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WRESTLING RETURNS TO PINE BLUFF
By Rick Joslin/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Monday, September 25, 2006 9:06 AM CDT
It’s unsafe to tell an Arkansan that “pro rasslin” is fake, according to an old joke.
At one time, professional wrestling fans — regardless of their location — were apt to consider questioning of wrestling’s legitimacy as “fightin’ words,” but that was before the reality of the domain’s existence as “sports entertainment.”
The validity of wrestling’s universal appeal is beyond question. But just as the myth of wrestling’s authenticity has been debunked, so has the misconception that wrestling performers and fans often have IQs that match the number of teeth they posse.
Case in point: ECW’s Sunday night return to the Pine Bluff Convention Center, where the original Extreme Championship Wrestling organization had its final show on Jan. 13, 2001. The farewell event drew a crowd of 2,600.
ECW, which was out of business for a few years, is now operated under the auspices of WWE, the giant World Wrestling Entertainment enterprise.
Veteran wrestler Tommy Dreamer (his character name) was on both the Sunday night and 2001 cards. The Yonkers, N.Y., native is a graduate of Iona University. He holds a master’s degree in international business and minored in law. His collegiate grade point average was an impressive 3.6.
Now 35, Dreamer will mark his 17th anniversary as a professional wrestler on Oct. 28. Wrestling is a family affair for Dreamer, a crowd favorite who is married to his former ring manager, Beulah McGillicuddy (her character name). She frequently travels with him, but wasn’t able to attend Sunday’s show.
“I’ve always been the good guy,” Dreamer said as he awaited his “Extreme Rules” match against Test. “It’s hard for me to make someone want to hate me. Many of the characters portrayed in the ring are extensions of actual personalities. I try to be myself in and out of the ring.”
Professional wrestlers can earn good money and have opportunities to perform throughout the world, but the vocation isn’t void of perils.
“I have had a broken neck and a broken back and I’ve broken 13 fingers, which sucks because I have only 10,” Dreamer kidded. “I’ve torn up a shoulder and ripped a bicep muscle, been set on fire and thrown into a barb-wire fence.”
He’s also been involved in a few fan “mini-riots,” but fortunately was being given an uninvited “helping hand” from his “faithful” each time. He cautions fans to not become directly involved with the action.
“Fans always lose, because they always get beat up by the wrestlers,” he said.
Nineteen-year-old Kelly Kelly (her character name) is a stunningly-attractive “diva,” or ring beauty, who also attends wrestling classes at a WWE training facility in Louisville, Ky. In and out of the ring, she’s the girlfriend of wrestler Mike Knoxx.
She had been planning a career in broadcast journalism, but that changed when Knoxx convinced her to join him in the ECW. Thus far, Kelly hasn’t performed outside the U.S., but in two weeks, she’ll be traveling to Japan.
“I’m very excited about that,” said the Jacksonville, Fla., native. “I know I’ll enjoy that experience.”
David Hazeslip, 23, drove from Cabot to view Sunday night’s event.
A bank branch assistant manager and a licensed minister, Hazeslip said he’s been a wrestling fan since he was a toddler and has attended “at least 20” professional wrestling shows.
“I really got into Hulk Hogan when I was a kid,” the college graduate said. “Now my favorites are Randy Orton and RVD.” RVD — or Rob Van Dam — was in Sunday’s main event tag-team match.
Is Hazeslip aware that wrestling is an “act?”
“Of course I know it’s fake,” he said, “but I’m in it for the story lines and characters. Yeah, it’s fake, but you have to respect the wrestlers. They’re great athletes and actors and have tremendous abilities.
“It’s fun to try to figure out what might happen next. I like to try to predict what’s coming up in the story lines.”
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