The 2011 Cauliflower Alley Club recipient of the Iron Mike Award, Sgt. Slaughter, continues to show why his recognizable image spans across the world of professional wrestling and into other arenas.  On July 14 at Time Warner Cable Field in Appleton, WI, Sarge was the featured personaility as part of Military Apprection Day .  The stadium is home to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, Class-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Sgt. Slaughter poses with Fang, mascot for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

The Timber Rattlers faced their rivals from West Michigan on this night, and a late-game rally put the home team on top to stay, closing it out with a 2-1 victory.  Military personnel received free admission by showing their military I-D card.  Close to 2900 fans came out for the festivities.  Sgt. Slaughter pulled more than double duty by throwing out the first pitch, holding court during the seventh-inning stretch, and signing autographs both before and during the game.   The feared â??Slaughter Cannonâ? was not necessary on this occasion, as Sarge rode around the infield with Fang, the Timber rattlersâ?? mascot as they fired goodies from the teamâ??s prize cannon on the back of a National Guard truck instead.

Fans of all ages came out to see the Sarge.

â??Sarge was really great to work with,â? said Angie Ceranski, Director of marketing for the Timber Rattlers.  â??He was very concerned, making sure everyone got what they needed.â?Â  Indeed, the response to Slaughterâ??s personal appearance resulted in a number of classic photo opportunities and left hundreds of fans who approached his table with great memories.  Sargeâ??s smile beamed throughout, interrupted only long enough to break out the snarl and scowl for the camera.   â??He was a perfect tie-in to the Military Appreciation Day, â?? Ceranski said.  â??Heâ??s a really good guy overall; he gets it.  He knows about customer service, and our line was consistent throughout the game.â?

No line jumping to meet the Sarge!

Slaughter remembered his early days in wrestling with Timber Rattlers staff before the game, recounting a match he refereed between Mad Dog Vachon and The Crusher in Milwaukee, and thinking he wasnâ??t very good in the role.  When asked by promoter Wally Karbo what made him think that, Sarge said it was due to the crowd getting on his case.  Karbo said, â??Then you were doing your job right.â?

Slaughter demonstrates the Cobra Clutch on fellow CAC member Tom Walker!

He also explained the technique of the Cobra Clutch to local reporters, recalling his training camp under Verne Gagne in the early 1970â??s and how the famed Gagne sleeper applied pressure.  Sarge then demonstrated how the blood flow is constricted on both sides of the neck with his technique and thus, the Cobra Clutch would subdue rivals in short order.

Slaughterâ??s popularity spanned several generations as fans young and old alike patiently waited their chance to meet the former AWA Americaâ??s Champion and WWF World Heavyweight titleholder.  All said, it was an evening filled with fun while also paying respect to military personnel.  Kudos go out to The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers organization in putting together a spectacular day of activities.

Two years earlier, I first became aware of professional wrestling by seeing it on television at my grandparents house on the occasion of my grandfather’s funeral (my mother’s stepfather).  My eyes widened as Angelo “King Kong” Mosca appeared in an AWA studio bout and began the match by throwing his opponent directly out of the ring!   It was now early November 1979 when we received word that Mom’s biological father had died in their Marble Falls, TX home.  Professional wrestling intertwined with someone’s passing once more in my life.  With our tickets already purchased for the event, and Mom heading down to Texas for the funeral, Dad made the decision to keep his word and take me to the arena.  I believe he had some guilt initially over doing something fun while his wife was going through a grieving process.  Mom and her siblings were going to travel together, and someone needed to stay behind and watch the kids.  So it went, and Dad and I went to the appropriately-named Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena in Green Bay, Wisconsin on Veteran’s Day, November 11, 1979 for a night of AWA All-Star Wrestling action.  

There were five preliminary bouts scheduled to whet the appetite of the eager wrestling fan, before giving way to the main event, a 14-man, $50,000 over-the-top-rope battle royal.   We took our seats on the east side of the arena and soon, the night’s action was underway!

The curtain-raiser was a 15-minute time limit matchup between Paul Ellering, the muscular powerlifter-turned-pro-grappler and a relative newcomer to AWA rings in the Golden Boy, Adrian Adonis.  For the duration of this bout, Adrian’s new tag team partner sat in his corner, the flamboyant Jesse “The Body” Ventura.   Ellering and Jesse had recently finished a series of bouts that began after an in-ring skirmish on television where Ventura had refused to release his opponent from a bearhug after gaining the submission victory, and Ellering interjected on the fallen wrestler’s behalf.  Their feud was largely inconclusive, as both men had gained important victories.  But now Adonis represented an extension of his partner, and Ellering battled Adrian with much of the same intensity as he had against “The Body”.

time limit draw.  But as Ellering prepared to try a finishing maneuver, Ventura climbed to the ring apron as a distraction.  Before Ellering could approach Jesse, Adonis rose from the mat in time to roll his opponent up from behind.  A small bit of chicanery,  indicative of the kind of tactics we would come to expect from The East-West Connection Ellering drew close to gaining the victory on numerous occasions, but it appeared the bout might reach a en route to their tag team title run.

Match two was also 15 minutes in length and went the duration in a contest between Greg Gagne and Steve Olsonoski.  Considered allies throughout the past few years, Greg and Steve were proverbially “putting the friendship aside for the match” as was the usual mantra repeated by wrestlers who faced each other despite being friendly. The sport of wrestling and staying competitive within its ranks surpassed all other motivations, a goal-oriented focus of professional success leading  the pack.

Gagne used the opportunity to demonstrate his scientific skills on the mat and in the air, while Olsonoski met Gregâ??s onslaught with a deft series of counters that resulted in several stalemates.  At this point, Gagneâ??s tactics became somewhat less sportsmanlike.  Upon a rope break, Gagne slapped Olsonoski in the face.  Steve O was up to the task and was ready to return fire.  The majority crowd selected Olsonoski as their favorite going forward.  Gagne had not completely changed his tactics, just enough for the crowd to notice, subtleties that ring generals honed to a fine art.    As the time-limit expired, all was forgiven between the two wrestlers, and a handshake cemented the â??no hard feelingsâ? that both Olsonoski and the audience had expressed earlier.

A relatively quick match followed, with the monstrous Super Destroyer Mark III (Neil Guay) unable to meet the challenge of the smaller yet always tenacious Mad Dog Vachon.   The Dogâ??s usual wild tactics were tamed to a dull roar here, as I recall many moments where the Super D was grounded by Vachonâ??s mat skills.  Not to fear, for Mad Dogâ??s trademark brawling was being saved for later, I would soon learn.

Newcomer Dino Bravo had gained a quick following among AWA fans for his initial television appearance, ending the long streak of TV victories earned by Super Destroyer Mark II.  This card and other stops on the circuit at this time marked the first look at Bravo up close.  His aerial displays were augmented with explosive power.  His opponent on this night was Buddy Wolff, only a semi-regular in AWA territory at the time.  Bravo dispatched Wolff on his climb up the ladder of AWA contender rankings. 

The fifth bout was a chance for me to see the much-heralded appearance of Andre the Giant, billed as the King of Battle Royals due in large part for his 484 pounds and 7-foot-4-inch frame.  Whatever his true stats measured, this was one large countenance of intimidation.  Jesse Ventura drew the short straw among the locals who would endure the Giantâ??s wrath.  To his credit, Ventura made a game effort of tactics designed to take Andre off his feet.  Thunderous punches, headbutts and playful maneuvers confounded Jesse at every turn, though.  Frustrated and facing further humiliation, Ventura turned on his heels and fled for the confines of the dressing room, losing via countout.   Intermission followed the match, and the wrestlers used the rest period to prepare for the main event.

The much-anticipated battle royal finally arrived!   Fourteen grapplers entered the arena and surrounded the ring, each entering upon introduction of their name.  Ten men from earlier bouts on the card (Andre the Giant, Jesse Ventura, Adrian Adonis, Paul Ellering, Steve Olsonoski, Greg Gagne, Super Destroyer Mark III, Mad Dog Vachon, Buddy Wolff and Dino Bravo) were joined at ringside by four additional grapplers (Chris Curtis, Buck Zumhofe, Billy Robinson and The Crusher).  In no time at all, the intros were completed and the bell sounded. 

After just a few minutes of jockeying for position, Greg Gagne corralled another crowd favorite, Buck Zumhofe, by the back of the neck and with great aplomb, pitched Buck over the top and to the concrete at the feet of the front-row seat holders.  Was Greg once again turning against men previously considered his friends?  No.  Again, the professional thirst for competition was presumably fueled by a desire for the cash prize, and the promise of a title match against champion Nick Bockwinkel to boot.  

On interviews leading up to the card, tag team partners Steve Olsonoski and Paul Ellering discussed a possible strategy to eliminate Andre the Giant, the tallest hurdle to navigate.  A proposed Ellering bearhug and Olsonoski dropkick combo made the airwaves in design only.  The execution of teamwork dever got off the drawing board, as Olsonoski was tossed out second.

Chris Curtis was an upstart talent who was earning his oats on television, dropping numerous matches to established stars.  He became the third man eliminated after a clumsy-looking sequence that made him appear to be escaping the battle willingly.  His chance to improve would have to wait until another day.

Billy Robinson was eliminated fourth.  Somewhat of a surprise elimination, as Robinson was a top contender and one of the favorites to win.   Now the adept audience recognized a trend at this point in the match: three of the four â??freshâ? wrestlers with no earlier match scheduled all met with an untimely exit from the ring.  Should the fans take that to mean that going in â??coldâ? was not a sound strategy?

Paul Ellering soon followed as the battle royalâ??s next victim.  His prodigious strength was soon to be plied in Southern rings; his early 1979 push had slowed to a crawl on his way out of the territory, yet he capably showcased the newcomers and those who would remain.   Elimination number six was the tweener for the night, Greg Gagne.  Perhaps his change in tactics cost him the trust of some previous allies; perhaps his regular foes capitalized on his embrace of the â??every man for himselfâ? philosophy.  Whatever story was being told, it resulted in an early night for Gagne.

The ring now thinned out, some more spectacular antics and eliminations were free to occur.  Andre tossed out Super Destroyer Mark III next, swatting the 300-pounder away like a fly.  We were down to seven men, halfway through the challenge.

A mangled mass of arms and legs convened on one side of the ring, as the collective mindset of most grapplers seemed to be that Andre would be too difficult to eliminate without help.  Thus it became Andre versus five men.  But why was it not Andre versus six?

The answer to that question could be found in a corner far away from the rest of the participants.  It was one smirk, one point to the noggin to symbolize his intelligence, one man strategizing to work around the rest, rather than through them.  One Buddy Wolff.
  
This posturing went on for thirty seconds or so until Wolffâ??s ploy was noticed by his own brother-in-law, Mad Dog Vachon.  The Dog decided the time for Wolff to compete was immediately!  And so, emerging from the pile, Mad Dog snuck around the back of Andre, who fended off attackers against the ropes.  With a deft motion, Vachon applied one of his patented back-rakings with fingernails no doubt sharpened pre-bout.   Enraged, Andre turned to face his assassin. Now, the collective smirk of 5,000 plus fans emerged, as Buddy Wolffâ??s jaw dropped to the floor, his eyes widening with every passing second.    Andre versus One Buddy Wolff became the lopsided matchup of the night, and within 15 seconds, the Giantâ??s wolff hunt was completed with a tanned hide and hurt pride for Buddy.

Next, the partnership of Ventura and Adonis came into play, and some of their actions earned numerous boos.  They tossed The Crusher between the ropes to even the odds a bit; Crush was down but not out.   They pounded The Giant in machine-gun-like rhythm to the beat of their own fists.   Dino Bravo suffered a similar fate as he fell almost over the top, only to be saved by Crusherâ??s helpful hand from ringside.
 
Vachon was next to go, as Ventura did the deed with a deliberate forearm to the backside of Mad Dog.  Seemingly unaffected, Vachon proceeded to dismantle the ringside barrier and lambaste Ventura in the back of the head with a portion of the pole removed. Before departing to the dressing room, Vachon unearthed a bucket containing metal fasteners for turnbuckles and other metallic goodies.  The bucket was promptly tossed into the ring, contents and all.  Vachon received the crowd pop of the evening.

Ventura and Adonis continued fire on both Bravo and Andr; meanwhile Crusher struggled to return to action near the apron.  Together, the East-West Connection finally got under the Giantâ??s considerable structure, leveraging it to near-elimination.  Finally with a mighty roar, Venturaâ??s muscle provided the oomph to send Andre to a crash-landing and out, only to find himself teetering to Andreâ??s totter.
 
Dino Bravo alertly used this opportunity to help Jesse complete his forward progress, and Ventura found himself deposited on the floor seconds later.   But just as quickly, Adonis was had the presence of mind to catch Bravo from the blindside and eliminate the Canadian star.  The last man in the ring was Adrian Adonis!
Or was he?

Slowly, from the depths of ringside, The Crusher crept back into the ring.  His ring time was lessened toward the end of the match, but not his eligibility to win.  As Adrian Adonis paraded around the ring, unaware of the work still to be done, he drank in the crowdâ??s reaction.  Then, the inevitable: KAPOW!   Rat-a-tat-rat!  There was some joy left in Mudville!  Crusherâ??s megaton biceps moved in rapid succession as the punches befell the Golden Boy. Then, to cap off the eveningâ??s events, Crusher tossed Adonis over the top rope, to a heap at ringside. No gimmicky paycheck was awarded, but surely Crusher would be collecting his fifty grand later.   The promise of a title shot against Nick Bockwinkel on next monthâ??s card would have sufficed.   And so it went.

On this Veteranâ??s Day, I recall the great stars of the squared circle who put forth an incredible effort for a young ten-year old newly interested in the mat sport.  I recall Mom receiving her fatherâ??s American flag from the funeral. And I recall Dadâ??s decision to honor his father-in-law by keeping a promise to those grandchildren he only saw a handful of times. In different ways,  on this Veteranâ??s Day, I can appreciate their personal struggles. And I thank them all for their service.

 

 

 

 

 

At this past week’s Cauliflower Alley Club reunion, Bockwinkel’s surprise at the announcement of his name as 2009 Iron Mike honoree may have been the most ironic twist.  Following years of bookings where his name would be championed as among the most successful, this occasion was booked unbeknownst to him.  That bravado of supremacy; the air of superiority and the ultimate belief in his own abilities that made his promos riveting, and coveted among collectors?  All were missing here.  And while he would have every right to expect to join the elite group of Mazurki honorees at some point, Bockwinkel had not campaigned for this title.   Banquet night revealed that while he had met his professional goals all throughout his career, and in many cases surpassed them, Bockwinkel overlooked one of his achievements.  Simply, he did not see the depth of his influence on those he has worked with, had inspired to challenge themselves in a similar manner, to meet those challenges with only their knowledge and skills to serve them.  These were the people who decided his time in the spotlight once more was necessary.  And as that spotlight hit, Bockwinkel relied on his best instincts and put forward his best effort, rising to the occasion yet again.

So for the man who has seemingly achieved about all the accolades he can in this industry, where does Nick Bockwinkel go next?

Straight across the hall to the banquet room to the hospitality suite, less than ten hours later.  Bockwinkel has a mess to clean up, pack up, and put away until next year’s event.  Here’s a push cart and a broom, kid.  Let’s get to work.

That’s where I found Bockwinkel at 8:30 the following morning.  The cargo van that houses many of the four-sided displays, the arm and hand casts of Andre the Giant, the photo books and other elements of the exhibits needed to be loaded.   I remembered how efficiently the job was accomplished in 2007 with me and several able bodies assisting.  And we quickly found them this year in the form of Jason Sanderson, Alex Cools, Wolfman Steve, Ted Gordienko and a few others.   An hour later the job was complete. Or was it?

As the group returned downstairs and started to head off in other directions, Bockwinkel met me at the escalators and wondered if I would consider joining him for the unpacking portion of the project.  Having no plans of my own for the day by design, I told him as much and off we went to the secret hideout, the home of these collectible treasures when not in full view.    It was on this trip that I came to understand why we are fortunate to have Nick Bockwinkel as our CAC president, and why he is a most deserving Iron Mike award recipient.   Forget what you’ve seen on the screen; the championship-caliber wrestler with the high opinion of himself is for mass audiences only.  But when the camera lights are off, the very real, calculating nature of Nick Bockwinkel is channeled toward fitting a large amount of unwieldy items into a limited surface area.

The irony hit me that scant hours after nearly 500 of his well-wishing membership struggled to get a moment of his time, I was getting an unobstructed audience with The Champ.  Still, we had work to do.  And since he chose his moving partner to be a non-athletic, 40 year old Type 2 (with youthful good looks, I must add), we were at the mercy of our injuries and physical limitations.

For the next few hours, I received proper instruction in the art of moving our CAC paraphenalia as taught by Professor Bockwinkel.  For every box which contained our lanyards, silk floral displays and past programs, there was a history lesson which covered the likes of Don Leo Jonathan, Curt and Larry Hennig, Ray Stevens and Bobby Heenan.  Of his work schedule on the Hawaiian Islands in the late 60s, conversely compared to his more sparse bookings in Minneapolis a few short years later.   At one point, I compared the task of unloading to the time I assisted 2 years prior, and that we truly missed the presence of his longtime friend, the recently-passed Rick Renslow.  It led us to a discussion of his fondness for Rick and his wife, and my own memories of seeing them not in a wrestling capacity, but on the dance floor enjoying themselves at a special event.   There were a few stories that, admittedly, I had heard before.  But never from Nick’s perspective, in his own voice.  I did my best to hold up my end of the conversation, asking relevant questions or imparting any history I knew.

Before long, we had completed the project; a little dirtier and at the peril of my camera which took a jolt getting out of the van and lost its display function.  I washed off the grime back at the hotel, and salvaged the chip and its pictures, one of which is included here.  Looking back on the day, there is a reason I take an extra day to wind down after the banquet.  This year, it was for a good reason, one opportunity that doesn’t arise every day.

Last Wednesday night, Nick Bockwinkel was honored.

Thursday morning, I was.
-Jeff Sharkey

cacsharkey@gmail.com

In a previous column, I talked about building a bond with other CAC members in the face of the “social networking” trend that has permeated interactive forms of media.  It is a concept that isn’t going to fade away anytime soon; in fact it continues to evolve in new and exciting ways all the time.  I would like to praise those CAC members who have contacted me since that time at the email provided at the bottom of the page, and also through the Facebook.com website.  If you are a member of this site, look me up and add me to your friends list.  There are board members with pages like Morgan Dollar, Jason Sanderson, Wes Daniel and Jason Deadrich to name a few.  Cauliflower Alley Club has its own listing as well.  I cannot accurately state how beneficial I find this kind of site as it relates to our club’s true intent: to reunite with friends of old and continue to make new friends with every year thereafter.  This isn’t even a hard-sell approach, but making even the smallest effort to reach out to your fellow club members will net you rewards you might never know.   Hopefully you’ll take advantage of the opportunity; I’d like to know if you add me as a friend that you are a CAC member!

In a similar vein, I would like to transfer to thoughts of one of our most talented wrestlers and managers of all time, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan.   In recent weeks I have watched his 2004 WWE Hall of Fame induction speech, and once again picked up his first book Bobby the Brain for another read-through.  In looking through his book once again, I was struck that the most enjoyable part of it for me was not the bottomless barrel of road stories and his humorous take on life; it was a short chapter that dealt with him finding  new members of The Heenan Family.  Not wrestlers, but his biological brothers.  I found myself smiling as I discovered how he fought apprehension at first to approach a total stranger and pour his life story before him, with no guarantee he would be successful.    Luckily the end result was two new family members in his corner.  Whereas “The Weasel” thrived on elements of cowardice at times, here was a wonderful tale of courage and conviction, a Bobby Heenan story where he gets the happy ending!

At the time of the Hall of Fame speech, Bobby had begun his recovery from throat cancer and was encouraged at what was his chance to “do things,” as he had spent much time at home undergoing treatment, and surely had cabin fever while he recovered.   I was sorry to hear that with his most recent surgery for a jaw replacement that once again, the great wit of The Brain was silenced out of necessity.  His first nature is to entertain those around him.  To be unable to do so for a long stretch is denying him his gesture of goodwill to all of us.  I selfishly wish for a return to hearing that sharp sense of humor again.  More importantly, I wish for the very real Ray Heenan the strength to overcome the recent hurdles in his path. 

Finally, I wanted to take the chance to talk about club membership.  I recently took the opportunity to sponsor the membership of four wrestlers who were not aware of the CAC, but have a bit of history with me.  I would like to welcome them to the Cauliflower Alley Club for 2009 and introduce you to them.  Karl Lauer was very gracious in putting together a “welcome wagon” phone call to each of them and securing their initial newsletter and certificates, even while “payment was pending” on my end. 

Tom Walker got his indoctrination into the pro wrestling world in 1971 when he began doing ring crew duty alongside George “Scrap Iron” Gadaski.  As the AWA traveled to cities in the Midwest, Tom worked in many other capacities including timekeeper, arena program sales, ringside security and emergency referee.  Gadaski gave Tom the experience other would have bled for; a chance to work out on the mats at his farm up in Amery, Wisconsin.  It was there Tom started work on his own “cauliflower ear” which he displays with pride today.  I worked regularly with Tom with our Nu-Age Wrestling booking office in the 1990s, and was happy to get Tom on some of the undercard bouts as a wrestler.  He managed as “Colonel” Tom Walker and his role with the National Guard allowed him to dress the part with aplomb, knowing what details made up the ideal military man.  Today Tom stays active as a referee for independent groups in Wisconsin, and is back with a ring crew role working alongside Lance Wright when a squared circle needs to be set up!  

Brett Reuter went through the Nu-Age Wrestling training camp in early 1991.  At the time we were both in our early 20s and shared similar perspectives and memories about wrestling; we were fast friends.  He went on to be the resident “rock star” talent in Brett Striker for the next several years.  He caught a few breaks and took bookings out of state and even to Japan at one point, making himself a good name by working with rising talents of the day like Christopher Daniels and Jerry Lynn.   We lost touch for a year or so, during which time he adopted a new persona, one of a particularly otherworldly nature:  The masked, demonic Sam Hayne sprang from his imagination; complete with a fire-breathing ritual and brutal ring style.  I was happy to help him name his fan club, “The Marks of the Beast”.   Along the way, he found his current wife LaDawn, who shares his love of motorcycles.  LaDawn hails from Minnesota and had been on the Twin Cities wrestling scene as “Mystique” for the past few years.  Today the couple works in tandem in the ring as well, and reside in Green Bay between bookings.  I wanted them to know they were welcome in the CAC world as well.

Tony Scrivens spent much of his time in the ring as the 305-pound Tony the Annihilator.  He began his career in late 1989 and debuted in Rochester, Minnesota on TV against the double bill of Nikita Koloff and John Nord, two featured talents on the AWA scene at the time.  Those bouts recently made their way back to the airwaves on ESPN Classic’s  reruns of AWA Championship Wrestling.   Tony was Nu-Age Heavyweight champion for four years in the early 90s.  Much of our time together was spent traveling to training camp each week.  But Tony was a friend as well as colleague, and helped me secure work when I found myself unemployed in the summer of 1992.   Thanks to his kindness over the years, I stayed realistic about my own prospects of success in the wrestling business.  Tony is active today in the world of strongman competitions and promotions of that sport.  He competes in the masters divisions and knows the value of camaraderie in that world.  I wish I had been able to more effectively showcase his talents in the wrestling world, because he could deliver standing dropkicks like Curt Hennig, and in one fell swoop snap off a powerslam as crisp as toast.  With this membership, I hope Tony is able to see the depth of friendship here in Cauliflower Alley as well.

I thought my idea was novel, unique and unprecedented; sponsor your old running buddies and let them see what you’re doing now.  Three days after I proposed the idea to Karl, the new issue of The Ear arrived, with that very concept being advertised exactly as I had intended.  So much for novel and unique!  But no matter who thought of it, the concept of sponsoring your fellow workers may lead them to a reunion, and a membership renewal on their own next year.  So spread the word of what CAC is and does to the people you enjoyed working with most.

As always let me hear from you at the email address listed below.  See you shortly in Las Vegas!
-Jeff Sharkey

cacsharkey@gmail.com

I put in a DVD of the film The Princess Bride from 1987 yesterday and watched the legendary Andre the Giant as Fezzik in a stellar performance alongside a marvelous ensemble cast. What I took away from it this time was how much the art of storytelling should be more appreciated than it is. At first, the sick child character, played by Fred Savage, is non-plussed by the prospect of his grandfather (Peter Falk) reading him a book with the same title as the film. Over the course of the film, the child gets to express angst, outrage at some of the plot twists, and disgust (mostly in the kissing scenes). In the end, however, there’s a feeling of wanting more. The investment the child made in the story and its characters, and the quality time spent with his grandfather, paid off.

Much like the genre of science fiction, where certain parameters define the motivations or sensibilities of man and machine, wrestling personalities once operated with a similar mindset. Within these boundaries, their actions had reactions from their opponents. Rivalries formed and the issues that underlied them were grounded in logical roots. Fans watched with interest, like the sick child, and their enthusiasm grew toward a feud’s conclusion. In many cases, they watched alongside a parent, a sibling, or even a grandfather. And now, years later, wrestling matches and their twists and turns may have become a bit fuzzy in memory; yet these remembrances are positive ones for not just the outcome, but for the investment made in the wrestlers, and the time spent with loved ones.

Andre the Giant is a story unto himself. Seemingly unbeatable, his size advantage was used to great effect as he globetrotted with his schedule. Territorial villains and their roughshod trail of treachery could be curbed for a while if Andre got in the way of their path. Like The Lone Ranger, Andre’s travels and fight for what was right was a series of stories that were generously shared all over the world. We know that his size was also bane as well as boon to him. We can now be more sensitive to the hazards of travel and general discomfort for people of extreme size, large and small alike. In that light, Andre’s story is told in an entirely new way.

Compelling personalities who had motivations that were easily understood, that maintained continuity from start to finish in the stories they told in the ring. I’d like to see more of them in today’s industry. And at the Cauliflower Alley Club, we are fortunate to have many of these storytellers still with us. Treat yourself to a guilty pleasure, and ask one of them to tell you a story. You’ll leave wanting more. Just as it should be.

-Jeff Sharkey

cacsharkey@gmail.com

The first few years I attended CAC reunions, I didn’t have an agenda other than to have the experience my broadcasting friends like Dale Spear and Mick Karch told me I owed to myself. These guys helped me to bridge the remnants of my active time in wrestling to a place where I could share my experiences, learn even more from some all time ring greats, and continue to be a student of the game. I’ve attended CAC’s reunion every year since 2003, making it a priority to schedule vacation time for it. The people I meet and the knowledge I’ve gained is priceless. The ten years I spent as a wrestling fan and the dozen years afterward trying to be a viable part of the business give me a great sense of enjoyment when I can pass that passion along, sharing it with fellow members young and old.

But as much as I manage to connect with old friends and make a few new ones each year, I see many familiar faces who I have never spoken with. What are their reasons for coming? Which wrestlers did they enjoy seeing in their youth? What part of the country or world are they from? And perhaps the questions I might ask of them first and foremost: are they enjoying their CAC experience, and what could make it better?

I understand the fact there is only so much time to spend with people each year, and someone will always miss out on the chance to renew an acquaintance or meet a person they have plans to introduce themselves to. But many CAC members might enjoy chatting with someone they haven’t yet met; if only they knew what some of their common interests were.

In talking with Morgan Dollar, who will be updating the website regularly, he agreed to set up an email address for me where members can correspond. You can email me at cacsharkey@gmail.com Tell me what your interests in wrestling are or maybe you have a project you want to publicize. Send a photo of yourself; maybe we’ve passed by each other at the gimmick tables and never spoken. From one column to the next, maybe we can give our fellow members a reason to approach each other that they might otherwise never act on. If we can put a name with a face and their interests, we’ve taken a large step into making our large membership a bit more intimate. These days, they call it social networking, with the websites like LinkedIn, Facebook and MySpace providing the tools to make these kinds of connections. Perhaps, though, you need a few ideas to get the ball rolling.

Since I’ve been coming to CAC reunions in 2003, I have had encounters that should have led to me trying to learn more. In elevators I’ve run across Killer Brooks and Bullman Downs; I should have asked more about their efforts to keep their training camps and shows alive and well in Texas. Another elevator yielded a man working on finding career information on British wrestler Bert Asirati. In 2005 I noticed Jack Kruger in attendance; he’s wrestled as The Iranian Assassin, The Bounty Hunter, Sheik Abdullah and a number of other personas; I wish I’d spent a few minutes to ask him how easy it was to morph in and out of his roles from one area to another.

More existential questions to chew on: What was it like for female wrestlers to get bookings if they didn’t have a Moolah or Billy Wolfe representing them? What unique qualities do you remember from certain buildings, like the Saddledome in Calgary, the Portland Sports Arena, or the Madison Square Garden in Phoenix? Who remembers anything about Harry “Georgia Boy” Smith, Danno O’ Shocker, Gregory Jarque from Spain, or George “Catalina” Drake? What are some of the worst driving loops to make across the continent? Was Bob Freed really as friendly as advertised? How did a wrestler pack for a week long trip; what helped keep your sanity on the road, and what would it take for you to lose it?

What was the atmosphere like for a tour in Germany, where the matches were held at one venue for weeks at a time…and what kept the crowds interested to come back? Can you make a successful living doing only one aspect of the business, like building rings or making boots or working in the booking office? Was it a tougher case to be a Russian or German heel after World War II because of fan sentiment, or because of a glut of wrestlers saturating those spots in various promotions? What referees counted too fast or too slow? Who was too stiff between the ropes that couldn’t help themselves? What restaurants became legendary as being wrestler-friendly, and by contrast, which places were sure to cause a riot? What passed for a ring bell when the promotions didn’t have one? Do you recall a card that had to be totally rebooked due to bad weather or other unforeseen reasons?

This column will be exactly what it’s titled; a schmazz of people who have answers to the questions I’ve posed above. They’ll be wrestlers, referees, and the fans who came out to see them every week. If you choose to email me, you might find out about someone who shares your interests in the process. By looking back at your careers and your childhood memories, I hope the column will be something you’ll look forward to.

Jeff Sharkey

cacsharkey@gmail.com