Jeffery Yaws Benefit Part Two

This week’s column is dedicated to the memory of Sensational Sherri Martel, who passed away last Friday at the tender age of 49. She was a no-nonsense lady who fought for what she believed in. Rest in Peace, Sherri.--Percival (Photo of Sherri is from the WWE site)

As I left you , Jeffery Yaws had come out of a life threatening coma and began to smile at all the attention he was getting from family and special friends. All the company of PCW had gone to Jeffery's home to bid farewell to their young friend that many had called "Brother." It didn't matter if you were a crowd favorite or not, if you were a ringside commentator or announcer, or the girls that carried back the ring apparel. They were all there in support.

They touched Jeffery on the hands and the feet and rubbed his head while each of the members had tears streaming down their faces. Each said a prayer that a miracle would happen, and it did in Arlington, Texas that day. Jeffery's eyes opened, and he got the biggest smile on his face from all the attention he was getting.

When asked what he would like to do , he told his mom that he wanted to go to wrestling at the PCW Arena nearby. His mom turned to the critical care nurse that Hospice had sent for Jeffery's final hours and said that they were going Saturday night to the matches.

When Action Jackson, a man trained by “Iceman” King Parsons, heard that Jeffery was coming, he called his good friend, "Neon Deion" Sanders, the multi-sport magnet, to come and be there for his friend Jeffery.

Arriving at 8:15, Jeffery was met by the entire crew outside the PCW Arena, and they unloaded his equipment from the special van that he traveled in. His chair alone weighed 450 pounds and was lifted by big and small members of the roster in unison. They carried in all the medications and items to make Jeffery more comfortable during the evening.

The matches had been held up until Jeffery was in his special area near the entrance side of the dressing rooms. The fans in attendance gave Jeffery a huge round of applause, and, of course, Jeffery had the biggest smile on his face of anyone in the building.

A little after the first break in TV tapings, the ring announcer asked for Jeffery to get ready for a huge surprise. It was then that they announced that Deion Sanders was in the house for Jeffery. The arena erupted with a standing ovation as Sanders came through the doors.

Neon Deion stopped in his tracks and went right to Jeffery, and the two shared a hug and a handshake that seemed to last for a few minutes. Deion told the audience that a special night would be coming up on March 17, 2007 and asked everyone in the building to contact all their friends to come out and be a part of history in the making.

It was then that all the members of the roster came out to the ring and stood on all four sides and joined in unison for their friend Jeffery. Action Jackson took the mike and told the fans in the near capacity audience that they were going to have an appreciation night for Jeffery and that it would also be a benefit to help pay for the mounting medical costs that Jeffery had.

Deion stated that he was bringing some of his teammates and special friends with him to the event. Then, one by one, each wrestler went back into the dressing room, stopping to shake hands and hug their friend Jeffery that had just beaten the Grim Reaper.

March 17 was a day that Arlington will remember as a night of tribute and fun. To an overflow capacity crowd, the evening began with Jeffery Yaws at ringside, this time surrounded by his family.

To give you an idea of the intensity of this evening, each match would have been a Main Event on any card at the PCW Arena. The night started with a four-way dance between Diamond Dave, Robert Evans, Jiggle-o James Johnson and J.T. LaMotta. The action that was in and outside the ring was hard to keep up with, as TV commentators Rob Moore and Paul Lewis tried to keep up with these cruiserweights and the moves they were doing.

Jeffery was having the time of his life as these warriors fought to see who would emerge the winner. The next match had Luke Bronson, the current Television Champ, facing a man just called Richter. Next, the superstar of the gridiron, Neon Deion Sanders, came to the ring to again honor his friend Jeffery.

It was then that current champion Nobe Bryant came through the curtains and, with a mike in hand, challenged Sanders. Deion did not back up one inch. Bryant was soon involved in action against an opponent by the name of Shadow, who is known in TNA as Lance Hoyt. In a quick win, Bryant showed the capacity audience why he was the very best in the world.

B.J. Turner was next to face Steve DeMarco and gave fans even more excitement. A tag team match followed, with Stephen Murphy and Brett Barnes against Brandon Collins and Wally Darkmon. Again, the action was so hot in this match that the announcers had trouble keeping up.

These athletes were giving back as much as they could to their friend Jeffery.

In a three way event , Mad Dog faced Putzo and Rexx Reed. That, again, gave the fans more than they ever bargained for.

The Main Event had The Dark Circle facing Action Jackson and Mace Malone, who had Jeffery in their corner.

What happened next was something that I never thought they would do. Following a very hard fought battle, one of the Dark Circle team members had been beaten down to the point that he was on his back near the corner, and Action Jackson reached out and grabbed Jeffery off his chair and brought him into the ring to give a flying elbow to the stricken opponent on the mat.

Jeffery was a huge ham when it came to copying moves that he had seen on television and went to the corner and climbed to the second rope and came down with a huge elbow to the chest and a cover for the three count to win the match for his team.

He was placed on Jackson's shoulder and carried around the arena, where fans applauded the young warrior that, just a few weeks before, had fought for his own life.

The fans went home happy, Jeffery had the time of his young life, and each and every wrestler on that card became world champions as far as I am concerned.

On behalf of Jeffery and his mom Therese, "Neon Deion" Sanders and all the football team mates and especially the members of Professional Championship Wrestling … Thank you for making March 17, 2007 a day that will be remembered in the history books.

I will be going to Arlington, Texas soon to meet Jeffery and his mom and personally thank each and every person on the roster that made a young mans dream come true. The website for PCW is www.pcwwrestling.com . Please visit them and let them know, as I will, that they have the greatest array of talent in the world, with hearts bigger than Texas itself.

Percival A. Friend, Retired
The Epitome of Wrestling Managers

2003 BWC Hall of Fame Inductee
2004 CAC Hall of Fame Inductee
2006 LWA Hall of Fame Inductee
2007 TCCW Hall of Fame Honoree