Championship International Wrestling Part Two

As I left you last, I was in the middle of a terrific evening in Peotone, Illinois. We were south of Chicago to help out an injured officer of the Peotone police force with a tremendous fundraiser.

John Popek was in a pursuit when his car flipped and flipped and flipped and threw him out, breaking his back. He is doing much better and improving every day. If you want to drop him a card, and they really help, send it in care of the Peotone Police Department, 208 E. Main Street, Peotone, Illinois 60468.

The matches started with Shuto and Billy the Tiger going to a time limit draw. Guy Lombardo made easy work of the 300-pound man from Montana, The Outlaw. Hardcopy Coryell defeated El Borincano, from Puerto Rico, with a "Bombs Away" move off the opposite top turnbuckle.

Next was T. Bolt Baxton, a 6 foot 7 inch competitor, facing the huge Outlaw. Baxton used a leg stretch to secure a win after eight minutes of hard fought action. He was certainly a crowd favorite, as they gave him a standing ovation as he returned to the dressing room.

We were even treated to a karate demonstration by Mr. Karate Jr., Cel Hernandez. He is a nephew of Juan Hernandez, former champion in CIW. At least 78 of the 109 members of the Hernandez family were in attendance to watch this great young star emerge into the rankings.

The high flyers were on next, and they left the crowd in so much turmoil with their movements that I had trouble keeping up with their continuous action. Steve Drake and Tommy Stryker were one team, and the other was Just Josh and Tommy Calloway. I hope that Championship International Wrestling will book these lightweights in a return battle somewhere, as they did not get a clear-cut decision in this meeting.

The next match had CIW United States Champion Hardcopy Coryell meeting veteran Greg Lake, with his manager, Cody Steele, at ringside. Cody made a few snide remarks about my new western sport coat that I had just bought on a trip to Las Vegas last month. He talked about how nice it must be to be able to buy off the rack and to hang on to the coat, as it will be back in style in a few years.

A huge misunderstanding between Hardcopy and the Chief led to a heated ending that gave the match to Greg Lake by disqualification. The Chief, as of late, has been having some managerial problems with the folks that he has led to championship status. Hopefully, he will get these problems ironed out and be at ringside with more new people. Maybe he needs to take some advice from The Epitome of Wrestling Managers!

I was happy to finally meet with Glen Rylko and his son Pat from the Chicago area. You fans might remember seeing them in a picture with Ric Flair a while back in a column. I also got a chance to say hello to Jim Zordani, who is the group moderator in a chat group that I am involved in.

While it is nice to get and send e-mail, it is really a big rush for me to meet you fans and friends in person. I certainly look forward to meeting a lot of you folks in Las Vegas for the CAC in February. I will be honoring Juan Hernandez for his involvement in both Karate and Wrestling at the banquet. More information about the banquet can be found by going to www.caulifloweralleyclub.org.

Next on the card was Guy Lombardo & Sexy Shawn Cook meeting the team of Billy the Tiger & El Borincano, managed by El Buddha. This match got so out of hand that the referee disqualified both teams.

The 10-man bunkhouse brawl was next and saw Cel Hernandez come out a winner after beating the last two men in the ring. He was awarded a check at ringside by the board members of CIW for his win and promptly gave it back to them and told them to donate it to their favorite charity. What a humble, multi-talented young man this Cel is. He will certainly be a huge success in Championship International Wrestling and more then likely follow in his uncle's footsteps.

The ladies were next, and I had my first view of Lady Vendetta and Mia Martinez. These two gals battled for a screaming crowd and left many fans in awe of their talents. Mia lost the battle but did not lose the war, as these two battled all the way back to the dressing room.

The main event came to the ring, and Chief Farber accompanied Luke of the Bushwhackers. They were to face Greg Lake and Hardcopy Coryell, who earlier had a big to-do with the Chief. I couldn't believe my eyes as Hardcopy turned on his mentor and just beat the living heck out of him. I darned near left my announce table to be in The Chief & Luke's corner but thought twice about the men that they were facing. My health means more to me at this stage in my life.

Greg Lake, a wily veteran of over 25 years, was nobody to fool with, as he had beaten many men with moves that I had trouble calling. He has double tendon strength like Danny Hodge and can break 2x4's with a single punch. He is also very well trained in the art of Catch as Catch Can wrestling.

Luke, on the other hand, has a variety of moves in the ring like the Bushwhacker head butt to the stomach and the big double-armed clotheslines that he and the Chief used against Lake and Coryell. Luke was able to win with a pinfall over Greg Lake after 15 minutes of battle, and the fans went home very happy.

I would be remorseful in not thanking the board of directors of Championship International Wrestling for bringing me back into the spotlight again. I would also like to thank Moose Cholak, Freebird Buddy Roberts and Juan Hernandez for joining me at the Legends Autograph Table. It was great seeing you all one more time.

I await your call for my next trip back into the arenas of the Midwest so that I can re-acquaint myself with all the fans.

Percival A. Friend, Retired
The Epitome of Wrestling Managers