Tyler 'Heath' Hatton is my guest co-host on this week's My 1-2-3 Cents the podcast. We talk about AEW, WWE and of course Stride Pro Wrestling. It's a company Hatton founded in 2016. As we prepare for the three year anniversary, Hatton reflects on where the company has been and where it's headed. Give it a listen here and be sure to join us this Saturday night for Strideiversary. It's happening at 600 N. Carbon Street in Marion. Bell time is 6:30 p.m.
Kings have long been a part of pro wrestling. From Jerry Lawler to Randy Savage to Wade Barrett we've seen many greats wear the crown and robe. Now Stride Pro Wrestling has a king too. I had a chance to catch up with "King" Chris Hargas in the latest My 1-2-3 Cents podcast. You can hear his reasoning for declaring himself King as well as advice for young men and women in the pro wrestling business today. Listen here. Also on this week's episode, I pay tribute to the late, great "Mean" Gene Okerlund and recap Saturday night's Stride Pro Wrestling show.
One of the great features of having Stride Pro Wrestling having a new facility is the ability to do some things outside the box. If you haven't been by the new location at 1130 N. Division Street in Carterville, I'd recommend coming to the Dec. 8 show. Bell time that night is 6:30 p.m.
But Stride now offers birthday party packages for young fans. I guess old fans can partake too. We don't discriminate here. Imagine a chance to celebrate your child's birthday inside a pro wrestling ring. As a kid, I would have popped like a bag of Orville Redenbacher at a chance to celebrate another year on Earth like this.
Here's what you get when you celebrate a birthday at Stride Pro Wrestling:
2 hours of hanging out with members of the Stride roster.
Wrestling training for the kids.
Matches from the trainers,
30 minutes of ring time for the attendees.
The cost for the party is $200. You can book by reaching out to Stride Pro Wrestling via our Facebook page. Go here and send a message.
I'm not going to write much about Saturday night's Stride Pro Wrestling show. Instead, I would encourage you to listen to the audio recap on this week's My 1-2-3 Cents podcast. Please check out the show here (and don't forget to rate and review as well).
Flood can't answer the count Courtesy: Jamie Woodworth-Myers
Tony Flood, former Stride Pro Wrestling Champion, wrestled Jerry Travelstead in a Last Man Standing match. During the course of the said match, Flood did a moonsault, but whacked his head on a ladder that was laying in the ring. The move split his head open and a pool of blood quickly formed.
This is where some fans become critical. Tony and Jerry continued the match for a few minutes, ending it with Tony getting backflipped off a ladder and through the stage. Unable to answer the referee's 10 count, T-Dog was declared the winner. It was a chaotic scene and the EMT on hand quickly escorted Tony to the locker room for an evaluation. He later went to the hospital and was treated and released that night. He's going to be okay.
After the match Courtesy: Jamie Woodworth-Myers
Tony never lost consciousness and was aware of his surroundings the entire time. He wanted to continue the match. I understand why some fans would have wanted the match stopped immediately. But that's not how 99 percent of the men and women in this business operate. Between Jerry and referee Lane Austin assessing the situation and Tony knew what he was capable of, the decision to move forward was made.
I appreciate the efforts by everyone involved and Jerry raising Tony's hand at the end of this classic battle was a true sign of sportsmanship between two rivals in the ring.
One thing in pro wrestling is inevitable. Friendships come crumbling down more often than not. In the 80s the Mega Powers implosion was one of the great breakups in the history of the business. Shawn Michaels throwing Marty Jannetty through the 'Barbershop' window is a defining moment in WWE history. And the Shield has had more breakups than Brock Lesnar has had title defenses in 2018.
The same theory applies to the world of indy wrestling. Stride Pro Wrestling has seen its share of tag team partners split up. A year ago Scott Phoenix betrayed his tag team partner Ax Allwardt as the duo lost the tag championships. Fast forward to this past weekend and the very man Phoenix helped gain the gold has parted ways.
Former champs Courtesy: Steve Belcher
Dexter Roswell and Phoenix made a great combination. But it was clear in recent months the two were growing apart. They started arguing in public a couple shows ago before the miscue Friday night and Roswell kicking Phoenix out of the DR Party.
I enjoyed the team of Roswell and Phoenix. However, it's time for both men to explore new opportunities as singles stars. They trained together at the Stride Pro Wrestling School a few years ago and graduated together. Sometimes to prove yourself you have to step away from those who supported you most.
Roswell will continue to work to make Stride great again. He's evolved a lot since debuting in 2016. Phoenix continues to grow and develop as a performer too. It'll be good to see what he can do on his own. I have faith neither man is going to disappoint the Stride Pro Wrestling fans.
Pro wrestling has seen its share of wrestlers named after the weather. I've written about it before in fact. There's the Texas Tornado, the Hurricane, Earthquake, Typhoon, Sunny, Al Snow and the Lightning Kid to name a few. As Stride Pro Wrestling prepares for a show tonight on what is going to be a very rainy weekend, I figured I'd share some of our weather-related roster members. By the way, the show is happening tonight (Saturday, Sept. 8 at the Carterville Community Center)
Tony Flood in action Courtesy: Steve Belcher
Obviously, I have to start with Tony Flood. He's already made a post on social media about all the jokes he's heard in the first few hours of this rain system we're experiencing. Flood has been on the Stride roster since day one. He's won the Legacy and Stride Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Championships two times each. Tonight, he'll team with J. Wellington Beauregard against Heath Hatton and Ax Allwardt.
Sarah Summers vs. Heath Hatton Courtesy: Steve Belcher
Flood's partner at our last show was Sarah Summers. I know summer is a season and not a weather event, but it is still summertime and there's an obvious tie-in. Summers has wrestled a handful of times at Stride, even competing for the tag team titles with Farmer Billy Hills. She is the current Cape Championship Wrestling Women's Champion as well.
Me & James Storm
James Storm is best known for his work in Impact Wrestling. But the former champ wrestled at Stride Pro Wrestling's Brave the Storm benefit show in spring 2017. He's also made an appearance at CCW before. I had an opportunity to interview him for the My 1-2-3 Cents podcast. He's a great guy who continues to do well in pro wrestling.
Don't let the rain keep you from coming out tonight. Again, all the money collected from tickets goes straight to the Lions Club. They continue to do great work in our region. Please come out and support THEM and indy wrestling.
