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Posted on
Sun, May. 11, 2008
Pro wrestlers pump up crowd at Independence
Tournament
raises money for high school's athletic teams
JOE HABINA (Special Correspondent, Charlotte Observer)
Jimmy Jack Funk Jr. and Ethan Cage had just pounded their second tag-team
opponent and Greg Davidson had seen enough.
Entering the ring in defense of the defeated and demoralized Midnight Express,
the 505-pound Davidson confronted the cowboy-hat-wearing, cowbell-toting Funk.
Sporting an Independence High green and gold singlet, Davidson, the team's
wrestling coach, barreled Funk to the canvas a couple of times, eventually
springing him over the top rope and out of the ring.
About 400 spectators turned out Monday night as the worlds of professional and
amateur wrestling collided. Promoted by the Exodus Wrestling Alliance,
Independence hosted the third annual Anderson Brothers Classic Tag Team
Tournament as a fundraiser for the Patriots wrestlers and the school's other
athletic teams.
Davidson says he and Independence athletic director Kelly Lewis bounced around
the idea of hosting a pro wrestling event for several years, but poor timing
prevented it from being approved. Davidson used his connections with EWA
promoter George South, who lives in Concord and is known in the ring at "Mr. No.
1," to coordinate the event.
For the last month, Davidson promoted the event around the school and through
Mint Hill. He and his assistant Clarence Bates threw up posters in "every
barbershop, bait shop and bar." Davidson, Bates and fellow assistant coach
Benjamin Barry went into wrestling character mode to tape a three-minute promo
to be shown on the school's closed-circuit television leading up to the event.
The Independence wrestlers helped sell tickets at school and set up the ring and
other equipment before the event.
"Seventy-five percent (of the student body) are really excited," junior
heavyweight wrestler Islam Abdelrahman said, about 45 minutes before the opening
match. "A lot of people are coming in. We actually sold out (100-150 tickets)
selling in school and we expect more at the door."
Independence students were admitted for $5, while adults were charged $10.
Children 10 and younger were admitted free.
Spectators filled up about three-quarters of Independence's gym, which sported
an 8-foot-high inflatable tunnel with "Big I" imprinted on the flaps that the
wrestlers marched through.
Highlighting the wrestling card were South and his son, George South Jr., 1980s
favorite The Rock 'n' Roll Express, including original member Ricky Morton, and
The Powers of Pain, featuring another popular wrestler from a decade or two ago,
The Barbarian.
Enthusiastically sitting in the front row was Davidson's mother, 56-year-old
Sherry Davidson. Exchanging taunts with the wrestlers and shaking one of Funk's
souvenir cowbells, she was inches away from having a run-in with The Barbarian's
teammate, Jake Manning, who was thrown from the ring at one point.
The Barbarian christened the night by heaving the first chair into the ring
during the third match. Of course, it disqualified him and Manning, but it was
the first crowd-pleasing moment of the night.
South Sr. heightened the audience's enthusiasm and participation when he assumed
the role of the tournament's bad guy by entering the ring before the next match
and telling the crowd how much he hated Independence High. He repeatedly told a
section of students to "shut up," and they gave it right back to him.
"It was funny," said sophomore Drake Parker, one of South's verbal targets. "It
was a good experience for him to get the crowd involved. I loved it. It was real
fun."
Davidson said the event raised about $480 for the wrestling team, which he plans
to use towards a scale and singlets, and about $500-$700 for the booster club.
During pre-match introductions, Davidson said if it hadn't been for professional
wrestling, he would never have gotten into amateur wrestling. Last week, the pro
version came through for the amateur version once again.
Original link to story:
http://www.charlotte.com/278/story/619195.html (Charlotte.com may remove the
story at some future date.)
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