CRESS: Do you smell what the Matt is cooking?
By MATT CRESS
Matthew.Cress@newsandtribune.com
I was sitting in the office sifting through the results from approximately one million track meets, softball games, baseball contests and golf matches, when my boss Mike Hutsell said something to me.
I usually don't listen to anything he says, because it's usually about the following things: ESPN's Erin Andrews, the musical stylings of Survivor, or Family Ties star Michael Gross.
But this time I listened, because he said he had been contacted by a local gentleman who is bringing a regular professional wrestling show to New Albany starting this June. He also said Bill Dundee would be there.
This is the best news I've heard all spring.
Every Saturday morning growing up, I jumped out of bed before the crack of noon to turn on the USWA action. You remember. It started with this weird rotating statue of two grapplers. The production values were like that of bad YouTube videos done in someone's mom's basement.
In fact, regular USWA cards were held every Tuesday at the Louisville Gardens for a long time, and I am proud to say I saw some great moments there during my formative years. Jerry Lawler defending the Unified Title against the likes of Koko B. Ware or the hard-hat wearing T.D. Steele. Ring groupies conversing about the bedroom prowess of Wolfee D.
Great moments.
I bring all this up because it sounds like the perfect cure to the summer sports doldrums.
Look at how pitiful the sports scene is right about now. We've got the NBA, which no one watches. We've got Major League Baseball, which just began its 27,000-game regular season. We've got the NHL Playoffs, which is slightly more important than me playing 12-year olds on XBox Live while wearing nothing but stained boxer shorts.
It's all so pathetic that the main themes on sports radio are Don Imus (who has nothing to do with sports), Greg Oden turning pro (yes, he's going) and basketball recruits who won't step on campus for another four months at the earliest.
Quite frankly, I'm excited. I called the promoter of the XCW Midwest show, New Albany native Mitch Ryder. He told me former WCW star Buff Bagwell will be in town for the show in June. He confirmed that Dundee, the Superstar himself, will be there.
I realize not everyone is a wrestling fan. I guess you have to make a choice between silly, illegitimate sports — racin' or wrasslin'
But, given that Mitch also told me of his place to give money to a charitable cause at each show, we have to support this as a community.
Given the current sports landscape, what choice do we have anyway?
Watch NASCAR?
Yeah, right.
www.news-tribune.net/localsports/lo...tml?start:int=0****************************************************
Don't forget to be at the National Guard Armory in New Albany on Tuesday June 5th for a great night of wrestling.
"Sweet 'n' Sour" Larry Sweeney vs "Superstar" Bill Dundee
Mike Quackenbush vs Claudio Castagnoli
Mitch Ryder vs Buff Bagwell
BJ Whitmer vs Chris Michaels
Allison Danger vs Sara Del Rey
Also scheduled to appear Jamie Dundee, Jigsaw, 2 Tuff Tony, Mark Wolf, and many more.
Keep checking for more details
www.myspace.com/xcwwrestlingmidwest
