When 'Boogie Woogie Man' Jimmy Valiant, first met Terry ‘G-Man’ Manley he admired Manley’s self-confidence & knew right away that G-Man had what it took to become a star in the world of pro wrestling. Sure enough, after a year of training at BWC to become a manager, G-Man graduated in 1997 & went on to manage many top wrestling stars including Jimmy Valiant himself. He eventually became an instructor at the camp & even had the honor of being inducted into the BWC Hall of Fame. G-Man remained a dear friend to Jimmy, Angel & BWC right up until his untimely death. It was so sad to hear Boogie announce G-Man’s passing during the camp meeting at BWC this past Sunday. I never had the pleasure of meeting Terry Manley in person, but he was my BWC brother & he did so much for all of us. I respectfully join w/his family & friends in mourning his loss & celebrating his life. From his autographed picture in the Hall of Fame to the life-size G-Man standee in the main camp building, to the memorial plaque that will soon be in place, Terry Manley’s memory will always live on at BWC & he will always keep the very special place he holds in the hearts of Jimmy & Angel.
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Bruiser Wrestling Federation, a Virginia based wrestling company operated by Bruiser Graham & his father Woody, boasts some of the most talented, exciting wrestlers in all of Virginia & arguably the world. The competition there is second to none. But even for the toughest brawler or most scientific grappler on the roster, the dream of holding the BWF Unified Title may have just turned into a nightmare. On March 6th, 2010, Kayden Pheonix won the top BWF singles title & it may be a very long time before anyone gets the belt away from this masked monster. The very next week in Farmville, VA, Kayden proved that he is ready & willing to do anything it takes to keep his position as king of the mountain in the BWF. Through questionable & brutal means he retained his belt & sent a loud & clear warning to all challengers. While I don’t agree w/his methods & I admit to being more than slightly intimidated by the big man, I am proud to see yet another BWC Graduate holding championship gold. I was in attendance the day Kayden wrestled his very first match & I could tell even then that it was only a matter of time until he bashed, battered & bulldozed his way to the top of any federation he chose to wrestle in. Through an odd series of circumstances I even had the opportunity to take a road trip to a wrestling show with Kayden once. He spent most of the trip alternating between eerie silence, describing to me in gruesome detail just exactly what he was going to do to his opponent, & growling when I tried to change the radio while a Metallica song was playing. We got to the show & sure enough, he did exactly what he said he was going to do. He didn’t say much on the ride home, but I could tell by the look of sadistic satisfaction in his eyes that he was pleased w/the punishment he had just inflicted on his enemy. I carried his bag for him on that trip as an attempt to get on his good side, if he even has one. It was the heaviest piece of luggage I have ever carried & I couldn’t help but wonder if secretly contained the remains of some of his past opponents. Kayden’s bag is even heavier now that he has the BWF Unified title tucked safely inside of it. & I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Be sure to check out Kayden’s next title defense live & in person in Blackstone, VA on Saturday, April 17. Go to the official BWF website for more info on that one. You can also see Kayden Pheonix issue me a challenge in my Mistaken Liberty movie. I didn’t take him up on the challenge, but it wasn’t so much because of a lack of courage on my part. I prefer to see it as an intelligent act of self preservation. John Hill already had a successful, championship wrestling career before joining the WWWF, & used many aliases along the way, but I will always remember him best as Gentleman Jerry Valiant of the notorious Valiant Brothers. The Valiants may not have been blood relatives, but they were certainly blood brothers. One of the best matches I’ve ever seen was an eight man tag match in Madison Square Garden featuring Jerry, Jimmy, Johnny & Captain Lou taking on Andre The Giant, Tito Santana, Ivan Putski & Dominic DeNucci w/Vince McMahon & Bruno Sammartino announcing the action at ringside. You can’t pack much more talent into one main event than that! The match went to curfew & Andre & company got the benefit of the decision, but if they would have let Jerry & his brothers go all night then I’m sure the Valiants would have found a way to come out on top. Perhaps it was destined for Jimmy & Johnny to be together this past weekend at a legends show in Atlanta when they heard the sad news of the passing of their brother in wrestling. John Hill aka Jerry Valiant aka Guy Mitchell aka The Stomper, has now moved on to that big wrestling ring in the sky. & I know for sure that he is wearing championship gold around his waist. We mourn the loss & celebrate the life & career of Jerry Valiant. Sandy Scott was one of the true greats in the sport of wrestling. He was a local hero in my home state of Virginia and a legend known throughout the world. It was sad to hear that he passed away recently. I was fortunate enough to meet Sandy in person once briefly at an ACW show in Roanoke, VA. I’m glad I got the chance. A local news station in my area did a nice piece on Sandy & I have included it below. Mid-Atlantic Gateway has lots of great Sandy Scott material including an in-depth interview and a really nice, touching article written at some point before Sandy’s passing. Sandy Scott will be missed by family, friends and wrestling fans everywhere, but will never be forgotten. Below is some nice Sandy Scott NWA footage that I remember just like it was yesterday... There have been countless title belts in countless wrestling companies, but the one that is closest to my heart is the NWA TV Title. This is mostly due to the fact that I myself am a former NWA TV Champion. In fact, I’ve held the belt on more than one occasion. Now, if you check the history of that particular championship, you won’t find my name listed anywhere. But that doesn’t make my runs w/the belt any less significant. I admit, my claim to the TV title doesn’t come from a pinfall victory over any of the legends like Mosca, Valentine or Steamboat who have all proudly defended the TV strap in the past. It comes instead through the generosity of none other than the Boogie Woogie Man, Jimmy Valiant. When Boogie finally defeated Ivan Koloff for the TV Title, he made sure to point out in interviews that the belt didn’t belong to him alone. It belonged to all of his people. All of his brothers & sisters. & from the very moment I first saw Jimmy Valiant on TV, I was instantly one of his loyal street people & forever one of his many brothers. & he rewarded each of us with a little piece of the NWA TV Title Belt. & Boogie is still giving & sharing to this day. He shares his vast wrestling knowledge w/his students at BWC. He shares his camp & Hall of Fame Museum w/wrestling fans every Sunday from Noon to 4pm. & the annual “Springtime Bash” Fundraiser wrestling show at Shawsville Middle School is just one of the many ways that he gives back to the Shawsville community. This May 1st, in Shawsville, VA, at the big Fundraiser show, he will share the ring w/his former enemy turned friend and soon to be first time ever tag partner, Ivan Koloff. Both men are wrestling legends & both men are former NWA Television Champions. Just like me. |
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