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2 Top Tulsa Stars Forced To Retire At NOC IX

Posted: Aug 15th 2008 By: CMBurnham

The shape of ComPro changed forever Saturday night with the forced retirement of Romero Contreras and Anthony Jackson.

Jackson has been a mainstay of Tulsa area wrestling since 1998, debuting in OPW as Splash Jackson. For the first few years of his career, he was a lovable fan favourite, teaming with Bull Schmitt as the Bad Boys and earning a reputation as the King of Hardcore matches in Tulsa. But Jackson turned on the fans in 2002 while in OCW and became known as "All Action" Anthony Jackson. This persona would serve him for the remainder of his career: an arrogant, self-centered egotist who thought of no one but himself in any situation.

Jackson was assisted in the early portion of his "All Action" career by a new performer known as Manservant. The duo certainly were an odd couple: the egotistical Jackson and the flamboyant Manservant teamed up on many occasions, although their win-loss record was not outstanding. Both men's individual success was much greater, with Jackson holding the OCW Hardcore Title and Manservant the OCW Women's Title. But eventually the crowd began to embrace Manservant and tensions built between the duo.

When OCW shut down and TPW debuted, Jackson & Manservant were no longer a pair and Manservant was now known as Romero Contreras. For the next 5 years, the pair would generally be enemies, but sometimes would work together for short periods. This pairing was known as the Mexican Combo Platter and was one of the most dysfunctional pairings in Oklahoma wrestling history. Both men saw massive success and became the top stars in Tulsa wrestling from 2003-2008. And on July 5, 2008, the duo achieved a goal most wrestling fans never thought possible: they became tag team champions. It was an uneasy (and for Romero, unwanted) victory. Many insiders thought that the duo would lose the titles on their very first defence. But for slightly over a month, the Mexican Combo Platter managed to turn back the challenges put in front of them.

On the last Saturday in July, the pieces began to fall into place to spell the end of Romero & Jackson's careers. Dutch Hagen came out to confront ComPro owner Ray Martinez. He said that he'd been in ComPro for several months. He's worked hard and learned much under the tutalege of Rocco Valentino. With that in mind, Hagen requested a title shot against ComPro Champion Jesus Rodriguez. Martinez responded by saying that Rodriguez already had an opponent for the upcoming Night of Champions, but did agree that Hagen deserved a title opportunity and one would be granted. Hagen believed that Martinez meant to have him face Tim Rockwell for the ComPro Oklahoma X Division Title and said he thought he was a little big for the X Division. Martinez responded by saying Hagen wasn't receiving a shot at the X Division Title, but that he and Rocco would be facing the Mexican Combo Platter for the tag team titles. This brought out Jackson & Contreras and very quickly, Jackson shot his mouth off, saying that he was so confident in their ability to win that he would put his career on the line in the match. He quickly followed that up by saying that he would put Romero's career on the line as well! While Romero and Jackson got into a battle of words, Ray Martinez made it official: The Mexican Combo Platter would defend the titles against Rocco Valentino & Dutch Hagen in a "Career" Match. If Jackson & Contreras lost, they would be forced to retire. If Valentino & Hagen lost, then Hagen would never receive another title shot in his career in ComPro. And just to add a little spice to the match, Martinez declared that it would be a Tables, Ladders & Chairs match!

For two weeks, anticipation built for the main event. Both teams had supporters and the fans were torn over who they wanted to cheer for. No one wanted to see Romero leave, but no one wanted to see Hagen's career chopped off at the knees before it really began. But time stops for no wrestler and when it came time for the main event on August 9, there were already several surprises in store for the fans.

Rocco & Romero came to the ring to confront Ray Martinez. They said they knew he was the owner, but they thought it was time for him to leave. Ray protested, saying they couldn't force him to go anywhere. Rocco said it was true that he was the owner, but that his supporters, casually known as the Hawaiian Shirt Mafia, reached a lot further than commonly known. Music from Rage Against The Machine hit and through the curtain strode 2 Oklahoma legends: Bull Schmitt and Butch Dalton!! Both men hit the ring and the foursome intimidated Martinez from the ring. A quick game of Rock-Paper-Scissors appointed Bull as the special referee for the match and then, in one last surprise, former ComPro commissioner and ring announcer Kitty made her return to announce the main event!

The match was little short of a war. Both teams used every piece of lumber available to them. 4 tables were shattered in the course of the match: Rocco came off the top rope butt first onto Jackson to drive him through one. Romero Contreras was backdropped through a stack of two. And Romero delivered a Kool-Aid Krunch to Dutch Hagen through a fourth table. Combine that with frequent use of cookie sheets, trash cans and, at one point, a pair of maracas and the devestation was amazing. And the surprise appearances didn't end as one more Oklahoma legend, The Original Renegade, was sitting at ringside and got involved in the match when Rocco brought Jackson over to him. Rocco acknowledged that Renegade gave him his first shot in wrestling and asked that he teach Jackson some respect, whereupon Renegade delivered a shot to the head with a cookie sheet to "All Action". With all this action taking place in and around the ring, it was Rocco Valentino who brought the match to a surprise end when he schoolboyed Anthony Jackson and Bull Schmitt made a fast three-count, delivering the tag team titles to Valentino & Hagen and ending the careers of Romero & Jackson.

Jackson & Romero both gave heartfelt farewell speeches to the attending crowd after the match and chants of "Thank you, Jackson!" and "Romero!" echoed through Sheridan Avenue Christian Church. Not happy with the all the attention off of him, Ray Martinez barged out after the speeches were over, but was met with physical abuse by Jackson, Romero & Rocco before the crowd went home.

Romero & Jackson's absence now leaves a vacancy to be filled in ComPro, but it will take someone huge to step into their shoes. Romero & Kitty announced plans to move to Florida, while Jackson will remain in Tulsa.

Tags: ComPro, Romero Contreras, Anthony Jackson, OPW, Splash Jackson, Bull Schmitt, Bad Boys, OCW, Manservant, TPW, Mexican Combo Platter, Dutch Hagen, Ray Martinez, Rocco Valentino, Jesus Rodriguez, Tim Rockwell, Butch Dalton, Kitty, Original Renegade