2003.12.15
This weekend, Cyrus Poe and I hopped in my car and drove to North Carolina for a "closed" wrestling card. The card was not open to the public. Hence the term closed. We started our 433 mile (one way) trip at about 7 PM, Friday evening. We ended up getting a motel about 100 miles from our destination. I got a good night sleep. Cyrus, who was sick, slept a few hours, I think.

Saturday as we pulled into the arena neither of us knew what to expect. This was foreign territory to both of us. I had a decent amount of nervous energy as we approached the CWF Arena. It ended up being a relaxed but fast-paced afternoon.

There were some notable names on hand for this closed work out. Ray "Glacier" Lloyd, Elix Skipper, Sonny Siaki, David Young, Matt Stryker, etc. There were also several local wrestlers on hand.

First, I wrestled Matt Stryker. I have never officially wrestled Matt Stryker before. It was an odd experience. I met him at Heartland (HWA) 2 years ago. He walked me through drills at Heartland. Matt would often watch my matches and offer feedback. It seems weird that our first real encounter not happen in HWA. Even more odd, the match didn't even take place in Ohio.

Second, I wrestled Scotty Matthews. I had never met him before. I had never heard of him. Once I got passed the fact that he looked like one of the Backstreet Boys, everything was ok. He is a tremendous wrestler with a good sense of humor. Scotty is very impressive. I enjoyed wrestling him.

Third, the BBC wrestled Scotty Matthews & Matt Stryker. I am just happy the BBC had the chance to wrestle outside of Ohio. It seems like tag-team wrestling has all but been forgotten. There aren't too many teams that make it big time. Most promotions just throw guys together and call it a tag division. I am glad we got a chance to work together.

Fourth, I wrestled a fourteen-year (or more) ring veteran, Chuck Coates. Chuck has appeared on numerous wrestling programs. He wrestled against Sting in 1990. He has wrestled big names in about every promotion in the United States. But, to talk to him - you would never know it. He is not loud. He is not obnoxious. He doesn't drop names. He seemed genuinely happy to wrestle me. Great guy. Great wrestler.

I can't say I was over-joyed with any of my matches. I am positive there are a number of things I can improve upon in future matches. It was thrilling to get in the ring with people who can push me to get better. I can't wait for the next trip.

When it was all said and done, I was pretty tired and sore. I was also happy. I felt an odd sense of affirmation. I felt good about the outing. No complaints on my end.

As Cyrus and I climbed into the car and instigating the 433-mile return trip; we talked about our matches. We both felt really good about the whole day and the whole experience. We tried to figure out "WHY". It hit us pretty quickly. The whole day had been a trip down memory lane. It was OLD-SCHOOL wrestling from 20 years ago.

Wrestling was treated with respect. It was treated as a sport. Everyone worked hard. Everyone was professional. No BS. No politics. There were no "egos" to be fed. No one acted like a 'superstar'. Everyone was earnestly enjoying themselves. They had fun. We had fun.

• Wrestlers weren't flipping and flopping.
• There were no "run-in"s.
• There was no interference of any kind in any match.
• There were no foreign objects.
• Every wrestler wore gear - REAL gear.
• There was nothing dirty or dusty.

Normally after a wrestling event, there is SOMETHING to complain about. There is always something to b*tch about. It is like an unspoken rule. Well, I have NO complaints about this past Saturday. I am entirely happy with how things turned out.

We arrived at my house shortly before midnight. Cyrus warmed up his beastly truck and headed 2 hours north to his home.

Sunday, my family packed up the car and headed to Mad River Mountain for a day of skiing. This was our first ski trip of the season. It was a great day for skiing. There weren't too many people on the slopes. There weren't long lift lines. We shut-the-mutha-down. We skied until they turned off the lifts and sent us home. So, it was about midnight when we finally pulled into our own driveway.

It was a great weekend. I slept in this (Monday) morning. I played some NCAA College Football 2004. I made breakfast for my son and me. I relaxed. I was able to look back and enjoy a fun-filled non-stop weekend. I am super, thanks for asking.

I was Yardbird before Yardbird was cool.