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Gilley, Lee amaze; big-time wrestlers entertain

Posted: Aug 18th 2018 By: Rick Kennedy

Two big and distinct crowds showed up for two unique big events during the 2018 Hope Watermelon Festival over the course of Friday and Saturday.

Two big and distinct crowds showed up for two unique big events during the 2018 Hope Watermelon Festival over the course of Friday and Saturday.

For the first time in years on a Friday night and back in Legion Field, the Mickey Gilley and Johnny Lee headline concert was a confirmed sellout, and an estimated 2,000 folks in and around the infield enjoyed a nostalgic and brisk two-hours that also included opening act Bobby Jewell and the 2018 Watermelon Idol winner Kendall Laughard of Prescott.

For Laughard, it was a great comeback story as she finished a close second to Brady Rhodes in the 2017 Watermelon Idol. Now, a more polished and confident presence on stage, Laughard shined with an upbeat singing performance just prior to Johnny Lee taking the stage Friday.

Gilley, now 82, and Lee, now 72, amazed the Legion Field crowd during their 90 minute performance, which was effectively in three-parts, the first 30 minutes or so belonging exclusively to Lee, the second 30-plus minutes to Gilley, and the final 30 with both of them doing an “Urban Cowboy Melody,” in which both of them, along with two “Urbanettes” performed songs off the famous Urban Cowboy movie soundtrack.

Lee was an energetic and rambunctious presence, engaging the crowd and cracking jokes in between performing his greatest hits, while Gilley, who had been in a car wreck just months ago, was a bit more understated, yet commanded the stage with crisp vocals even as he was sitting on a stool much of the show.

In some ways, they were totally opposite in their performing styles, yet complimentary and crowd-pleasing, particularly when they got to Urban Cowboy sets.

Then, on Saturday afternoon, an estimated crowd of over 300 saw over the top showmanship and athletic skills as the pro wrestlers of Global 1 took to the ring for matches inside the steamy hot Fair Park Rodeo arena.

Wrestlers and young fans alike donned colorful costumes and masks as a series of five matches were presented in the style of old-time Mid-South television wrestling, complete with a ring announcer and theme music.

The opening match saw two lighter weight competitors, Ray Ray and Jeremy Young, in the ring with Ray Ray taking the decision. Then, a women’s match featured glamorous star Cassandra Golden, looking like an athletic model, winning against a masked opponent.

The third match saw an entertaining joust between charismatic Action Jackson and the egotistical Matt Voice, who grabbed the microphone, and proclaimed “I’m Matt — Better than All of You — Voice!!!” to the boos and callbacks from the crowd, while the popular Jackson lead a cheer of “Action” and “Jackson” with the crowd yelling him on.

Jackson prevailed over the Voice in a physical and high-flying contest complete with dropkicks and flying tackles, and then, Jackson proceeded to celebrate with fans by posing for selfies and autographs the next 10 minutes.

The Main Event saw the afternoon’s most outrageous character “Loverboy Matt Matt Riviera” with a megaphone wielding manager, Boyd Bradford, take on popular Pine Bluff wrestler Tim “The Perfect” Storm, a 257-pound muscle man.

Riviera grabbed the microphone and immediately went into a rant about “Hopeless Arkansas” and proceeded to call the fans “Rednecks,” “Simpletons” and “Watermelon Heads,” which incited callbacks and a chorus of booing.

Riviera came to the ring with his own custom chair, a chair with his face and name painted on it, and sat in the corner of the ring as Storm was greeting the crowd.

Bradford, the sneaky manager, saw fit to interfere in the match by tying Storm up in the ring ropes on several occasions and pull his hair.

Riviera engaged the crowd with all sorts of speeches and posturing proclaiming his athletic superiority, and his antics easily made him the most memorable performer and villainous fan favorite of the event.
The match’s conclusion saw Storm inadvertently knock down the referee, and then Riviera and Bradford hit Storm with Riviera’s chair, attempting to win the match, but a second referee came in to restore order. When Riviera attacked the second referee, Storm bodyslammed Riviera to win the contest, much to the crowd’s approval and delight.

The final match saw Mojo Extreme and Lord Humongous, a 6-foot-7, 300-lb. giant who dressed like the character from the legendary Road Warrior movie, team up against the masked team of “The Mania,” one called “Cataclysmic” and the other called “Hypnotic.” In a brief but physical match, the powerful Lord Humongous power-slammed Hypnotic to win the contest after he tossed Cataclysmic off to the side like a ragdoll.

Afterwards, Global 1 promoter Jimmy Phillps said he was pleased with the turnout and said he hoped to bring back wrestling next year, if not sooner.

“It was a good and engaged crowd out there, who looked like they enjoyed the action,” he said.
One fan, Carlton White, said “This was good, like the old days when Mid-South brought the matches here all the time. They need to have them here more often.”