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Two Major Shifts Of Power Dominate MWA Event

Posted: Sep 15th 2010 By: CMBurnham

It seems the the only consistant thing in wrestling is change and that was proven this past Friday when one top MWA position changed hands and another was left open to be determined at a future point.

MWA Director of Operations Mike Iles came out to the crowd and announced that he had signed a one-year contract and that was up at the end of the show that night. This was met with thunderous applause as Iles was not the same man who had stepped in to replace Raymon Downey one year before. In May, Iles' association with Excellence Personified had been revealed. His actions were directly responsible for bringing the MWA Title to Jack Legacy and he also celebrated when Dustin Heritage won the MWA MAX-Division Title. Iles then made sure that his associates retained their belts the next month and he continued to bring gold to EP as they travelled around the state, competing in multiple different federations.

Iles then went on to say that had some issues to address with Bud Guffey. Guffey was the most recent addition to the MWA staff, having replaced former ring announcers such as Ray Martinez and Alec Bisogno. But more importantly, he took a position that originally belonged to Mike Iles. Iles' problem wasn't that Guffey took a job he wanted. He was more than happy to be in the top spot in the company. What he seemed upset about was Guffey's performance as a ring announcer. Iles proceded to berate and humiliate Guffey, calling him a "piece of crap" and the "worst ring announcer." He went so far as to specifically address Guffey's casual clothing choice and comparing it to the suits and ties that everyone else had worn.

After delivering the litany of problems that he had with Guffey, Iles took great pleasure in firing him publicly. This was Guffey's second time to be unemployed by MWA. Guffey was one of the original owners of the federation, but after some creative differences arose between him and the other co-owners, Guffey quietly and voluntarily stepped aside. He returned later and was given the role of ring announcer upon his return, but it seemed like that was short lived. Guffey told Iles that the last time, he'd left quietly, but that wasn't going to be the case this time. He told the crowd that he had no problem with "whooping Mike Iles' ass" right then. Iles quickly countered by informing Bud that if he were to touch him in any way, he would sue him for everything he had. The look on Bud's face told everyone that he would love nothing more than to punch Iles squarely between the eyes, but he knew that the consequences would be too great, so he swallowed his pride and alllowed security to escort him from the building.

Iles went on to make several new introductions to MWA. He brought out TAP Tag Team and ComPro Oklahoma X Division Champion Se7en and introduced him as his personal security force. He also presented Jack Legacy with a new Heavyweight Title belt. And perhaps most surprisingly, he allowed former Excellence Personified pledge Lars Manderson to replace Guffey as ring announcer (although, given Lars' standing with EP in other Oklahoma feds, perhaps that's not as surprising as it appears on the surface.) Iles would later announce the debut of EP's southern liason, Brad Michaels, to MWA and EP would be victorious in a 6-man tag team event.

True to his word, Iles stepped down from power after the main event of the show was over. This leaves a power vacuum at the top of MWA's corporate structure. There are several viable candidates from within MWA who could fill that vacancy as well numerous candidates from other cities and territories. MWA has not announced the immediate plans for who will be taking Iles' place, although perhaps some candidates will be discussed Thursday night on the debut of MWA's radio show, which can be listened to live at 10pm at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/maximumwrestlingradio/2010/09/17/mwa-radio

Tags: MWA, Mike Iles, Raymon Downey, Excellence Personified, Jack Legacy, Dustin Heritage, Bud Guffey, Ray Martinez, Alec Bisogno, TAP, ComPro, Lars Manderson, Brad Michaels