama High School gymnasium, but I'm just a "mark" so what do I know about the selling value of tasteless, sophomoric video pranks and 15 seconds of fame on YOUtube.

The content under discussion prompted me to remove the AWF Message Board link from the Gulf Coast Wrestling Online dot com web site. We try to be "family friendly" there and the "Heat Seekers Inc, videos are, as I said, utterly tasteless and downright offensive, truthfully.

So in apparent retalliation for having removed the AWF-MB link, my IP# has been banned from viewing the AWF message Board. This has happened before, and it is always a prelude to piles of posts, anonymous mean-spirited nastiness from some of the most foul spirits to ever take human form. In the old days, I would have put up a fight and gone head to toe with the bastards. These days, I just don't give a #####.

What I am going to do now is to wash my hands of the entire Alabama Wrestling Federation. On completion of this blog entry, I will be removing the AWF completely from my web site and be done with them.

I am physically and emotionally exhausted these days. I spend more time at the VA Medical Center than I do at wrestling and truth be known, I have a lot more fun writing short stories for web fiction sites, than dealing with a few infantile, narcissistic Mobillies whose idea of a wrestling promotional video is to accuse a fellow wrestler of having AIDS.

There are simply far more pressing problems in the world of wrestling that need attention, like who will post Jeff Hardy's bail in the alleged pending narcotics case in North Carolina and who would be dumb enough to book Nathan Crown with his present attitude of "Holier than Everybody."

Life is short. Too short to sweat the small stuff.

Lost In Alabama - Heat Seekers Inc Fan gets an answer to his post

It's Professional Wrestling, not "a night at the opera."

The disappearance of Alabama Wrestling Federation (AWF) buttons (links) from the front page of Gulf Coast Wrestling.com appears to have affected one (or possibly) two AWF fans with a case of "indignation" if comments on the official AWF Message Board is any indication.

A person calling themselves "Heat Seeker Fan" writes, (unedited) "i would like to start a petition to bring back the heat seakers to the gcw board they are the funnyest thang going today"

Truth be, Heat Seekers' promo material resides on the board right now and is not banned. Videos will be scrutinized for "content VS Terms of Service" on a post-by-post basis, just as all content is, but currently, no AWF material is banned from the GCW Message Board.

"... and i like the way nobody is getting mad besides the gcw board heat seakers are good for wrestling i agree some things were a little far but there was no nudity or anything that bad that should have gotten them kicked off."

"Kicked off" refers to the removal of the AWF Message Board link ftom the GCW front page in the "message Board Link" section. All message boards that are a part of the Gulf Coast Wrestling Network of Message Boards are scrutinized for content and when the content gets too risqué or detrimental to the health and good order of wrestling, based on my judgment, the link is severed. When the Message Board regains its compatibility with GCW Terms of Service, it is restored by request of its owner/promoter.

". . . if any thing the guys being talked about ought to be glad someone is even bringing them up because we all really know how these shows on the coast are but this makes them interesting i can go to a dspw show and see the angle that heat seakers are playing up so i like it."

What this fan likes or does not like is his affair entirely and no affair of my own. Liking Heat Seekers, as he does, he can see them in action at AWF's next show or enjoy their video antics on AWF's Message Board, or YOUtube.

What is my affair is making decisions pertinent to my own web site and that is what I have done.

"... long live heat seakers i hate to see them go under but gcw has it out for them because they said 'button men' "

Personally mentioning me on their video is inconsequential to me. A rib is a delicate thing to pull off and that rib on me was successful to a degree.

It's the "other" material I object to and I have spoken to the officials at AWF, outlining my objections to the current crop of videos and those powers that be know exactly where I stand. They are free to do or not do anything that they please, independently of my opinion. Folks who "cant get enough Heat Seekers" certainly know exactly how to scratch that itch.

Anybody who has been around Gulf Coast Wrestling for any length of time knows I have a low tolerance for promotion bashing, wrestler bashing and so-called "shoot interviews" on video. I believe they are destructive and bad for our area wrestling.

Some people believe that I personally am destructive and "bad for wrestling. It's all just ego and personality and posturing. I am weary of it, and yet I have a responsibility to keep my web site as close to family friendly as possible. What "family" would want to go to independent wrestling anywhere after watching one of this new crop of videos? None with kids, I'd wager.

We in wrestling should be trying to convince the public of our maturity and sense of responsibility. How does pretending or intimating that a wrestler has "AIDS" promote indy wrestling.

I believe that Heat Seekers has gone too far. They certainly probably disagree.

It's not that hard to be gentlemen about the issue.

Good luck to us with that.