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The Wrestler's Reunion |
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Friday, 27 August 2004 |
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Initially, may I take this opportunity on behalf of the British Wrestlers Reunion Committee, to thank everyone who took the trouble to attend the function on August the 8th, making it a phenomenal success with over 300 wrestlers friends and family attending. I have been asked by that Committee to write this article to alleviate some concerns regarding the awards ceremony and relevant recipients, that were raised lower down this page in the fan forum, by one or two folks and in particular a Mr. Pinhead who I presume to be Steve Barker the former Promoter. The main area of concern appears to be with the accolade presented to the FWA rather than Mr Brian Dixon, stating that I should hang my head in shame for having the audacity to do this. Anyone familiar with our wrestling business will know that in between running Dropkixx Academy and promoting a few shows, I am also responsible for writing and distributing the newsletters world-wide, writing the funeral speeches for our dearly departed such as Kent Walton, Max Ward and Pat Roach etc., controlling fund raising, liaising with various wrestlers across the globe as guests of honour, generally arranging the smooth running of the functions, and writing all the internet articles and wrestling magazine items etc, among other things, tasks I undertake on a strictly voluntary basis by my own volition, but I am and never have been part of the decision making process in regard to who receives awards. I have been invited to join the Committee on several occasions, but prefer to act as Secretary in the capacity described above. The Committee incidentally comprises Joe DOrazio -retired, (founder and life president), Tony Scarlo ( founder), Wayne Bridges ( Host), Sarah Bridges(treasurer) Mal Mason ( founder , records keeper and printer). Voluntary workers being yours truly, Prince Kumali , Russell Plummer and Dave Gentle, ( photographers), Paul Douglas ( awards maker and memorabilia), Chris Owens ( Furnace Hot and Reunion webmaster http//members.fortunecity.com/furnacehot/) This year was a sad day for all of us due to the untimely death of BomberPat Roach , who usually took the microphone, but having been an MC as well as a wrestler for the last 44 years, I was press ganged into making a last minute contribution. A task that I undertook with great pride and humility. following in the great mans shoes. Being just the voice on the mike,I therefore do not feel the need to reproach myself for any announcements made at the request of the Committee! Mr Pinhead was obviously not aware that Brian Dixon had already been invited to receive a life achievement award for his services to wrestling, an award that he has graciously accepted , but as his lovely wife: Mitzi Mueller was also honoured this year, the Organisers felt it imprudent to offer both together, and therefore Brian will be a recipient in 2005. I might add at this point a fact that Brian has been a personal friend of mine since the early sixties when he just handled fan clubs for the boys, and that Mitzi worked on shows with me as far back as 1968. I and my colleagues have nothing but the highest regard for him and his success story, sometimes in the face of severe adversity. His charity work for the variety club of Great Britain is legendary , and he happens to be the Reunions biggest benefactor. Choosing honourees is the most difficult decision that the Organisers face each year. Nominations are invited from the fraternity but regretfully very few are received, leaving them to pick from a whole host of worthy names. Length of wrestling service has absolutely nothing to do with the result, nor does who is considered to be the better wrestler, or even a wrestler at all! The first criteria generally tends to be the elderly and infirm, because in the case of Kent Walton, Don Mendoza, Eddie Capelli, Ivan Penzikoff, Peter Rann, George Kidd, Les Kellett, and of course Pat Roach not to mention nearly 200 other great legends, they were too late. There is nothing more rewarding than to be thanked by your own peers for your contribution to their success. To date, most of the boys in their seventies have been covered now, with some icons such as Spencer Churchill, Jackie Pallo Judo Al Hayes, Jack Taylor, Paul Lincoln, etc., still to follow next year on. The next category usually covers the sick such as Dave Phillips bravely tackling motor neurone disease, or the inimitable Billy Stock who has the first symptoms of Alzeimers. Billy arrived too late this year necessitating the award being shelved until 2005. The bulk of the legends too numerous to mention are thankfully in good health and still reasonably young, such as Bobby Barnes, Adrian Street, Johnny Elijah, Bob Anthony, Steve Veidor, Eddie Hamill, Bert Royal, Vic Faulkner, Marty Jones, Leon Fortuna, Kalmon Gaston, Alan Sargeant, Leon Fortuna, Pete Roberts, etc. etc. therefore these guys are chosen at random after the above recipients, as there is little to choose between them for skill and service. The Organisers just try to be even between the North and South. The great grapplers in their late forties./fifties like Steve Grey, Mal Sanders down to Johnnie Kidd, Chic Cullen, Dave Taylor, Ricky Knight, Drew McDonald, Robbie Brookside, Dave Finlay, and Dick the Bruiser etc., are mainly still working and again are chosen at random as they are all equally worthy and most deserving in their own right. Lastly but not least are the young athletes just making headway in our business. If the Reunion was just about the old farts, or us living in a time warp then it would soon fade away because as we all die, there would not be a Reunion at all, but by making the young welcome into the fold and demonstrating how important their contribution is, guarantees the longevity of the fraternity for years to come, as it becomes their Reunion with us as their guests. Due to the void created when ITV closed down in 1988 and the recent resurgence in British wrestling, the former legends retired before the younger generation could meet and work with them, therefore their great legacy was nearly lost forever. How many young wrestlers from my gym at Dropkixx for instance, had heard of the great Johnny Saint but never met him ?? Now thanks to the Reunion, they can call him friend, by the same token, Bobby Barnes had never heard of Baxter Burridge, even though the youngster revered him as his idol, now, they are pals and Bob has even been to our gym, and taught him. That is what the Reunion is about !!!, In my day, it was easier for a wrestler to attain star status. He only had to don his boots, appear on TV four times in front of 14 million people and he was a household name, although even then the star couldnt be a celebrity without the help of a carpenter selling him. Often these great grafters like Mel Stuart , Tony Charles, Billy Torontos, Ray Fury, and Colin Joynson, who spent upwards of 30 years putting over names such as Steve Veidor , Rollerball Rocco, Tony or Roy St Clair, Steve Logan, Mike Marino etc., were forgotten entities, and our awards are a way of demonstrating how much we revere their work Nowadays, those youngsters have to trudge up and down the Country playing to as little as 75 people and at the most on very rare occasions only 600. These aspiring athletes have a much harder job than we ever did. Our life was structured, having been an amateur, the recruit was inducted , then spent a year or more at a gym like Dale-Martins in Brixton , where I learnt my trade under the immortal Mike Demitri, , followed by a few sub jobs and then full billing and TV. No such structure exists today and everyone is out there alone. The general quality of wrestling is poor, audiences non-existent , ridiculing and derisory, making it virtually impossible to gain headway for the wrestlers who can work . Yet in spite of these terrible odds some have actually done it. Wrestlers like Doug Williams, Phil Flash Barker , Jonny Storm, Jodie Fleisch and many more have all become International stars.. If anyone deserves recognition, they do ! That is why Doug was honoured last season and Flash Barker this year, as a mark of our respect upon his retirement. The FWA have laboured up hill twenty four hours a day to make an impact. They have hustled non- stop, risked hefty financial ruin in order to bring their product to the market place. It is not about old or new school, or whether they do it better than anyone else, but that they do it at all ! They did after all get a wrestling Channel deal when others talked about it, they have filled their halls when others cannot, and the wrestlers on other circuits can look to a brighter future as a result. Alex Shane and Dino Scarlo to name but two of them live and breathe wrestling 24 hours a day. The award was given for their efforts to make wrestling popular again. It was the older generation of wrestler saying thank-you for making our beloved art form a little more popular, and those same elder statesmen of the game saying welcome to the fold., you are not outside looking in, but part of our proud traditions, one of us. Brian Dixon generous as ever, was the first to congratulate FWA on the above basis, knowing that his award next summer is for different reason, as testimony to his 43 year life achievement in a business fraught with pitfalls and setbacks. I wouldnt be surprised either, if Alex Shane isnt the first person to ask if he could present that accolade to the great entrepreneur himself to demonstrate the respect he feels for All Star and what it has done for wrestling over the years. The final category includes those often forgotten heroes of wrestling such as non-wrestling referees, seconds, ring announcers and in fact anyone who has given to the business in an unselfish way. Due to the ever expanding attendance and popularity of this fabulous day out, next year, the award ceremony will be moved to the car park under the gazebo and a podium erected in order that everyone shall see clearly. The Wrestling Channel buffs inform me that they will bring a camera crew and film the event as a programme for Sky TV. Some of you may have seen yourselves being filmed this year albeight briefly, on the bagpipe report on that channel number 427. If not watch for repeats. Incidentally, if in the unlikely event that any old time wrestlers are not aware that the TWC are showing World of Sport footage again, just tune in any day to see what you were like when you were alive !!! Lastly, apologies are offered for running out of food. The attendance was staggering and took the chefs by surprise. Well, we hope that this article clarifies a few concerns to your satisfaction and it just remains to say on behalf of the Committee that if you wish to have an active voice in the Reunion or wish to participate with some voluntary assistance, please do ask as there are many rewarding jobs to be done, rather than just writing on this forum. Your input is valuable and we welcome it. Please address any future concerns to the founder and Organiser : Tony Scarlo at
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. Who will address them personally.
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