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Valentino Victorious At Webster High School Fundraiser

Posted: Nov 15th 2012 By: CMBurnham

He's known in wrestling circles as "The Oklahoma Legend", but these days, he's more commonly referred to as "Coach Biggins".

Rocco Valentino hung up his boots a long time ago. September 6, 2008 to be precise. That was the night that he pulled off a carefully orchestrated plan with then-NWA World Champion Brent Albright to remove Ray Martinez as the owner of ComPro and install Mike Two in his place.

Rocco left wrestling behind (as well as the ComPro Tag Team Titles he held with Dutch Hagen) and vanished into the mists.

In the intervening years, many things happened for Rocco, both professionally and personally. And one of the most fulfilling was getting the chance to shape the youth of the future in the classroom as well as pass on his knowledge of wrestling as the high school wrestling coach at Webster High School in Tulsa.

Working on that position is a thrill, but it's also a challenge as education is often severely underfunded. Wrestling is not exempt from that situation and Rocco found himself in need of some support. So he called Mike Two up and asked if a benefit show could be done to raise some funds for Webster's wrestling team. In return, Rocco agreed to come out of retirement and put on the tights one more time for the entertainment of the fans and his students,.

In truth, Rocco had returned previously on October 1st, 2012, where he had joined up with The Bullies to defeat ComPro Tag Team Champion Justin Lee and two of Memorial High School's coaches. But that was a warm-up for the event this night.

At the opening of the show, Rocco came out to address the crowd and thank them for their support. But he was soon interrupted by Russ Rogers, who brought with him Stevie Caballero. Rogers was upset that he hadn't been given a match on the show. Perhaps he expected Rocco to secure him one since they had worked together at the Memorial High School show. That part is unclear. But Rogers' rage was certainly clear as he and Caballero were quite verbal about the situation. Rogers & Caballero eventually backed off and the show was free to begin, but the shadow of their interference loomed over the event and their influence would be felt later on.

Rocco faced off against old nemesis Bernard Funk, but the match didn't have a chance to go very long before Rogers & Caballero again made an appearance. After circling the ring, they dove in and began to beat down Valentino (and, for a brief moment, Funk as well). Rogers was a one-man wrecking crew, absolutely destroying Valentino until the locker room finally emptied and the two men could be separated. ComPro commissioner Mike Iles ordered a match between the two as the main event and could barely keep the two men apart. By this point, the fans were irate and threatened to overwhelm security as Rogers made his way to the back. And Rogers didn't back down either, threatening to fight all the fans in the building if he had too.

Sensing that the issue between the two men could not be resolved with a standard match, Iles came out before the main event and announced that he had turned it into a No DQ Match. This freed both men up to do whatever they felt necessary, but also allowed Rogers the leeway to inflict severe damage on Rocco. And that's just what he did, focusing on the ribs he'd injured earlier in the show. Rogers struck first, attacking Rocco before he could get to the ring and putting him in a sleeper. Unable to keep the groggy Rocco down, Rogers moved the damage into the ring as Rogers continued the beating. Then the action moved back to the outside where a steel chair to the back laid Rocco out on the ground. Concerned fans and students looked on, offering encouragement and trying to rally Rocco up. Valentino was able to make his way back into the ring, but Rogers powered him down and hit him with a HUGE Vader Bomb, breaking one of Rocco's ribs. Not satisfied with that, Rogers went for a 2nd one, but Rocco got his knees up for it. Knowing this was is one chance, Rocco went back to what brought him to the game: wrestling. He took Rogers over in a fireman's carry and cinched in a headlock, compressing Rogers' spine and isolating an arm. Completely surprised by this move, Rogers had no way to kick out and "The Oklahoma Legend" stood, battered but victorious, in front of his new fanbase.

The fundraiser collected $1000 for Rocco's wrestling team, which was a huge financial boost that he needed. And if this was truly Rocco's last walk down the aisle, then he can go out knowing that all the battles have led to a great cause. But it seems like most people never completely walk away from wrestling. So perhaps Rocco will turn up at the 6th Anniversary Show on November 17th.