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Wrestling On Christmas Night?

Posted: Dec 23rd 2010 By: CMBurnham

Climb into the ring.

Find a corner, stare down a wild-eyed opponent.

So it goes for wrestler Ricky Morton.

Morton continues his 35-year career on Christmas night. He tops the bill for Championship Wrestling Association?s event Christmas Chaos at Appalachian Fairgrounds? Farm and Home Building in Gray, Tenn.

?He?s a wrestling legend,? said Tony Givens, owner of and wrestler in the Kingsport-based Championship Wrestling Association. ?He?s at the tail-end of his career and he wants to give back to wrestling.?

Do not misread that.

Though long in the wrestling tooth, Morton still manages quite a bite. Take his match at Christmas Chaos.

?Christmas night is a big night for wrestling,? Morton said. ?Even Walmart and McDonalds are closed. After you open your presents on Christmas morning, there?s nothing else to do. So, come on out to Gray!?

Morton won?t be standing sedate at ringside. He numbers one of six combatants in the night?s main event, which is billed as a grudge match, a free-for-all of sorts.

?They?re bringing me in to help settle the grudge,? Morton said with a laugh.

Morton stands out on the night?s bill. He?s the only nationally known name. He has wrestled some of the sports entertainment?s most legendary of wrestlers including Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and Blackjack Mulligan.

?Buddy, Ric Flair would tell you that he and I once wrestled 17 nights in a row with one hour time limits,? Morton said. ?Things like that stand out.?

Odds are that each wrestler at Christmas Chaos hopes to someday reach the big time of WWE wrestling status. Odds also are that few if any will ever make it.

?It?s a one in a million chance. It?s probably easier to make it in the NFL,? Givens said. ?WWE keeps only about 60 or 70 guys under contract. That?s only 60 or 70 guys in the entire world while thousands of guys want in. It?s a total long shot.?

Morton made it. He was that long shot, and through the years he fought like a lion and endured an intense physical grind to keep it.

?Sometimes it takes triple A to get me out of bed in the morning,? Morton said with a laugh. ?I?ve had my shoulders knocked completely out. My fingers are all crooked. Sometimes you see some gruesome stuff. It?s hard.?

Morton has wrestled for about 35 years. He made his name as one half of the championship duo the Rock-N-Roll Express primarily in the NWA.

?He?s had a great career,? Givens said. ?And now he?s like a mentor for all of us. He wants to teach and groom the younger guys.?

Morton certainly tells them one thing for sure. Wrestling isn?t fake. Outcomes of matches are predetermined, which negates wrestling from the category of sport. Naturally, the actually gouging of eyes and maneuvers such as a pile driver are not really exercised. Well, not on purpose anyway.

?Wrestling is not fake,? Morton said. ?I believe. Just hitting the ropes, which are steel cables, it hurts. Come in and try it out and you?ll be walking sideways.?

Injuries happen. Yes, genuine injuries, which of course are not fake.

?I saw Tony land in the ring one time in Kingsport and he thought he broke his neck,? Morton said. ?I?ve seen guys get paralyzed.?

Meanwhile and for 15 years Morton has called Bristol, Tennessee home.

?I love Bristol, Tennessee,? Morton said. ?There?s not another town anywhere like Bristol.?

Though well past age 50, he wrestles up to five times per week all over the southeast. But he said he loves it here most of all, in the Tri-Cities and wrestling with the CWA.

?Those guys do a great job,? Morton said. ?To the people in the Tri-Cities, come on out and see us. It?s a great family event.?