Corunna 5/13/06

Once again, I traveled to the small city of Corunna, which is becoming larger every time I get there. It seems like the people that are coming to the matches every month at the McCurdy Park in the community center are real, down-to-earth fans that love their wrestling.

Some arrive as early as 4 p.m. for the 7:30 bell time. They have their autograph books in hand, along with copies of various wrestling magazines, and some even carry pictures to get signed.

I had arrived a little before 4 after a wonderful morning spent visiting in Flint. It is always great to go back to your roots and see just how much has changed. I looked at the spot where my boyhood home stood on Atherton Road; it is now a service station.

The spot where I went to school from grades 1-4 is no longer there. The corner of Grand Traverse and Atherton, where Diamond's Grocery stood, is part of a large intersection of a citywide loop that gets you around Flint very easily. It took a lot of the homes out that were a part of the neighbor hood I grew up in.

It's really sad to see changes, but time moves on, and changes mean better things for the people living there. I took a short drive up Saginaw St., and, like my old stomping grounds, it changed a lot as well. It wasn't long before I was westbound toward Corunna.

After a great meal with Steve and Mark, we returned to the arena, where fans were beginning to line up for the box office. It wasn't long afterward that some of the wrestlers began to show up for the matches.

As I looked up from the table where I was speaking to Kamacyde and Unr8ted, Virgil came through the door with a huge smile on his face. He came over and said his hellos to everybody and proceeded to the dressing room to ready himself for the evening.

At 6 p.m., I went to the dressing room area and began to talk with some of the guys that were involved in the evening’s matches. Some had done triple duty the day before in Morrice, a small town south of Corunna.

Legend's Wrestling has a partnership set up with many of the local libraries for the wrestling stars to come and be a part of a reading program that is going on statewide. The name of the program is "Reading is SLAM-TASTIC" and is being very well accepted by parents and children as well. The information on where they will be at is on the LWA website, www.lwasuperstars.com, under ROADSHOWS.

I think it is wonderful that the wrestlers are giving back to the fans as needed by their being involved with this program. It shows why they are professionals from the word go.

At 6:45, the doors opened wide for the fans, and, once again, there were so many that the seats filled up in a hurry. It turned out there would be another sellout in Corunna.

At 7:30 sharp, the bell rang for the start of another great set of matches. Opening the card was Kamacyde, the Oriental sensation, who met and defeated Todd Ordway in just over five minutes. I was rewarded with a beautiful example of holds and counterholds by these two. The fans gave them both a standing ovation for their efforts.

Unr8ted was the next high flyer to come to the mat, and, in just over eight minutes, he handed Gameboy a rare defeat. Gameboy even had the help of his metal hand, which is part of his ring outfit. It could have been a disaster for Unr8ted if he had been hit with the metal hand, but the fans let him know just in time.

The Southern Boys (Hank Calhoun and Wildman Rogers from Georgia) made their way to the ring carrying a Rebel flag. Most of the fans in attendance began to yell, and the Southern Boys yelled back at them, nearly causing a riot. It was only when the Korvis Cousins came down the ramp that the fans began to see that there was not going to be a battle ... it was going to be a war.

For nearly 10 minutes, the Korvis Cousins dominated the match, and it was clear that they were on their way to victory when, suddenly, the referee was accidentally bumped into and knocked to the floor by the impact. It was then that Hank Calhoun, the smaller of the two, grabbed the rolled up Rebel flag and jammed it into one of the cousins, knocking him out.

It was only a matter of a three-count before the Southern Boys were led away by security with another win under their belts. Fans helped the Korvis Cousins to the ramp at the rear of the building.

The next match featured Jeff King, who began his introduction by grabbing the mike and declaring to the capacity crowd that, unlike his fellow wrestlers, he doesn't wear kneepads or have elbow pads or any other protective gear on his body. He went on to declare that he wanted to be called "THE OLD TIMER" and that he would win this match with an old fashioned hold called a Bear Hug.

Anarchy hit the ramp with all the fans in the building behind him. He hit the ring with the same velocity that he always gives to the fans and began to pummel the much larger opponent with huge kicks and just as large fists to the sides of King's head. At about the nine-minute mark of the match, J.T. Zorin, the Supreme Commander, came to ringside and began to berate Anarchy.

There was a battle of words between the two, and Anarchy chased the Commander out of the building but was counted out in the process.

Following a short intermission, Jerome (Do It) Pruitt and Tommy Johnson came to the ring ready to wrestle, but their opponents, The Clash, were no-shows. Instead of giving them the victory, Jerome asked the announcer to get those nasty guys from Georgia to come and wrestle them ... if they had the guts to do so.

A moment later, the doors slammed open on the private entrance to the lower dressing room area, and here came the Southern Boys, half-dressed to do battle. They grabbed the mike and said that they had already beaten a top team earlier and why were they being singled out to come and beat this wannabe team of nobodies.

After 14 minutes, the Southern Boys were handed a defeat by this new sensation. It just goes to show you what conditioning and good wrestling skills can do in a battle.

Sabbath came down the ramp next and began to sign pictures and autographs for the many fans that crowded the ringside area where he would be. Suddenly, the sounds of the NWO began to blare out of the speakers on the stage, letting us know that Virgil was here.

Virgil was in a match for the first time with a man that was not only bigger than him, but also a lot stronger than he has been used to wrestling against. Everything that Virgil tried to do was met with a lot of reverse force, and, finally, Virgil jumped from the ring and grabbed a chair and bent it over the back of Sabbath, causing himself to be disqualified and not face defeat at the hands of the local strongman.

The semi-main event featured Josh Ambercrombie facing Chance Laredo. I was very impressed with these two athletes as they battled back and forth and countered every hold that each put on. Josh ended up getting the duke in just over 10 minutes.

The main event featured Rastakhan, the LWA champ. He was to meet "SO FINE" Frank Stein, who claimed to be from ANYWHERE else but Corunna, Michigan, in a Tables match. Suddenly, from the dressing room area came J. T. Zorin to be in Stein's corner. As quickly as Zorin came to the ringside to uneven the odds, the matchmaker declared that this was going to end up in a tag match if Zorin was allowed to remain at ringside.

Rastakhan made sure to even the odds up by choosing Anarchy as his partner. Anarchy was counted out because of an injection of J.T. Zorin into his match earlier. After 15 minutes of non-stop action, So Fine Frank Stein was driven through a table, losing for his team, and the fans went home happy again.

Again, I was very happy to be a part of this evening and be at the matches in Corunna. I am very pleased with the crowd’s reaction to the 20-plus superstars that came to wrestle their hearts out for the love of this overflow crowd. I was happy to see Legends Wrestling Association bring yet another superstar legend to their card.

The next scheduled card for the Corunna Community Center will be held on June 24. I look forward to being there for another evening of excitement and energy personified. See you at ringside…

Percival A. Friend, Retired
The Epitome of Wrestling Managers
2004 CAC Honoree