Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Live Report: Glow vs. Grit: Roller Derby & Wrestling!


Saturday the 25th of May the wife, myself, and all three of the kids loaded up in Vanna heading north to Bangor for some roller derby and wrestling action!  When I was a kid Saturday mornings with my dad consisted of watching a block of candlepin bowling, roller derby, WWF wrestling and monster trucks.  So I was pretty psyched when this even was announced.  Now my wife isn't a fan of wrestling but she is a big fan of the roller derby, but I was still very surprised when on Thursday she said let's take the whole gang!

No trip to Bangor for us would be complete if we didn't grab a bite to eat at Chick-fil-A, so we had dinner there before heading over to the Cross Insurance Arena.  Tonight would be the first roller derby bout for Canaan & Addison and for Wesley his first time going to the matches.

The kids were free to get in, as was I because I'm a first responder, finally being a 911 dispatcher for 18 years got me a perk!  We sat up high for the roller derby bout so we could see the whole floor and then the kids and I moved down closer for the wrestling portion.


Central Maine Roller Derby was hosting the event as their Northwoods Knockouts took on The Inferno of the Androscoggin Fallen Angels Roller Derby League.  Kate and I have seen both of these teams before against other teams so it's cool seeing the face off against each other.



The bout was very competitive and the score stayed close, so close that at the end of the first half it was 82 - 80 in favor of the Inferno.  At the beginning the Inferno jumped out to a lead getting the score up 16 - 0 before the Knockouts came back and took over control.  Later in the first half  The Inferno were able to catch up taking advantage of a couple power jams.


I didn't bring my good camera, I should have, so the derby pictures I took with my phone are okay at best.


The second half the Knockouts jumped ahead early and and The Inferno just couldn't make the comeback.  Both halves featured some very hard hitting action and some really rough bumps.  These girls definitely bring it on the track. There was about 150 people, which is a great turnout, but looks small in this building.


The final score was 167 - 139 for the Knockouts.  After the bout they have the closing ceremonies including announcing the MVP's.  Addison had an event poster and was able to get many of the girls to sign it.


The wrestling matches, presented by Limitless Wrestling, started shortly after the derby was over.  The majority of the fans moved in closer to the ring side area including the kids and I.  Wrestling is not Kate's thing so she stayed up in our original seats.  Jess was taking photo's ringside and took this great picture of the kids and I for me.


Aiden Aggro pinned Alec Price



Decent match, lots of talking between the two Aggro really showed his athleticism.  My daughter made a comment to Price about his purple trunks, I wish I could remember as it was hilarious.
 

Danger Kid pinned CJ Cruz


This was the best match of the night.  I was really impressed with CJ Cruz and surprised with his skills.  This was fast paced with action in and out of the ring and some really impressive sequences.  I really enjoyed it and would like to see Cruz more.


Triple Threat: Alexander Lee defeated DL Hurst & Frank Jaegar



Fun match, Hurst is a great heel, Jaeger worked his ass off and is improving everytime I see him.  Lee headbutted everything which I enjoy.



Kalvin Strange pinned "Masshole" Mike McCarthy

Strange called the audience trash, my oldest son told him that he was trash, so my four year old kept yelling at him that he was trash.  I found it hilarious.  McCarthy kept doing a spot where he would pick his nose and try to shove it in Strange's mouth.  He finally succeeded after Strange got the pin holding the ropes.


There was only four matches on the card which was prefect because the combination of the two events about just about three hours.  After the show was over the wrestlers came back out to sell gimmicks, Addison got some of them to sign her poster.  Wesley wanted to meet wrestlers and he did so by walking up to them and staring for a few seconds. 

It was a wicked fun night and I hope they do another Roller Derby and Wrestling event.  Sincerely if you haven't taken the time to check out some roller derby you are missing out and need to go and experience it.  Check them out:




Thanks for reading, please leave a comment, read my other posts, and like my blogs Facebook page and while you're at it check out my weekly podcast The Wrestling Insomniac on the Nerdy Legion Podcast Network. 

Until next time!

Saturday, May 25, 2019

How "Iron" Mike Sharpe Changed my Perception of Wrestling


Growing up I watched as much wrestling as I could find on my television.  I felt fortunate back then because I had all the WWF and WCW weekend shows.  Then one day on the local channel I found IWCCW: International World Class Championship Wrestling promoted by the Savlodi's.


I don't remember the exact date, which is odd for me but it was definitely early 1990's.  I was watching WWF Superstars of Wrestling and during the show "Iron" Mike Sharpe appeared and lost a match in short order to a bigger name.  I later learned the term jobber or enhancement talent, but as a kid the guys that lost week in and week out I referred to them as bums.  So to me "Iron" Mike Sharpe was a bum.

Channel surfing I found IWCCW and I was intrigued as to what this wrestling was.  It didn't have that polished looked of Superstars and the arena was small as was the crowd significantly.  I was greeted by the "Boston Bad Boy" Tony Rumble who was talking about the opening match and was putting over the next competitor like he was the baddest man walking.
 
"Boston Bad Boy" Tony Rumble
I was intrigued, I mean who was Rumble talking about!?! Everyone that I thought of was in the WWF or WCW so I couldn't even image.  And then Rumble held up his right arm bent at the elbow and slapped his forearm announcing "Iron" Mike Sharpe

What?  The bum from the WWF that just lost in a minute to Koko B. Ware?  I can beat up Koko B. Ware!  The camera cut from the control room to the arena and we see Sharpe walking to the ring and it's the same guy.

I thought, "Who is he going to lose to now?"  Then it happened, Sharpe hit and offensive move, and then another, and another.  His opponent, who I can't recall, couldn't get a move in to save his life.  About two minutes later Sharpe pinned him for the win.  I was shocked!

That's when it hit me there are bums for the bums!  I could be a bum to the bums! And that day started my dream of becoming a professional wrestler with my goal of being a jobber to the jobbers.  I kept my feet on the ground while reaching for those stars. 

IWCCW was my introduction to independent wrestling, my introduction to the fact that wrestling like baseball had the major and minor leagues.  I wouldn't consider that the way it is today because I prefer independent wrestling in the smaller intimate arena's that put you right there in the action.


But back then I just knew what I saw Mike Sharpe in the WWF he was losing and when I saw him in IWCCW he was going to win.  This lead me to thinking, what other bums in the WWF are actually better than I think they are? 

Thanks for reading, please leave a comment, read my other posts, and like my blogs Facebook page and while you're at it check out my weekly podcast The Wrestling Insomniac on the Nerdy Legion Podcast Network. 

Until next time!

Sunday, May 19, 2019

Kerry Von Erich's NWA Championship Defenses


On May 6, 1984 at the David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions Kerry Von Erich pinned "Nature Boy" Ric Flair in-front of 32,000 people at Texas Stadium to capture the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.


David had unexpectedly died just three months prior in Japan at only 25 years old.  Many believed that David would one day win the world championship and that Kerry was given then honor as tribute to David.


I was just 5 years old when Kerry won the title, but when I got older I watched this match and from what I understood after Von Erich won the championship he lost it back to flair a few days later.  Similar to Ronnie Garvin I never knew that Kerry defended the title, but he did.

From what I could find during his eighteen day reign he defended the title thirteen times in three different territories against six different opponents.

WCCW: World Class Championship Wrestling
CWF: Championship Wrestling from Florida
AJPW: All Japan Pro Wrestling


May 7, 1984 WCCW Fort Worth, Texas
defeated Terry Gordy

May 8, 1984 WCCW Muskogee, Oklahoma
defeated Terry Gordy

May 11, 1984 WCCW Sportatorium
defeated "Nature Boy" Ric Flair

I think this match is special because the Sportatorium in Dalls was the center on the Von Erich wrestling universe and for Kerry step into the ring as the NWA Champion.  You can find this match on the WWE network in the vault section on the May 26, 1984 episode of World Class Championship Wrestling.  

May 12, 1984 WCCW San Antonio, Texas
defeated "Nature Boy" Ric Flair

May 13, 1984 CWF Ocala, Florida
wrestled Mike Rotundo to a draw

May 13, 1984 CWF Orlando, Florida
defeated Billy Graham

May 14, 1984 CWF West Palm Beach, Florida
defeated Ron Bass by disqualification

May 14, 1984 CWF Fort Myers, Florida
defeated Billy Graham

May 16, 1984 CWF Miami, Florida
defeated Billy Graham by disqualification

May 18, 1984 CWF Lake City, Florida
defeated Billy Graham

May 19, 1984 CWF Tampa, Florida
defeated Ron Bass by disqualification


May 22, 1984 AJPW Tokyo, Japan
wrestled Jumbo Tsuruta in a 2 of 3 falls match to a draw at one fall each

You can find this match on you tube and it's a pretty high quality.  

May 14, 1984 AJPW Kanagawa, Japan
defeated by "Nature Boy" Ric Flair 2 falls to 1 to win the Championship

Thank you to Cage Match for the results and full credit to the photographers who took the photos.

Thanks for reading, please leave a comment, read my other posts, and like my blogs Facebook page and while you're at it check out my weekly podcast The Wrestling Insomniac on the Nerdy Legion Podcast Network. 

Until next time!