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"Ladies and gentleman, THIS IS YOUR MAIN EVENT!!!!!!!" You know,
once upon a time, going to WWF events were a monthly occurrence for me. I grew
up in Los Angeles...very first live event I ever saw was the Los Angeles leg
of Wrestlemania 2 at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. From that moment on, I
would wind up going there every month to see events. Back then, if you got
there early enough and waited by the right door, you could jump in line (and
some days people would run frantically toward it), and buy tickets for the
next event...date and time unknown...that was until you bought the
ticket...but you did so anyway...because you knew it was WWF and you know it
was going to be a great show. The WWF would show up there monthly and
regularly...only time they took a break was when they had a card at the
Anaheim Convention Center (would become the Arrowhead Pond, then the Honda
Center), but you knew they would come back to the Sports Arena again. You
would be guaranteed to see the regulars there...you'd have 'Suit
Guy'....'Wrestling Tight Guy'...'Sign Guy (way before ECW and the WWE guy now,
there would be a guy who'd come to every show with a sign, and I was always
seeing what he'd bring next)...and you'd make friends...I made one (who now
goes by the name of Raven (not that one) and works for a porn company called
Kickass Pictures) and have known each other (on and off) for years after.
You'd watch TV and they would have event centers (segments tailored toward the
city in that particular market to promote local events...sometimes the
interview segments would be localized as well). Of course, back in this day
before monthly PPV's, a feud would start on TV and you'd have to go to the
live show to see the resolving of it...you would only see the buildup or the
little twists on TV only. Lee Marshall (for whom I've kinda
patterned my ring announcing) and later Billy Anderson before the main event
would announce when the next show would be and who was going to be on it. By
this time, I'd already have my ticket, but after the announcement, more people
would run to the box office and buy tickets. Oh the joy of days gone
by.
This would go on for years...that is until it became
normal...albeit sadly...to hear 'Returning here for the first time in a year
or three'. Flash forward to 4+ years ago....9 years after I moved here to the
Midwest and was catching WWE wrestling at the then Mark of the
Quad-cities...now the iWireless Center. When reading the PWInsider boards, I
saw a thread regarding Tyler Black and how due to his ROH match against Nigel
McGuinness...he was now a 'made man'. Take a ride with me once again in the
Way Back Machine...to a time at a place called the 'Brew and View'
theater...unfortunately, no longer around. I would go there to watch WWF PPVs
and while there one day, I saw a few guys promoting a match they would have
before another fed's show. The fed they were on was Revolution Championship
Wrestling...the fed they were promoting for themselves was Scott County
Wrestling...a local wrestling fed here where I live. It was due to going to
this show that I became aware of them as well as a fed at the time called NWA
No Limits Wrestling. A little history on Revolution and No Limits...
Revolution Championship Wrestling was an NWA affiliate
started by James Freeman. It was the home to stars like Ace Steel, Cru Jones,
Nate Webb, Danny Daniels, etc. It was also home to ODB and I remember fondly
the matches she had before she became the ODB everyone knows now. I knew then
she had it and look at where she it at today. It would eventually become a
comedy style federation where people went to just laugh, have a good time, and
watch some good wrestling. Unfortunately, they are no longer around but the
memories will last forever.
NWA No Limits Wrestling was started by Matt and Doug
Ritter. They were originally just No Limits Wrestling until they found Iowa
didn't have an NWA affiliate. Up to this time, they were using some
independent talent as well as some from the old RCW. When they found that Iowa
didn't have an affiliate, they sought it and was granted to them by the NWA.
Now this meant they could have others to choose from. Wrestlers like Shawn
Daivari, Petey Williams, Abyss, Samoa Joe, just to name a few would travel
through...while some like AJ Styles, CM Punk, (and I must mention I saw a
killer AJ Styles vs CM Punk match that would end when CM Punk hit the Pepsi
Plunge on AJ. The ring flor broke as a result fo it...just awesome) Jimmy
Jacobs and Danny Daniels (also just to name a few) would become mainstays. In
time, NLW would link up with Ian Rotten's IWA Mid-South Wrestling. With each
fed's rosters, they would remain business partners for well over a year or so
putting on cards in Muscatine, Iowa. Unfortunately, a card held at a National
Guard Armory would result in the partnership dissolving as damage was done
that was not accepted nor appreciated by the venue. NLW went on for some time
after that although having to downsize. They are currently on hiatus from
promoting shows.
Going to give you a history of the wrestling fed I
ring announce for from time to time. It is called Scott County Wrestling. Its'
origin goes back to a time when it was called Steve and Chuck's
Wrestling...the two original founders of it all. It was an effort put together
by guys like Steve and Daryl Hulsing, Ryan Tappendorf, Christopher Lauritzson,
et al. It was originally a bunch a guys who wanted to emulate the wrestlers
they saw and would have cards basically for friends and family...along the
lines of Omega. It would then be called Scott County Wrestling during a
radio spot done by Steven who thought of the name when asked about the fed,
and thus Scott County Wrestling in Name was born. Eventually they decided to
get some professional training...some would train and those would come back
and share what they learned with others in the fed. Around this time they
would decide to make an actual business out of it and hold cards for paying
non related customers. Over time, more wrestlers would be attracted
in...like Colt Cabana, Abyss, Jerry Lynn, Jimmy Jacobs, Zach Gowen, just to
name a few...usually obtained through a business relationship with NLW or
relationships built through the SCW guys and people they have wrestled with
and against elsewhere. Former WWE developmental talents like Keith Walker and
Robert Anthony have wrestled for us for some time now. (This is our
history...your indy fed's history may be different. :) )
Enter a man known as Gixx...he had a lot of potential
for greatness and the desire to go far. He started off in Scott County
Wrestling and would embark on a career that will bring him greatness and
attention. He trained hard under Danny Daniels and would eventually change his
name. He would win the SCW title on two different occassions (currently the
champion as of this writing) and would hold the SCW tag team championship as
well. I knew he had it back then and with maturity and growth grew into a
dominant force both with us, but All American Wrestling where he would be the
AAW champion, IWA Midsouth where he would be the lightweight champion, NWA
Midwest where he would hold the NWA Midwest tag team straps with Marek Brave
as part of a team known as 'The Brave and the Black' and now Ring Of Honor.
This man if you don't know by now is Colby Lopez also known as a member of one
of the newest factions in Ring of Honor in the Age of the Fall...this 'made
man' who was made before he was...is Tyler Black, a man with a very bright
future and championships within his grasp. This brings me to the gist of
what this article is about.
Not risking alienating anyone, there are names that
mean alot to me but may mean nothing to you. To you who may not have seen any
of these names may mean nothing....but the point is, these are guys
wrestling...honing their skills...and doing what it takes to get ahead. All in
the sake of not wrestling for the big boys like WWE or TNA but all in the sake
of making independent wrestling worth going to. If you ever hear of a
wrestling card in your area and you call yourself a fan, go support them, go
watch them. You never know when you might see someone before they are
'someone'. Look at wrestling today...guys like John Cena, like Triple H, like
Edge and Christian Cage, like AJ Styles, like the Hardy Boyz started out in
independent wrestling. Guys in some cases wrestling in front of their friends
and family. Never let an independent card pass you by and miss it. See the
future as it happens live at a venue near you. You just might make a friend or
two yourself. Wrapping this up...have a couple articles in the think
tank...random thoughts for one and a short tribute to a good friend.
