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Dad Goes To The Mat For Hood

Posted: Feb 22nd 2011 By: CMBurnham

Fred Urban III has found a new solution to budget woes for school programs. He?s putting them in a pile driver.

Urban said he was tired of hearing about problems with funding for girls sports at Hood Junior High, where his daughter is an eighth-grader and an athlete.

?There?s just not much support from the parents in helping out the children,? Urban said. ?Most people aren?t involved anymore.?

Sales for T-shirts, candles and even beanies weren?t working. So Urban?s daughter asked him to use some connections from his old job.

Urban wrestled professionally for seven years in nine different organizations in Texas, Georgia, Oklahoma and elsewhere. He now trains with a dozen wrestlers at the former Fire Station No. 7 on West Eighth Street.

Urban went about luring some of his old wrestling buddies to Odessa for an event to benefit the Lady Highlanders Booster Club. Among those scheduled to come to Friday?s matches at Hood are former World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) Intercontinental champion Honky Tonk Man, Dusty Wolfe (one of five men licensed to appear as Doink the Clown) and Sabre Tooth, a masked wrestler who appeared on the MTV show ?Lucha Libre USA.?

Wayne ?Honky Tonk Man? Farris said he wrestles at between 30 and 40 benefit shows a year.

?I enjoy doing those because it?s a chance to be up close and personal with fans who have supported me for so many years,? Honky Tonk Man said in a phone interview from Milwaukee.

The event is a return to the area for Honky Tonk Man, who said he used to drive to Odessa from San Antonio every Wednesday night to wrestle early in his more than three-decade career. He promises his traditional slicked back hair, guitar and ?shake, rattle and roll.?

?Fred told me somebody?s got brisket cooking, and, after being in Milwaukee in the snow, I?m looking forward to seeing West Texas,? he said.

Doink said it didn?t take much convincing to get him to Odessa, where he will face Honky Tonk Man in the main event.

?Fred asked me, he told me what it was for, what it was about,? Doink said. ?If he backs it, it?s a pretty good cause. That?s all I needed to know.?

Urban said the event?s sponsors are covering getting the wrestlers to town and setting up the gym, meaning all the money raised will benefit girls athletic programs. While he would be pleased to sell 500 tickets and raise $5,000, Urban said 300 tickets were sold within the first week.

Sonya Balderrama, Hood girls athletic coordinator, said the department has a great need for new equipment. She would like to be able to buy weight-room equipment for the girls with funds from the event. Currently, they must share weights with the boys.

?At first I thought it was unbelievable, it couldn?t happen,? Balderrama said of the wrestling event. ?As it slowly came to life, I am hopeful it is something we can continue to do year in and year out.?

Although he has been cast as a ?heel? (the bad guy) in the ?Boys vs. Girls? storyline Urban has crafted, Hood football coach Parker Valdez said he is looking forward to wrestling Friday. He?s never wrestled before, and he?s been training for two months.

?It?s going to be a lot different,? Valdez said. ?I?m just trying to pick up as much as I can so I don?t hurt myself or anybody else.?

Valdez has been trained by Jastin Taylor, one of the locals who will also be wrestling Friday. Taylor said it?s fun to teach people new to the craft.

?The key is to have passion for it,? Taylor said. ?If they have passion for it, they?ll keep getting back up.?

Urban will briefly step away from his organizing duties to reprise his Dredd character in a 20-person battle royal, the winner of which will receive a championship belt to defend at next year?s wrestling event at Hood. As far as what?s going to happen?

?You?ll just have to show up at the show if you want to see it,? Urban said.