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Memories Are Golden At Fanfest

Posted: Aug 16th 2009 By: CMBurnham

Jackie Fargo was doing the Strut, Ric Flair was doing the Wooo and Danny Hodge was applying the Grip.

All under one roof.

A multitude of mat fans, from New York to San Francisco to Tokyo, converged on Charlotte, N.C., last weekend for the annual NWA Wrestling Legends Fanfest. And I was one of them.

"He's wrestling through and through," declared Jim Cornette as I whisked into the Hilton University Place Hotel, site of the festivities. Hours before I had become a grandparent for the first time, and my old friend seemed amused at my dedication to making the event.

That?s the wrestling credo, he joked, ?The show must go on!?

There?s another saying in wrestling that timing is everything, and if new grandson Noah?s arrival was any indication, the boy?s got a future in the business.

The four nights and three days that followed at Fanfest could just as appropriately been called "Pro Wrestling Heaven," since that?s exactly what it felt like to many of those who turned out to relive the glory days and meet their heroes from a bygone era.

Many of those who attend the event are middle-aged or older, and many no longer follow the current product. They prefer to remember the days when wrestling was more believable and their heroes were true originals.

The wrestlers of that era had incredible pride in their profession. It wasn?t easy traveling from city to city night after night, but it was their craft and they loved it. Fans could relate to that blue-collar work ethic. It?s the same type of fans who come to Fanfest each year.

From most accounts, this year?s event was the biggest and the best, in large part due to the once-in-a-lifetime reunion of the original Four Horsemen and a special Q&A with 16-time world champ Flair and eight-time world champ Harley Race commemorating the 25th anniversary of Starrcade.

Additional Q&A?s were given were by Cornette, the always outspoken and entertaining Midnight Express manager, whose late-night session ended, appropriately enough, at midnight, and a Memphis-style roundtable discussion featuring Jerry Jarrett, Lance Russell and Dave Brown.

Not only were there reunions among fans and wrestlers, many of the legendary grapplers had a chance to reconnect after many years. The Fabulous Fargos ? Jackie (Henry Faggart) and Don (Don Kalt), one of the most charismatic teams in wrestling history, had a reunion of their own after having not seen one another for more than 25 years. The two were honored at the annual Hall of Heroes banquet along with Jackie?s real-life brother, Sonny Fargo (Jack Faggart), who passed away last August.

Jackie Fargo, 79, even broke into his famous Fargo strut.

?You know why he bends over when he does that? It?s because he can?t straighten up,? joked Don, 81, whose tough-guy, hard-living wrestling persona was no gimmick.

There was even a Lewin and Curtis reunion of sorts.

Mark Lewin, who headlined Madison Square Garden during the ?50s and early ?60s with tag-team partner Don Curtis, made a rare appearance at the event. Dotty Curtis, Don?s widow, made the trip from Jacksonville to Charlotte just to see him.

There?s something for everyone at Fanfest.

Enter the hotel lobby and chances are you?ll see Ole Anderson holding court, as he does every year, telling and re-telling old war stories.

And, if you?re lucky, you?ll be the target of some zingers that would make Don Rickles look like Mother Teresa.

The bar stays crowded, with wrestlers and fans alike, and the talk is never dull. In fact, everywhere you walk, you?re likely to bump into either a current wrestler, a former wrestler or at least someone who likes to talk about wrestling.

There are two large banquet rooms with scores of vendor tables and a continuous flow of wrestling personalities available for autographs and photo-ops. One of those rooms is cleared out for two of the evenings to accommodate a wrestling show featuring mostly younger, up-and-coming talent (the exceptions being seasoned pros Chick Donovan, 62, and Mike Jackson, 60).

A Saturday night show featured the local debut of Zac McDaniel, son of the late, great Wahoo McDaniel. Like young Ricky Steamboat Jr. (Richie Steamboat) the previous year, Wahoo Jr. had his mother cheering him on at ringside for his hardcore match with former ECW mainstay Steve Corino, a triple-juice bout that included whistle-blowing manager Bill Alfonso.

Highlights of the four-day event were too numerous to mention. There was the always emotional Hall of Heroes banquet where eight new members were inducted ? Jackie and Donnie Fargo, Lance Russell and Blackjack Mulligan, and posthumously Wahoo McDaniel, Nelson Royal, Gary Hart and Sonny Fargo. They were all honored and remembered in loving ways by their families and by those who sometimes knew them even better ? fellow wrestlers who often shared more time on the road and in the ring than their own family members.

A choked-up and tearful Ric Flair, who inducted Mulligan, who could not make the event due to a stroke he suffered the week before, poignantly told the audience that his friend taught him what it meant to be a man.

?You?ve got what it takes to go all the way,? the Nature Boy recalled Mulligan telling him on one of their rides together nearly three decades ago. ?Our business is full of back-stabbers and thieves. There?s going to come a time when Wahoo McDaniel won?t be there to help you. You?re going to have to be a man. There?s going to be a time when Terry Funk won?t be there to help you, when Harley Race won?t be there to help you. There?s going to come a time when I won?t be there to help you. You?re going to have to be a man.?

For many the highlight of the event was the Horsemen reunion. They were all there ? Flair, Tully Blanchard, Ole Anderson, Arn Anderson and manager J.J. Dillon. Barry Windham, a member of the third, and in the opinion of many, the best Horsemen reincarnation, also joined the group. They signed autographs and took photographs for nearly six hours until all the fans were taken care of.

I was more curious as to how Flair and Ole would interact with one another. Although it?s said that one day the lion and the lamb will lay down together, I wasn?t so sure about Ric Flair and Ole Anderson.

Despite their long ring history together, they?ve had heat with one another for years, and Anderson has been vocal about his dislike for his former partner and rival. Steps have been taken in the past to keep them apart. Even Fanfest promoter Greg Price had joked that he was keeping his fingers crossed that the two would get through their appearance without any major incident. Just in case, he added, they would be seated at opposite ends of the autograph table.

Fortunately, the session went smoothly, even though it was extended well beyond its scheduled time due to the long lines. Flair initiated contact when he walked over and approached Anderson before the session began, reached over Ole?s shoulder and whispered in his ear. The limited conversation between the two, Flair later said, went well. Anderson would only shrug.

Fans walked away happy after getting what they came for ? a piece of the past. Fanfest has assumed a lofty position as the premiere wrestling nostalgia gathering in the country. It?s a testament to the tireless efforts of promoter Price and his staff, who work all year long to make it happen, and to the fans and wrestlers, whose bond over the years remains as strong as it ever was.

Tags: Ric Flair, Danny Hodge, NWA, Jim Cornette, Midnight Express, Don Fargo, Mark Lewin, Wahoo McDaniel, ECW, Nelson Royal, Gary Hart