Wrestlemania 32 Week Part 1: IHWE & NWA Parade of Champions
Wrestlemania had finally come to Dallas. The 32nd installment of the annual spectacle, that has become a week-long celebration that includes community outreach events, a Fan Fest, a Hall of Fame induction ceremony & much more.
Orbiting that is the entire wrestling community – having the global wrestling audience literally all in one place, it’s the perfect destination for anyone currently or ever associated with wrestling to book appearances or their own events, creating a packed schedule that hemmorages the host city for fans to gorge on for almost an entire week.
NWA/IHWE Parade of Champions – March 31st – Ridglea Theatre – Fort Worth, TX
Starting things off was a local promotion IHWE – Partnering with the NWA in it’s current incarnation to put on the first (& one of the best) events all weekend long.
Designed as a continuation of a tradition in tribute to (pre-Wrestlemania 32) the largest & most notorious wrestling event in Texas history – the Parade of Champions in 1984 to honor the late David Von Erich who had just passed earlier that year to honor the eldest brother of the Von Erichs, the most famous wrestling family in Texas wrestling history.
This would be my third IHWE event as I found something of a kindred spirit in promoter David Fuller as we share the same grassroots upbringing & passion for 80’s style wrestling & nostalgia. Listeners of our TrickyKid Radio Podcast will tell you that we’ve been hyping/supporting this event for weeks leading up to it.
What got me to my first IHWE event a few years ago was an appearance from the legendary Jim Cornette – One of the most unforgettable characters & outspoken managers ever to do it. Leading the Midnight Express during their classic feud with my favorite tag-team of all time the Rock N Roll Express, perfectly frames my favorite time in pre-Wrestlemania wrestling history & the time of my childhood I’m most nostalgic for.
So I was very excited to learn that Cornette was returning to start the program with a 2-hr No-Holds-Barred Q&A.
Jim Cornette
Fearless in his opinion and notorious for his full disclosure, Cornette wove irresistable tales filled with insider information the older fans crave.
It was laced with too much profanity for my taste as I will always equate Cornette with my 9 yr old self and like to keep it that way haha.
At times it devolved into more complaining and he seemed bitter and came off the rails a bit of “Adults arguing over a “fake” sport” but it was consistently entertaining & at times downright fascninating.
Making it all the more special was that the Q&A was moderated by legendary journalist & wrestling historian Bill Apter, who also conducted some of the backstage promos and was honored himself later in the show as he was (rightfully & deservedly) inducted into the Southern Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Bill Apter (left w/ Bobby Fulton)
& (right w/ Steve Anthony)
Apter’s contributions to Professional Wrestling can’t be overstated and I couldn’t even begin to exagerate the influence Inside Wrestling, The Wrestler & the flagship Pro Wrestling Illustrated had on me as a young person. I used to pour over them memorizing entire issues. Since the local paper didn’t recognize wrestling as a legitimate sport they didn’t report on it and this being pre-internet, the ONLY WAY to follow along was through the magazines. This was during the territory days of the 1980s and if you lived outside the territory it was the only way to know what was happening in other parts of the country. They were essential to the wrestling experience and hunting down new issues and agonizing over them for hours are some of my favorite memories ever as a child.
Apter just released a book Is Wrestling Fixed? – I didn’t know it was Broken detailing his unparalleled career documenting pro wrestling.
I was gifted a copy last month by my mother for my birthday that Bill took great care to personalize for me and wish me a Happy Birthday.
One of the secrets to Apter’s success is he is as kind as he is generous with his time. We hope to soon have Mr. Apter as a guest on TrickyKid Radio – stay tuned.
Ok,so on to the matches – this card was stacked and easily the best produced event this promotion as undertook to date.
Held in the perfect choice of venue the historic Ridglea Theatre where I’ve seen literally dozens of concerts.
It was perfect fit for the action that just had magic in the air from start to finish.
Americos challenging Ashton Jacobs for the IHWE Championship
Battle Royal to determine No. 1 Contender for NWA National Title
NWA Women’s Champion Amber O’Neal defending her title vs. Jessica James (w/ Special Guest referee Veda Scott)
The Woman’s Title event mirrored Wrestlemania as it was one of, if not THE best match of the night. Both competitors put on an amazing bout and added with the star power of Ring of Honor & Shimmer sensation Veda Scott put it totally over the top.
INTERMISSION
One of the things I love most about these local independent shows is that they take an intermission like when I was a kid.
During that time they have a mini-fanfest with tables setup in the back for the performers to sell their merch and for the fans to meet the wrestlers.
Jim Cornette
He may be outspoken and ornery as hell but it would be difficult to find a nicer and more welcoming personality than Cornette especially with the fans.
Gracious with his time and always grateful for the support and the attention.
Current IHWE Ring Announcer Travis Baxter w/ the voice of World Class Championship Wrestling Mark Lowrance (left)
& me fanboying out with Bill Apter blessing my mother’s birthday gift with a personalized note (right)
Women’s Wrestling –
As I mentioned above, Women’s Wrestling was proudly represented at this event with some great talent. As any reader of this site knows that for the most part Women’s Wrestling thanks to the unbelievable talent uprising of the last 5 years has become my favorite aspect of the sport. If I were to list who I believe are the best wrestlers in the world currently, regardless of gender, more than half would be women.
Veda Scott (left)
& April Hunter (right)
Merica Strong (left)
& Hannah Michelle (right)
Merica Strong made quite the impact and was one of the most talked about performers of the event.
In the very first bout of the evening she turned heads & dropped jaws with a powerful presence casting a tall imposing shadow reminisecnt of Chyna (RIP).
Getting some advice from Ricky Morton (one half of the aforementioned Rock N Roll Express, my all-time fave tag team – left)
& Though she was only accompanying a tag-team to the ring, all eyes were on her (right)
She has all the tools & the perfect look for longevity in this industry, we hope to have her as guest on TrickyKid Radio soon – stay tuned.
The Main Event – NWA World Heavyweight Title Bout
Jax Dane (w/ Black Bart) defends against Charlie Haas (w/ Jim Cornette)
A great match loaded with star power to cap off an already incredible card filled with immense talent that kept that special vibe that it was all coming together.
Jim Cornette returned with NWA Champion Jax Dane to defend his title against former WWE Superstar Charlie Haas.
Dane had wrestling legend Black Bart in his corner that gave the match & show that great traditional feel it was going for.
Even Rick “The Sign Guy” Achberger was in the house (in the front row as per usual).
Only in wrestling could a fan get over as big as the performers. Opposite Achberger was another fan, Masanori Horie, who readers of Mick Foley’s books might remember. I didn’t know who he was till I saw him backstage later and got him & his girl a cab back to their hotel. I saw them come in & get ushered to ringside seats like royalty & I’m thinking this some Japanese wrestling legend only to find out that he’s more infamous than famous.
No disrespect but only in wrestling would that happen and that’s part of it’s charms.
Haas playing a great heel was once one half of “The World’s Greatest Tag Team” under the tutelage of Kurt Angle in the WWE.
He is often taunted that the other half of the team, Shelton Benjamin was much better as an on going gag.
Fed up with these taunts, Haas decides to bail on the match…..
….when as he is now being forced to walk back through the curtain (backwards) we see that’s it’s unthinkably Shelton Benjamin that’s forcing him back to the ring in that amazing old school 80’s wrestling that gave the fan the notion that literally anything could happen.
It sent shock waves through the entire building who responded with the preferred wrestling exclamation chant – “HOLY SHIT!”
Freaking glorious and just put the event that much over the top.
Congratulations to David Fuller & IHWE along with the NWA for putting on such a great event to start Wrestlemania weekend.
Epilogue:
After the show I went backstage to thank David Fuller and got sidetracked getting a cab for Horrie (see above) you could hear Cornette a mile away going off on one of his notorious rants. I turned the corner to see literally the contents of the entire locker room cramming in to get an earful.
I had no idea what or whom he was going on about but it was such a great moment, thinking like a photographer I wanted to capture it.
Shelton Benjamin (left)
& when Jim Cornette speaks – EVERYONE listens (right)
With my SLR camera’s battery long dead from shooting for over 10 hrs I just simply took out my cell phone that was almost just as dead & snapped off a couple of quick shots, determined not to ruin, compromise of interrupt this great moment. When Benjamin sees my cell phone & as I’m putting it back in my pocket, he begins to demand I delete it. Confused, I stalled to get clarity when he starts yelling at me to delete it.
Again, being naive I had no idea that he thought I was one of those parasites that records celebrity conversations when they find themselves dining next to them or some shit. Ironically, Cornette grabs me and shouts “Nooo, don’t delete it, I want the whole world to know what I just said!”.
I explained to them both that:
A) I didn’t record anything as that would be freaking creepy.
B) I had no idea about literally ANYTHING they were talking about
Shelton was cool after that but it was a tense moment. Good times.
Don’t miss IHWE’s next big event on May 29th in Crowley, TX
Photos –
Roy Turner
Andy Landauno
