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Wrestlemania!! Sold-out crowd watches pro wrestler Atomic Dogg defeat Prince Al Farat; legends Danny Hodge, Skandar Akbar make appearances!

Posted: Oct 26th 2007 By: CMBurnham

Before a sold-out crowd, former World Championship Wrestling star The Atomic Dogg defeated Prince Al Farat at a pro wrestling event Oct. 6 at the Hughes Center to benefit the Pope County Sheriff's Reserves unit.

Reserve Commander Kenn Tate said the event was an unqualified success, both in terms of fund-raising and entertainment value.

"We far exceeded our target, and the crowd was wonderful," he said. "Everybody was supportive of it. We got lots of good comments and want to make it an annual event."

Money raised will go to purchase new equipment for the unit, Tate said, which acts as a supporting auxiliary to the Pope County Sheriff's Office whenever a lack of manpower or financial limitations prohibit full-time deputies from working an event, monitoring a subject or providing necessary transport or security.
Members of the unit are specially-trained law enforcement officers who volunteer their time to the organization.

Pope County Sheriff Jay Winters said he was surprised by the success of the event, which included special appearances by pro wrestling legends Danny Hodge and "The General" Skandar Akbar.

"It was a good show," Winters said. "I was very, very impressed with the type and manner of show [Mid-South Wrestling] put on. And of course old folks like me remember Skandar Akbar and especially Danny Hodge. Danny Hodge is to wrestling what somebody like Bart Starr or Johnny Unitas is to football ... to me, that was pretty major. That guy is an absolute legend in wrestling.”

"The atmosphere was very lively. Everyone was very excited during the events. The fans participated, there was lots of wrestling excitement. The Mid-South Wrestling organization was very easy to work with, and we worked together to make sure the show was a success," Tate said. "We got lots of good comments and want to make it an annual event."

Matt Riviera, an owner of Mid-South Wrestling who also headlined a match, called the event an unqualified success.

"We had 500 people there, which is pretty much unheard of," he said. "We look forward to coming back to Russellville again in the near future."

Mid-South's next exhibition will be held Nov. 10 in Little Rock, and will feature an appearance by the "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase. For ticket information or to learn more about Mid-South, visit their Web site at www.traditionalwrestling.com.

Major sponsors of the fundraiser included Posey Printing and Honda of Russellville.

Tags: Al Farat, Danny Hodge, Skandar Akbar, Matt Riviera