By Denis House
Sports Editor
May 07, 2008 11:00 am
—
Growing up a fan of professional wrestling in the south, I remember the good old days of Southeastern Championship Wrestling, Mid-South Championship Wrestling out of Memphis, ICW out of Lexington, Mid-Atlantic, Georgia Championship Wrestling, Continental Wrestling out of Alabama, and to some extent, Smoky Mountain Wrestling.
Jamie Roberts remembers those days, also. And he hopes to recapture some of that old glory with Southern Championship Wrestling, a new wrestling promotion that will hold its first television taping this Sunday at 2 p.m. at his wrestling studio in East Bernstadt.
“I think fans are starved to death for good old-fashioned wrestling in a family environment,” Roberts said recently. “Most people that I’ve talked to are sick with the WWE.” That’s why Roberts decided to start a promotion to try and bring back some of the old memories, like the studio show out of Memphis with Lance Russell and Dave Brown on commentary.
And he has the right environment to put on such a project. The studio where the TV tapings will be conducted is a small, quaint venue that, when packed with fans, will be transformed into something totally different.
“It will be loud in here,” Roberts said.
Roberts knows a little something about the world of professional wrestling. He had a good run as Jamie “Too Cool” Stone in the old Diehard Championship Wrestling days of the late 1990s. He also wrestled some shows in Memphis before getting out of the sport in 2000.
“I’ve been thinking about doing this for the past four years,” Roberts said, noting the highlight of his in-ring career was battling “Superstar” Bill Dundee in Manchester. “Even if I would have made it to the WWE or WCW, nothing would have been better than working Dundee.”
If you followed wrestling in this area in the late 90s, then DCW is probably still fresh on your mind. This independent organization featured some exciting cards around southeastern Kentucky, especially at Young’s Riverside Club in Manchester and the National Guard Armory here in London. In fact, I did some work with them, managing Oscar “Mountain Man” Miller to the DCW title (which he won from Roberts).
And then there was the time that Roberts dropped me on my head with a pile-driver in Manchester. But those days are long gone.
Until now.
“With the guys I’ll be using, I think this will be better than the old DCW,” Roberts said. “But I have to admit, those days will be hard to top.”
Some of the workers include ex-DCW alum’s Lee Luger, Brodie Hanson, along with John Noble, Eddie Browning, Tim Hall, Steve Phillips, Flash and Kyle Maggard. Names you might not recognized right now, but Roberts said that will soon change.
“They are all good workers,” Roberts said. “And the fans will love to see them. I think we’ll offer something for fans of all ages. And this will be strictly PG, family entertainment. No sexual content or language. You can bring the kids and your grandma. It will be affordable, and I guarantee you’ll be entertained and will go home happy.”
Roberts plans on doing TV tapings every other Sunday at 2 p.m., while the first program will air on WOBZ-TV 9 on May 17 at 11 a.m. He has two top notch guys in “Country” Earl Owens and “Ramblin’” Ray Henson doing commentary. He also has the original ringposts from the old ICW studio ring.
And Roberts also has plans on bringing in some big names in southern wrestling. Like Dundee, Jerry “The King” Lawler, and “Beautiful” Bobby Eaton, to name just a few. And he plans on holding an eight-man tournament to decide the first-ever SCW champion.
“I see Southern Championship Wrestling, within a year, being the top promotion in Kentucky,” Roberts said.
Roberts said to come early to the TV taping, because seating is limited. For directions, visit myspace.com/southernchampionshipwrestling or email ky_scw@yahoo.com.
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.
Photos
