| poobah's gcw hall of fame |
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| "HUMAN WRECKING BALL" PETE MADDEN |
| CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: INAUGURAL GCW HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION APRIL-OCTOBER 2000 "ST. LOUIS WRESTLER OF THE YEAR" STRANGLEHOLD 1999 & 2000 PARTICPANT OF FIRST GCW EXPLODING BARBED-WIRE MATCH - JULY 2000 |
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| There was, and there never will be, a more respected man in St. Louis wrestling than the Human Wrecking Ball. The first GCW Heavyweight Champion, Madden successfully defended his belt for a six-month span. As champion, Madden gave instant credibility to the fledgling promotion with his top-notch work ethic. He re-dedicated himself to the sport in 2000, performing in his best shape yet. In his stay with GCW, Pete broke new ground in Missouri wrestling, performing in a exploding babed-wire match at Wrestlefest in July 2000. He also became known as a defending champion, taking on all comers during the launch of GCW TV. But perhaps his best quality was his nightly committment to the business. His love of the sport, a constant ever since his debut 10 years ago, was nothing but addictive to those around him. He enjoyed his work and he enjoyed working with others. His professionalism spoke volumes. You'd be hard pressed to find a wrestler that had anything bad to say about Pete Madden, the wrestler or the man. Actually, you wouldn't find any wrestler to say that. He was that good. Wrestling fans (both pro and anti-GCW) thought enough of Pete to vote him "St. Louis' Best Wrestler" in the 2000 Stranglehold voter's poll, an honor that he had won in 1999 as well. No one outside of GCW disputed the honor. Pete lost a loser-leaves-town match to Nikki Strychnine in early-2001. For some, a long St. Louis wrestling legend being forced to leave was a bitter pill to swallow. But Pete, always the consumate professional, accepted his loss with dignity. I hated to see him go - and other fans did too. It might have been a tougher loss for the GCW locker room. Pete was heavily involved in the training of many of today's current GCW superstars. Any wrestler would be happy to say he was trained by him. You would know that that student learned things "the right way." He was also a man that you could always go to for advice, wrestling-related or not. I got a chance to seeing Pete Madden, the wrestler, and Pete Madden, the man. I was glad to always see both. For now, Pete is keeping busy in Milwaukee, but I'm sure he's always keeping a watchful eye on GCW. He may of left town, but he really never left the business. If wrestling was filled with guys like Pete Madden, we'd always be happy. |
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