Campers Pin WWE Star
Posted: Aug 4th 2009 By: CMBurnham
With three WWE wrestlers in their midst, the summer campers at the Yerwood Center made their favorite star known with cheers -- and in the end, a couple of tackles too.
Kelly Kelly, a buxom blonde with a winning smile, was rushed by a crowd of overeager young fans as she and two other performers participated Monday morning in a WWE-sponsored event to promote reading and education among about 200 city kids enrolled in the YES Summer Camp program.
Afterward, Kelly, whose real name is Barbara Blank, looked no worse for wear. Standing tall in patent black heels, she laughed and said, "How many people get trampled by 50 kids?"
Based in Stamford, the WWE broadcasts three television shows taped live at arenas across the country. In recent years, the company has broadened its reach to children and families. At Yerwood, wrestlers distributed copies of the latest issue of its comic book-style magazine for kids.
Kelly drew the most attention. The children shouted her name and virtually ignored her ring nemesis -- Beth Phoenix, a muscular blonde who stares down opponents with a menacing mascaraed sneer.
"The kids here didn't care for me too much," she said with a shrug, dressed in a tight black outfit that showed off her rippled arms. "I'm willing to take a bullet as long as they are going to listen."
Asked if it was hard to play a villain, she said wryly, "We can't all be good guys."
It was not clear which side Evan Bourne, the lone male wrestler, fell on. Dressed in jeans, he could have been incognito. Unlike Kelly and Phoenix, who had to wake up at 6:45 a.m. to have their makeup applied, Bourne sheepishly admitted he arose at 9 a.m.
But the nimble wrestler made it up by doing a back flip in front of the audience.
In exchange, he made the children agree to read a book each before the school year starts, he said.
After photos with Yerwood staff members and young fans, the stars were ushered out to the center's parking lot entrance where a black limousine awaited them. They were due to perform live at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville at 9 p.m. They would finish work at around 11 p.m.
The schedule is normal for the stars of the WWE, who are actors in episodic shows akin to soap operas. "There's no vacation," Phoenix said.
For some young fans, there was a budding sense wrestling might not be "real." Seeing the stars in the flesh gave them a chance to decide for themselves.
Jordan Davis, 10, said she liked Kelly the most because she had "seen her on TV more."
"The others are so much more different from what they are inside the ring," Jordan said. "But she was the same. I was already thinking she was a nice person."
Supplemental Information
Latest News
Kevin Nash and Roddy Piper: Their Heated Backstage Fight!
During the height of the Monday Night Wars, a rift was growing backstage in WCW, leading to a real-life dispute b... Read More
The Scoop
NEWS WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash weighed in on the warning sent to AEW by the Oklahoma State Athletic Commission. OSAC alleged that the company had viol... Read More
“Make yourself undeniable” – Bodyslam.net speaks with Walker Stewart of NJPW
In the realm of professional wrestling, I wear two hats – one as a wordsmith for Bodys... Read More
- AEW’s Ricky Starks recalls sneak-eating king cakes, washing cars for money ahead of champions’ homecoming show
- Mickie James on Her Next Chapter In Impact Wrestling & ‘Bound for Glory’
- Ric Flair Interview Recap
- AEW ‘Grand Slam’: Sammy Guevara on His Journey from Working at Taco Bell to Facing Chris Jericho
Upcoming Events
- ASP · May 4 11:30am · Noble
- BPW · May 4 3:00pm · Sapulpa
- WFC · May 4 7:00pm · Broken Arrow
- TexPro · May 4 7:00pm · Ardmore
- EDW · May 5 6:00pm · Tulsa
- NAW · May 10 6:30pm · Salina
- WAH · May 11 6:00pm · Tulsa
- UWO · May 11 6:00pm · Tuttle
- NAW · May 11 6:30pm · Watts (Chewey)
- MHCW · May 17 7:00pm · Seminole
- UWE · May 18 6:00pm · Tahlequah
- EPW · May 18 6:00pm · Midwest City
- WAH · May 25 6:00pm · Tulsa
- CPW · May 31 7:30pm · Sand Springs
- ASP · May 4 11:30am · Noble
- BPW · May 4 3:00pm · Sapulpa
- CPW · May 31 7:30pm · Sand Springs
- EDW · May 5 6:00pm · Tulsa
- EPW · May 18 6:00pm · Midwest City
- MHCW · May 17 7:00pm · Seminole
- NAW · May 10 6:30pm · Salina
- NAW · May 11 6:30pm · Watts (Chewey)
- TexPro · May 4 7:00pm · Ardmore
- UWE · May 18 6:00pm · Tahlequah
- UWO · May 11 6:00pm · Tuttle
- WAH · May 11 6:00pm · Tulsa
- WAH · May 25 6:00pm · Tulsa
- WFC · May 4 7:00pm · Broken Arrow
- Mick Foley, Leva Bates, Lex Luger, Milo Beasley, and Ron Simmons · May 24 2:00pm · Oklahoma City Convention Center · Oklahoma City
- Mick Foley, Leva Bates, Lex Luger, Milo Beasley, and Ron Simmons · May 25 10:00am · Oklahoma City Convention Center · Oklahoma City
- Mick Foley, Leva Bates, Lex Luger, Milo Beasley, and Ron Simmons · May 26 10:00am · Oklahoma City Convention Center · Oklahoma City
- Jimmy Hart and Matt Riddle · Aug 10 10:00am · Cox Business Convention Center · Tulsa
- Jimmy Hart and Matt Riddle · Aug 11 11:00am · Cox Business Convention Center · Tulsa
- Jake Hager and Jimmy Hart · Oct 5 10:00am · A. J. Horton Event Center · McAlester
- Jake Hager and Jimmy Hart · Oct 6 10:00am · A. J, Horton Event Center · McAlester
Most Active Members
- Striker
- Michael York
- The Mayne Event
- cphs_sweethearts
- Talon
Card Results
- UWO · Apr 29th 2024 · Guthrie
- UWE · Apr 27th 2024 · Tahlequah
- BPW · Apr 27th 2024 · Tulsa
- CPW · Apr 26th 2024 · Sand Springs
- UWO · Apr 26th 2024 · Guthrie
- UWO · Apr 22nd 2024 · Guthrie
- TIW · Apr 20th 2024 · Tulsa
- TexPro · Apr 20th 2024 · Ardmore
- EPW · Apr 20th 2024 · Oklahoma City
- UWE · Apr 20th 2024 · Tahlequah
- 3CW
- 3DW
- 412PE
- AACW
- ACW
- AdCW
- AEW
- AmWF
- ASP
- AWA
- AWE
- AWF
- AWFUL
- BB
- BBOW
- BCW
- BLOW
- BMLL
- BPPW
- BPW
- BSWF
- BTW
- BYEW
- CAPW
- CCW
- ComPro
- CPW
- CWE
- CWF
- CXW
- DEMW
- DI2IW
- ECW
- EDW
- EmpCW
- EMWF
- EPW
- FCW
- FIW
- FTE
- GPCW
- GWF
- GWF2016
- HPB
- ICW
- IMPACT
- IPW
- IWR
- IWW
- IZW
- JCW
- KCW
- LA
- LDU
- LLQ
- LLR
- MajCW
- MAW
- MCW
- MERC
- MMWF
- MPW
- MSPW
- MStW
- MSW
- MSWA
- MVSC
- MWA
- MWF
- MWW
- NAW
- NCW
- NCWO
- NEW
- NMS
- NWA
- NWA-FTA
- NWA-OK
- NWA-TXO
- NWA-U
- NWA-West
- NXT
- NXW
- OCCW
- OCW
- OECW
- OKX
- OPW
- OWA
- OWF
- OWP
- PWR
- PWTV
- PZWA
- RDW
- ROH
- SCW
- SCWF
- SECW
- SLPW
- SoCW
- SPW
- SRPW
- SWCW
- TAP
- TAZW
- TCBW
- TCW
- TexPro
- TIW
- TNA
- TOPW
- TPW
- TSW
- TxPW
- UCW
- USWA
- UWE
- UWF
- UWF06
- UWO
- W4CW
- WAH
- WCCW
- WCP
- WCR
- WCW
- WCW92
- WFA
- WFC
- WIA
- WLW
- WWE
- WWEmp
- WWF
- WWG
- WWW
- XMW