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Life In The Ring

Posted: Sep 12th 2014 By: Scott Strandberg - www.normantranscript.com

For the wrestling faithful in Oklahoma, this is the big show. It?s not about the money. It?s about something more. It?s about what happens in the ring, and the hope that the final bell will never sound on the lifestyle that stopped being just a hobby long ago.

It?s as a real as it gets and it?s not going anywhere. This is the story of the sentimentality of a bygone era and the bridging of generational gaps, as seen through the eyes of three individuals.

Sunlight beams through large arched windows. Combined with strands of Christmas lights, the natural light in the auditorium gives the space an ethereal glow.

The lighting also exposes the building?s age ? and the slight imperfections in the wrestling ring at the center of the room ? but that?s part of wrestling itself. Dust and cracks are not foreign to wrestling. Fans come to embrace the sentimentality of the story that brought us to the present.

Ceiling fans whirl overhead, keeping the room relatively cool, considering the high-90s temperatures outside. About 100 people surround the ring, ranging from very young children to seniors. This is the scene every other Sunday at the Oklahoma City Farmer?s Market, when the Mid-South Wrestling Alliance holds their action-packed shows.

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C.M. Burnham stands out from a crowd with his long black hair and scruffy beard, and he?s the man to talk to if you want to learn about professional wrestling in Oklahoma. The Commissioner of MSWA, Burnham also runs Oklafan.com, an exhaustive database of all things wrestling within the state. In addition to MSWA, Burnham works for ?about half? of the ten other wrestling federations in Oklahoma.

?It?s family entertainment,? Burnham said. ?Something you absolutely can bring the kids to.? Burnham explains that MSWA is the perfect place to see young, up-and-coming athletes hone their craft. The fact that current World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) superstar Dean Ambrose once wrestled in MSWA is an example that many people around here like to reference, and for good reason. (Editor's Note: To our knowledge at Oklafan, Dean Ambrose never competed for MSWA)

To supplement the younger talent, MSWA occasionally brings in well-known veterans. Jim ?The Anvil? Neidhart will wrestle on September 21 at MSWA?s next show.

Neidhart was a two-time WWF Tag Team Champion, teaming with his brother-in-law Bret ?The Hitman? Hart. On November 2, 13-time world champion Big Van Vader is coming to town.

?We bring in these big names that people remember from their childhood,? Burnham says. ?Lots of people who might not otherwise know about us will come to those shows. They enjoy the product, and it makes them want to come back every two weeks.? Burnham pauses for a moment before adding, ?Support local Oklahoma businesses. Support local entertainment, no matter where you are.?

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You discover pretty quickly attending an MSWA show that everyone working here used to wrestle ? everyone from referees, to managers, to sound tech Joe Longwith. When asked how long he?s been working with MSWA, Longwith gestures to his preteen son and says, ?Since he was just a baby.?

Longwith used to wrestle, until he suffered an injury while working maintenance at an apartment complex. One morning, he woke up and couldn?t move.

Doctors originally thought he had a bulging disc. As it turned out, there was a disc missing entirely, and the resulting nerve damage forced him to retire from the ring.

Even though his injury didn?t happen inside the ring, Longwith is quick to point out the physical toll wrestling takes on the body. ?Take a bump today, it might bruise up and heal by the next day,? he says. ?10 years later, that same bruise might heal in two weeks.?

Longwith walks with a cane these days, but no one needs to ask him if he misses being inside the squared circle. The way he gazes at the ring ? as if imagining himself still running the ropes ? says more than words ever could.

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Jeff Knight has lived in settings like this his entire life. The 48-year-old grappler got his start setting up rings for Fritz Von Erich?s World Class Championship Wrestling in Dallas. He started training to be a manager in the mid-eighties, but soon he was in the ring himself, touring the country. Three decades later, Knight still makes his living as a wrestler, frequently teaming with his brother, Thomas.

Over the years, Knight has wrestled in New Mexico, Michigan, Florida, and all points between. He?s worked shows with some of the legends of the industry, including the Von Erich family, Jake ?The Snake? Roberts, and the Fabulous Freebirds. In a few weeks, he?s leaving on a tour that will see him wrestle his way up the East Coast, starting in South Carolina and ending in Michigan.

Even as he nears 50 years old, Knight has no problem getting bookings. ?I?m a bad guy,? he says. ?Phone?s always ringing when you?re a bad guy.? Wrestling has been his life, and that?s not changing anytime soon. ?I eat. I sleep. I wrestle. That?s it,? Knight says as he steps outside to smoke a cigarette.

He leans against a post outside the auditorium?s front door, his eyes never leaving the ring. He?s worked thousands of shows ? and seen countless more ? but he?s still not going to miss a moment of the action.