As I See It: Thoughts On A Legend And The Holidays
Posted: Sep 19th 2016 By: Bob Magee
House of Hardcore returned to the 2300 (ECW) Arena on Saturday night.
Along with a blow-away match between Sami Callihan and Ricochet, Terry Funk has been scheduled to second Tommy Dreamer in his main event match against "Broken" Matt Hardy.
Terry worked the Icons of Pro Wrestling Convention earlier in the day, but came into the ring earlier on, introduced by Tommy Dreamer, who explained that Funk has had health issues (at the very least, he had hip surgery) and seems to have announced his retirement with "now I don't wanna leave this ring quite yet because I won't be getting back in again". Mind you, this is the same Terry Funk who has announced his retirement at least half a dozen times. But even walking into the 2300 Arena, he was shuffling in more slowly than usual. There was also a report that he was dizzy.
And...if nothing else... he IS 72 years old, folks.
Even Terry Funk isn't immortal....despite what most of the last 25 years would suggest otherwise. Far too many wrestling fans only know the legend who appeared at the ECW Arena, and whose presence (along with "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert) helped start the original Eastern Championship Wrestling in 1993. Most don't know of the long career in Championship Wrestling from Florida....his reigns as NWA Champion...his almost 20 years of tours in All Japan Pro Wrestling...his program with RIc Flair in the NWA...tours for IWA Japan and the King of the Death Match tournaments (see Mick Foley's books).
Take some time and check around on YouTube, Daily Motion, etc.
If this IS goodbye at the ECW Arena, I'm glad I was there Saturday.
With this being late September, and only days away from the official start of, the calendar turns toward Fall and the last months of 2017, and yes...the holidays. Your friendly not-so-local retail mega-store will soon be killing millions of trees to print advertisements to sell you and I all sorts of goodies (as soon as they get done killing them for Halloween). TV ads are already running on QVC, and Hallmark Channel is yet again plugging their Christmas movies. Pretty soon, people will maul each other to get the newest iThing... or even something for their kids.
In keeping with the actual spirit of the seasons... the season of light and the season of the Christchild, the wrestling community will reach out to those in need. Independent promotions hold a wide variety of events to benefit various food pantries, fundraisers for homeless or domestic violence shelters (the latter all too timely these days)...and Toys for Tots drives.
Over the years, promotions in my area ranging from the family-friendly United Wrestling Coalition to the hardcore themed Combat Zone Wrestling to indies of various sizes and types throughout the United States and Canada hold them. If you're a independent wrestling promotion, and you HAVEN'T thought of doing a charity-themed holiday show to give back to your community....time to start planning.
Four events scheduled so far:
* Ring Wars Carolina has a fundraiser for the Lumberton, NC food bank on November 5.
* The Delaware/South Jersey based East Coast Wrestling Alliance already has Toys for Tots V scheduled for December 4.
* United Wrestling Coalition presents its annual Toys for Tots show on December 10 in Wrightstown, NJ. In the nearly 20 years they have held these shows, UWC has collected well over 18,000 toys for the U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots campaign.
* Insane Wrestling Alliance presents Santa Slam II on December 17th at The American Legion Post 250 Middleburg , FL. The promotion seeks to surpass its total of 135 toys collected in 2015.
If you or your local promotion plans on such an event, please send an email to bobmagee1@hotmail.com and let me know about it.
Until next time...
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Spotlight in History
- 1979 Jim Garvin & Herb Calvert def. Oki Shikina & Sugar Bear Harris for the TSW United States Tag Team Titles
- 1980 Hector Guerrero & Ron Sexton def. Ron McFarlane & Doug Somers for the TSW Tag Team Titles
- 2002 Jeffrey Parker def. Li'l Joe for the ACW Hardcore Title
- 2004 Luc Lapointe def. Prophet for the SRPW Boys and Girls Club Title
- 2004 Dirty Harry Sanchez def. Beau Dalton for the SRPW Hardcore Title
- 2004 Beau Dalton def. Dirty Harry Sanchez for the SRPW Hardcore Title
- 2005 Justin Lee & Michael Faith became the TPW Tag Team Champions
- 2011 Michael York & Ignition became the ComPro Tag Team Champions
- 2011 Brandon Walker def. Steven Sterling for the ComPro Showtime Title
- 2011 X-Rated (Kevin James Sanchez & David Kyzer) became the SWCW Tag Team Champions
- 2016 Kareem Sadat def. Dean Lambert for the EmpCW Independent Hardcore Title
Week of Sun 11-01 to Sat: 11-07
- 11-01 1960 Tony Jiminez & Jesse Jiminez became the TSW Louisiana Tag Team Champions
- 11-01 1981 Ted DiBiase def. Paul Orndorff for the MSW North American Heavyweight Title
- 11-01 1982 Al Madril def. Frank Dusek for the WCCW Television Title
- 11-01 2008 El Hoto def. Martin Justice for the OECW Southwestern Title
- 11-01 2008 The New Age Syndicate (Scott Sanders & Shawn Matthews III) def. The New York Express (Jeff Knight & Thomas Knight) for the OECW Tag Team Titles
- 11-01 2013 Steven Sterling def. Bobby Starr for the ComPro Showtime Title
- 11-01 2014 Guy Atticus became the IZW Impact Division Champion
- 11-01 2014 Kevin James Sanchez def. Kareem Sadat for the SWCW Hardcore Title
- 11-01 2019 Brock Landers def. Tego for the ASP Inter-County Title
- 11-01 2020 Double D became the EPW Heavyweight Champion
- 11-01 2020 Drake Gallows became the EPW All-American Champion
- 11-01 2020 Revan became the EPW Internet Television Champion
- 11-01 2020 The Sidekicks (Kevin James Sanchez & Gemini [2nd]) became the EPW Tag Team Champions
- 11-01 2020 High Times (Father Padge & Dean Lambert) def. The Sidekicks (Kevin James Sanchez & Gemini [2nd]) for the EPW Tag Team Titles
- 11-01 2025 Iron Mountain (Duke Blanchard & Jack Davenport) def. The Trendsetters (Andre West & Nelly Rivers) for the WFC Tag Team Titles
- 11-02 1978 Ray Candy def. Ernie Ladd for the TSW Arkansas Title
- 11-02 2002 Terry Montana def. Shadow of Death for the OCW Oklahoma Hardcore Title
- 11-02 2003 Ty Magnus def. John O'Malley for the ACW Hardcore Title
- 11-02 2003 John O'Malley def. Ty Magnus for the ACW Hardcore Title
- 11-02 2003 X-Cal def. John O'Malley for the ACW Hardcore Title
- 11-02 2003 Outcast def. X-Cal for the ACW Hardcore Title
- 11-02 2013 Kevin Morgan def. Drake Gallows for the IZW Impact Division Title
- 11-02 2013 What Wrestling Should Be (Jermaine Johnson & Jordan Jacobs) def. Team Bull (The Bronze Bull & Bobby Starr) for the IZW Tag Team Titles
- 11-02 2013 Miss Diss Lexia def. Erica for the IZW Queens Title
- 11-02 2014 Les Mayne def. Rick Russo for the MSWA Mid-South Heavyweight Title
- 11-02 2019 Clint Poe became the EmpCW All American Champion
- 11-02 2019 War Party (Gorgeous Garcia & Nytronis A’Teo) def. The Saints of Pro Wrestling (Scott Sanders & Shawn Sanders) for the EmpCW Tag Team Titles
- 11-02 2019 Dexter Hardaway def. Double D for the EmpCW Heavyweight Title
- 11-02 2019 Karnage def. Naiomi Sanders for the BPW 365 Title
- 11-02 2019 Unicorn def. Karnage for the BPW 365 Title
- 11-02 2019 Karnage def. Unicorn for the BPW 365 Title
- 11-02 2019 C. M. Burnham def. Karnage for the BPW 365 Title
- 11-02 2019 Karnage def. C. M. Burnham for the BPW 365 Title
- 11-02 2019 Naomi Sanders def. Karnage for the BPW 365 Title
- 11-03 2001 The VIP Crew (Rocco Valentino & Vinnie Valentino) def. The Texas Outlaws (Beau Dalton & Butch Dalton) for the OPW Oklahoma Tag Team Titles
- 11-03 2001 Splash Jackson def. Big Daddy Moore for the OPW Oklahoma Hardcore Title
- 11-03 2012 The Old School Suckas (Randy Price & Bryan Cruize) def. Big Business (Damon Windsor & Kevin Morgan) for the IZW Tag Team Titles
- 11-03 2012 Erica def. Angel Blue for the IZW Queens Title
- 11-03 2018 Damon Windsor def. Randy Price for the WCR Revolutionary Title
- 11-04 1985 Rick Rude def. King Parsons for the WCCW American Heavyweight Title
- 11-04 1988 Kerry Von Erich def. Jerry Lawler for the WCCW World Title
- 11-04 2005 Beau Dalton & Bobby Dalton became the SRPW Tag Team Champions
- 11-05 1979 Jim Garvin & Herb Calvert def. Oki Shikina & Sugar Bear Harris for the TSW United States Tag Team Titles
- 11-05 1980 Hector Guerrero & Ron Sexton def. Ron McFarlane & Doug Somers for the TSW Tag Team Titles
- 11-05 2002 Jeffrey Parker def. Li'l Joe for the ACW Hardcore Title
- 11-05 2004 Luc Lapointe def. Prophet for the SRPW Boys and Girls Club Title
- 11-05 2004 Dirty Harry Sanchez def. Beau Dalton for the SRPW Hardcore Title
- 11-05 2004 Beau Dalton def. Dirty Harry Sanchez for the SRPW Hardcore Title
- 11-05 2005 Justin Lee & Michael Faith became the TPW Tag Team Champions
- 11-05 2011 Michael York & Ignition became the ComPro Tag Team Champions
- 11-05 2011 Brandon Walker def. Steven Sterling for the ComPro Showtime Title
- 11-05 2011 X-Rated (Kevin James Sanchez & David Kyzer) became the SWCW Tag Team Champions
- 11-05 2016 Kareem Sadat def. Dean Lambert for the EmpCW Independent Hardcore Title
- 11-06 1977 Dick Murdoch def. Jerry Oates for the TSW North American Title
- 11-06 1978 Jerry Stubbs became the TSW Mississippi Champion
- 11-06 1999 Joey Casanova became the OPW Oklahoma Light Heavyweight Champion
- 11-06 2010 Jermaine Johnson def. Aaron Neil for the IZW Heavyweight Title
- 11-06 2010 Awesome X (Kevin Morgan & Xavior) def. Aerial Assault (Ky-ote Joe & Eric Rose) for the IZW Tag Team Titles
- 11-06 2021 Koko became the WAH Living Hope Champion
- 11-06 2021 Tino Valentino became the NCWO Oklahoma Champion
- 11-06 2021 For God And Country (Pastor Brent & Cpl. Punishment) def. Most Wanted (Dan Webber, Reese, & T-Arsenal) for the WAH Tag Team Titles
- 11-06 2021 Danni Bee became the NCWO Women's Champion
- 11-06 2021 Samedi def. Tommy Dean for the CPW Heavyweight Title
- 11-06 2021 Ky-Ote became the NCWO Choctaw Nation Champion
- 11-06 2021 Tino Valentino became the NCWO Heavyweight Champion
- 11-06 2021 Akbar Farat def. Tino Valentino for the NCWO Heavyweight Title
- 11-06 2022 Jason Jones def. Dimitri Alexandrov for the WFC Prime Title
- 11-06 2022 Leo Fox became the ASP Mid-American Champion
- 11-06 2022 Olivier Vegos def. Skylar Slice for the ASP Women's Title
- 11-06 2022 High Ratings (Maui Mike & Beau Betten) def. Chosen Influence (Malik Mayfield & Luke Richmond) for the ASP Tag Team Titles
- 11-06 2022 Gatekeeper def. Mr. Nasty for the ASP 5-Star Title
- 11-06 2022 Tino Valentino became the ASP Heavyweight Champion
- 11-07 1984 Bill Dundee def. Adrian Street for the MSW Television Title
- 11-07 2008 The Gentlemen Thugs (Cast-Iron Cothern & Shane Morbid) def. The Old School Express (Jason Jones & Jake Boulder) for the MStW Southern Tag Team Titles
- 11-07 2009 Dustin Heritage def. Randy Price for the IZW Impact Division Title
- 11-07 2015 The Terror Squad (D Money & Montego Seeka & Marce Lewis, Nytronis A'Teo & MVP) became the IWR Tag Team Champions
- Jules Strongbow [2nd] Nov 5th Today!
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