Wrestling Roundup

There used to be a radio show with host Charlie Harville called “Racing Roundup”, so today we will bring back part of that old radio type program and bring to you “Wrestling Roundup” with Charlie Durham.

The big ACW card that lit up the night sky last Saturday evening brought over 129 fans to the Special Events Arena on Phillips Avenue. The show did not draw 8,000 plus diehards like the Revolution football game at the Big Barn on Lee Street but there was definitely a Revolution of some sorts going on just down the sidewalk from the McGuirt- Horton Library in the Bessemer Center.

To many in attendance at the matches this might be considered one of the biggest events in the history of Greensboro. Well, that might be stretching it just a little but everyone seemed to be having a good time. The kids from the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Clubs were treated to a free show courtesy of the sponsors and the kids from Claremont Courts and from the club on Neal Street got a treat when the ACW set up shop in the Old Bingo Hall.

Good news to report, nobody got hurt and the ring didn’t fall down. Well, one of the young wrestlers did get hurt in the end of the evening Battle Royal but that happened because he was running his mouth backstage in the dressing room and Scotty Matthews decided it was time to teach the kid a lesson when they got to the ring.

A six year old non-wrestling kid from the Claremont Courts came by the Hall on Saturday afternoon before the show and he said he wanted to meet Loodie because he had Loodie on his WCW video game. We took it to mean that the kid in the Carolina Panthers jacket wanted to meet Lodi. Tim Blaze of ACW really did a great job of keeping the show rolling Saturday and several fans even said they would like to get a shot or two in on Pat Friday. Friday was a black dude that got under the skin of many of the fans and he even took a swipe at Doug Brown. Doug Brown told me later that he was ready to kick Friday’s butt, but he did not want to do anything to disrupt the event. Doug Brown has a black, and blue and brown belt in the MMA and I for one am glad Doug did not get up in Friday’s face on Saturday.

Pro Wrestling Torch columnist Bruce Mitchell was in the house, and he noted that in all his years of travel attending wrestling events, this was the first show ever where he had seen homemade cake on sale at the concession stand. That would be a tribute to Ellen Coleman who put on quite a buffet back in the kitchen.

Undercover John Hitchcock from Parts Unknown the Comic Book Store and from the legendary Front Row Section D was up to his usual tricks. John called out a few Bingo numbers and got a Postage Stamp Bingo yell from one of the fans but UCJH did not get a chance to verify the Bingo before the Bounty Hunter stole the fan’s Bingo sheet. UNCH was also seen trying to get Chis Cruise on the cell phone but Cruise was busy at home sending Joey Styles an early Happy Easter Card. Cruise, much like Rick Link, is such a caring guy.

As my namesake Charlie Harville used to say that night of wrestling was one of the best in sports entertainment today. I really enjoyed the work of Pat Friday and LA Wildone since they did a solid job of getting the fans worked up before and after their tag team match. The ScrapYard Dog was a hard worker because he worked his match, helped set up the ring and broke it down after the matches and he drove the truck with all the ring equipment to the arena and then back home to Asheboro. The young wrestlers worked extremely hard and they also paid their dues by helping with all the pre-match and post-match labor related activities.

I expected Lodi and Scotty Matthews to tear the house down in the ring and on the microphone but they came up short. The Hybrid tag team were OK, but I thought they would grab the Mic and play off the fact that they had been on TV and use their so-called name characters to create a big build up. It didn’t happen. Lodi has lost some of his ring polish and he might have made his mind up to live of his remaining “name- recognition” and just mail it in and call it a quick and easy night. Nice guys, but if you’re supposed to be the top names on the card you better bust your tail and at least try to bring the house down or Bruce Mitchell will be forced to order another piece of cake.

The NWA/TNA/UWF will be doing shows in Danville and Martinsville, Virginia this upcoming weekend in conjuction with the NASCAR Nextel Cup Race coming to Martinsville. Friday night wrestling in Danville at Averett University and Saturday night in Martinsville at the old Lowes Building. Kyle Petty and Michael Waltrip are set to be lumberjacks in a old school match and Darrell Waltrip is slated to be the ring announcer. Let’s load up Cecil Carr’s Toyota pickup truck and head on up to Virginia.

The word out there is that “Foley is Good” and hardcore Doug Cockman and Tim Blaze say stay tuned for the next Big Wrestling Event coming to the Special Events Center on Phillips Avenue. Good job Tim and Doug, and this is Charlie Harville or maybe just Charlie Durham, saying “That’s the Best in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling for Today”. We need to bring back Jim Crockett or Jim Proffit, or Jim Pritchett, or Jim Amash,or Jim Jones, or JJ Dillion to straighten this mess out.