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Just The FACTS: Dream Fulfillment Edition

Posted: Jul 17th 2014 By: CMBurnham

It's been a REALLY long time since I wrote an edition of this column. In FACT, I may never have actually written one for Oklafan. But I promised I would, if someone would just fulfill one of the few items left on my wrestling bucket list.

It's pretty well known that, since being given an opportunity to work in this business, one of the things I have always wanted to do was see the Rock-N-Roll Express wrestle live. As a kid growing up and watching wrestling, they were (and still are) my favourite wrestlers. But I never attended live shows as a kid because I could watch all the wrestling I wanted to on TV.

Since being involved in this business, I've been promised on four separate occasions that I could see the Rock-N-Roll Express in person. And every single time, that promise was revoked, either because the event they were supposed to appear at was cancelled or because it ended up just being Ricky Morton. I'm happy to say that I saw Ricky Morton 3 times, but never saw Robert.

For those not familiar with him, MStW Southern Tag Team Champion Space Cowboy Jason Jones owns a promotion called Mid-States Wrestling in Harrison, AR. Jones (or JJ, as he is generally known in wrestling circles) worked regularly for a promotion up in Spavinaw called Maximum Wrestling Alliance and that is where I got to know him best. On several occasions, JJ asked me to come out to one of his shows, but my priority was always Oklahoma wrestling, so I politely refused. Finally, in one instance, he said, "What do I have to do to get you to come out to one of my shows?" and my answer was very clear: book the Rock-N-Roll Express. And JJ looked into it. Apparently their asking price was a little steep. So he offered me just Ricky. And I explained to him that I had seen Ricky 3 times and I wanted to see the entire package. I think he even offered a singles match between Ricky & Bobby Eaton. And again, I simply said, No. Only the Rock-N-Roll Express would suffice.

And I considered it a forgotten issue. But JJ did not forget. And sometime in either April or May, he contacted Mike Iles to tell me to keep July 5th open. Honestly, by that point it had been 3 or 4 years since our previous conversations and I had forgotten about them. But JJ hadn't. And after a few minutes of pondering, I realised what as being presented to me.

Every year, JJ puts together a Legends card where he signs 2 or 3 former big time names that they are featured on. This year, on July 4th, the Rock-N-Roll Express were booked for an NWA event in Arkansas. So it was much easier for JJ to negotiate a deal to bring them in. And for the first time, I would be venturing outside of Oklahoma to attend a wrestling event.

The deal for me was that I had to write a column about the show. And thus, this writing here.

And it seems that the universe really wanted to do everything in its power to ensure that I did not fulfill this dream. Initially, I was supposed to ride with John Crow, but is daughter's softball league playoffs got moved to out of state and he had to work every weekend to make sure he had enough money to attend. So I contacted my buddy Mike Iles. But Mike was going up the night before with a full carload and staying for a family vacation day. Mike also knew how important this was to me, so he began to contact people about space in their cars. And Tim Rockwell's name came up. But Tim suffered a foot injury the week before which he feared may be a broken foot and which could take him out of wrestling that weekend. So it appeared that the trip would not happen unless I drove myself (which I was willing to do, but which would take a considerable chunk of money out of my pocket). Thankfully, the injury was not as severe as feared and I rode with Tim, his wife and Chance Snodgrass.

My plan was simply to watch the show. And be a 12-year old fan like I was when I started watching. Since I wasn't paying, I didn't want to take up a seat, so I was prepared to sit and help sell Tim Rockwell's merchandise. But shortly before the show started, JJ came up and asked me what I was doing. Before I could answer, he asked if I wanted to join him in the back and help out. I was fine doing whatever he wanted me to do, so I made my way to the back...and JJ disappeared. Not surprising as any wrestling promoter knows. Those last minutes before the show starts are always a little hectic and we still had about an hour or so before bell time. I helped put some Hall of Fame certificates into frames for Mike Iles to present to the Rock-N-Roll Express and Bobby Eaton, as the RNR vs. Midnight Express feud was going into the MStW Hall of Fame. And I helped pick out some music for certain wrestlers who had never worked there before. But still, no further input from JJ. Then, about 15 or so minutes before the show started, I get asked if I would like to do commentary for the show. Rather unexpected and potentially difficult since I don't know the storylines at MStW. But on the plus side, I would be working with Brian Thompson, who I had watched on TV doing colour commentary for TCW and whose work I enjoyed quite a bit.

There were several highlights in the course of the card. UWE Champion Tim Rockwell carried his feud with Jon Cross across state lines and thanks to Brian Thompson gained a victory over the Crosshound. The Bronze Bull took on MStW Champion Michael Barry. The music Bull had brought could not be played on the sound equipment available, so Jermaine Johnson sang an entrance theme for the Bull and Bobby Starr, which had the entire backstage area who witnessed it doubling over in laughter. Jason Jones won a 20-man Battle Royal to earn a shot at any title he wanted. Since JJ was already one-half of the Tag Team champions, he decided to give his title opportunity to Jim Fallon, who had been denied the chance to win the MStW International Title from Mitch Baxter earlier that evening. Bushwacker Luke took on Gary Roosevelt Gram in one of the biggest matches of Gram's career. But the main event was what people wanted. Jon Saxon had promised to get anyone from the back and face the Rock-N-Roll Express and when it came time to do so, Saxon came out with Macho of Los Combatientes Machos. Macho was looking quite a bit larger than usual, perhaps as large as Michael Barry. That did not matter to the crowd, who simply wanted to see the Rock-N-Roll Express put Saxon and his partner away.

After calling 7 matches, I was kind of hoping to just sit out and let Mike Iles and Brian Thompson call the main event so I could watch (Again, 12-year old kid). But before the introductions began, Iles leaned over to me and asked if I wanted to call the main event with him. I briefly considered saying no, but really, how could I deny myself the opportunity to not only see my favourite wrestlers, but also to call their match? It was a chance I could not pass up. And thankfully, Iles was just as much of a fan as I was and we both did nothing to try and hide that.

And once again, the universe seemed to sense that this was its last chance to deny me my moment. About halfway through the match, the monitor we were using to call the action from went out. Since the people in charge of it were far up in the stands, we could do nothing for a while. Iles tried to call the action based on the sounds, but that was a futile effort. So I took it upon myself to pull open the curtain that hid the commentary action from the crowd. At which point, JJ came backstage and yelled at us to close the curtain so that we wouldn't end up being seen by the hard camera. Iles motioned to the camera and we closed the curtain and thankfully, the image came back shortly after that. But then it went away, so I yanked that curtain open again, just in time for Iles and I to see and simultaneously call a Double Drop Kick and the match was over.

In one final bit of unexpectedness, the t-shirts that JJ had printed up for the event had my name on them. So I was booked, but did not know that. And Iles joked about how even when he went outside of Oklahoma, he couldn't escape me.

So finally, after 8 years of promises, one of my few remaining wishes in the wrestling business was fulfilled. I want to publicly thank JJ, Tim Rockwell, Mike Iles and of course, the Rock-N-Roll Express for allowing me to finally fulfill this dream. Very little will live up to that moment.

And those, my friends, are JUST THE FACTS!!