Tragos/Thesz Hall of Fame Induction

[iowaoaks]

WOW!!
The lineup of stars was incredible before, but Man, this is really out doing yourselves.

Time is taken off. I'll be there!

[Vegas]

I saw this schedule for the weekend's events in 3 weekends from now:

George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Induction Weekend Schedule

Thursday, July 26

5 p.m. – Kick off social at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum for HOF Inductees and All-Access Pass Holders. Includes food and beverage. (All-access pass holders and distinguished guests only).

8 p.m. – Open mic and pro wrestling trivia.

Friday, July 27

9 a.m. – National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum opens.

10 a.m. – Documentary plays in the theater at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum.

Noon – Pro Wrestling Evaluation with Gerry Brisco, Jim Ross, and JJ Dillon at Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center. Open to All-Access Pass Holders.

2 p.m. – Hall of Fame Classic. Eight-person Tournament with the first round held at Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center with finals held at IPW show in the evening. Tickets for the evaluation, Hall of Fame Classic, and IPW show can be purchased for $35 or general admission for $25.

3 p.m. – Hall of Fame podcast with Wade Keller and Bruce Mitchell of PW Torch.

6:30 – Impact Pro Wrestling show starts at Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center. Ringside ticket included for All-Access Pass Holders (Tickets are $25 for Ringside and $15 for General Admission for non-Pass Holders)

10 p.m. – After Party for All-Access Pass Holders and distinguished guests.

Saturday, July 28

10:30 a.m. – Special roundtable discussion for All-Access Pass holders only.

Noon – Doors open at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum to general public ($10 Admission for non-Pass Holders).

Noon – Round table discussion and Q & A sessions.

2 p.m. – Autograph signing with professional wrestling legends at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. All-Access Pass Holders enter first. $20 Admission for non-Pass Holders required (most individual signers will charge).

5 p.m. – Hall of Fame Reception at Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center.

6 p.m. – Induction Banquet at Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center.

7 p.m. – Induction Ceremony at Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center. All-Access Pass includes banquet ticket. Banquet Tickets are $60 per ticket for non-Pass Holders.

Dan Severn will be the first person in the history of the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Hall of Fame to be recognized on three separate occasions. Severn received the Frank Gotch Award in 2002 and the George Tragos Award in 2012.

Severn was a two-time wrestling All-American for Arizona State where he reached the finals of the NCAA championships in 1980. He had a stint with WWE from 1997-99 and is best known for his time with NWA where he was World Heavyweight champion on two occasions. Severn was the first high profile amateur wrestler to enter the UFC, winning the UFC Superfight Championship and became a Hall of Famer in that sport.

Owen Hart will be the third member of his family to enter the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. His brother, Bret, was inducted 2006 and his father, Stu, was inducted in 2008. The Harts will be the second family in the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame to have three inductees. The other is the Funk family with Terry, Dory, Jr., and Dory, Sr. as members of the Hall of Fame.

Hart was an accomplished high school and college wrestler before entering the professional ranks. He trained in the legendary Hart Dungeon under the tutelage of his father. He gained fame competing in Stampede Wrestling and in New Japan Pro Wrestling before signing with the WWE. He was a multiple time tag team and Intercontinental Champion in the WWE.

Induction into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame includes substantial impact on professional wrestling, general respect within the profession, and a strong amateur wrestling or athletic background.

Booker T is best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), holding 35 championships between those organizations. He is the most decorated wrestler in WCW history, having held 21 titles including a record six WCW World Television Championships

After his in ring career with the WWE ended, Booker T became heavily involved with charitable endeavors in Texas. This included, along with his wife Sharmell, founding the Booker T Fights for Kid Foundation. He also founded the wrestling promotion Reality of Wrestling and was WWE Raw and Smackdown commentator.

The Lou Thesz World Heavyweight Championship Award is given to an individual in wrestling who has taken the skills of the sport into the realm of public service. The award is co-sponsored by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum and the Eblen Charities based out of Asheville, North Carolina.

Lou Thesz became world heavyweight wrestling champion for the first time in 1937 when, at the age of 20, he defeated Everett Marshall. Raised in St. Louis and trained by Ed “Strangler” Lewis and George Tragos, Thesz won the title a total of six times — the last occurring in 1963 when he defeated Buddy Rogers.

Thesz is still considered one of the best professional wrestlers ever — when true talent and toughness were what counted most in the ring.

Bruiser Brody was considered one of the most feared and respected wrestlers in history. He began his career in Texas, and soon became in demand across the globe. Brody competed in virtually every wrestling promotion in the United States and Japan, winning fans over with his wild, brawling style. Brody was famous in Japan for his tag team with Stan Hansen, and battled Abdullah the Butcher around the world. Brody was known as a shrewd businessman, and worked behind the scenes in WCCW as a booker.

The Frank Gotch Award is given to a wrestler who, through their athleticism and toughness in the ring, brought a higher level of respect to professional wrestling from both inside and outside the business.

A native of Humboldt, Iowa, Frank Gotch — a professional wrestler — became one of the best-known athletes in the world during the early 1900s. He won the American title in 1905 from Tom Jenkins, and then took the world title in 1908 from George Hackenschmidt. The 1911 rematch with Hackenschmidt (known as the Russian Lion) drew a crowd of over 30,000 people to Comiskey Park in Chicago. Gotch triumphed again, winning in two consecutive falls.

Gotch defeated all comers for five years, and then retired undefeated in 1913. He was largely responsible for the enthusiasm that built our high school and collegiate amateur wrestling in America.

Ben Askren was a two-time NCAA wrestling champion for Missouri (2006-07) and a four-time NCAA championship finalist (2004-07). Askren made the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in freestyle wrestling at 163 pounds. He compiled an 18-0 Mixed Martial Arts record, winning welterweight titles for ONE Fighting Championship and Bellator. Askren is a currently an owner and coach at Askren Wrestling Academy (AWA) in Hartland, Wisconsin. The academy is dedicated to helping young wrestlers achieve their goals.

The George Tragos Award is given to an exceptionally competitive wrestler who has adapted his wrestling skills and competitive nature to excel in Mixed Martial Arts.

George Tragos, namesake of the award and the hall of fame, was one of the most feared submission wrestlers during the 1920s and 1930s. He wrestled and threw discus for the Greek Olympic team in 1920 and 1924. Tragos was also an AAU freestyle champion in 1919 at 158 pounds for the Gary, Indiana, YMCA. He worked with Don Faurot to revitalize the University of Missouri wrestling program in 1944 as well.

George Tragos’s most famous pupil was Lou Thesz. Lou’s knowledge of hooks was the single most important rung in Lou’s ladder to the top and his years of holding the World Heavyweight Championship (13 years in total). Lou had the body, work ethic and passion, but George gave him the tools that let everyone (wrestlers and promoters) know he was in control of his future and that of the title when he held it. The fans knew the difference, too, and that is why the promoters kept coming back to Lou. The fans knew Lou was a true wrestler. George Tragos gave Lou that edge.

Koji Miyamoto authored 16 books on professional wrestling, including “Eternal Iron Man: Lou Thesz,” ”Pro wrestling techniques, volumes 1-3,” “Inoki, his 50 years of wrestling life,” ”Truth behind Rikidozan,” “45 years of New Japan Pro Wrestling.” He has also interviewed many of the greatest champions in professional wrestling history for his book “Complete History of Japanese Pro Wrestling.” For each book, he used penname of Tomomi Nagare. Today, Miyamoto has a one-page article in “Weekly Pro Wrestling” magazine.

The Jim Melby Award recognizes excellence in professional wrestling writing or history.

All-inclusive Hall of Fame packages and all-access passes must be pre-ordered by contacting the Dan Gable Museum at [e-mail], calling [phone] or clicking here.

[TTX]

One of these years, I must attend there. Have a great time, guys.

[Chad Olson]

Short of iowaoaks, the COTG/LOW crew has assembled in Waterloo! I arrived last night, and Tim, Stu, Zeke, and Eric arrived this morning. We grabbed lunch at the neighborhood Mexican restaurant and made the short walk to the museum. Tonight's festivities kick off with a reception and wrestling trivia contest.

[shawn]

Long time lurker. Me and a bud will be driving down from the cities Friday, because of work commitments just for the wrestling card.
I'll try to say hi.
Have fun.

[iowaoaks]

Headed toward Waterloo in a matter of moments.
Very jazzed for what should be a great day of wrestling excitement.

[Cory Olson]

Bummed I couldn't make it this year. Hopefully will be back next year! Hope you guys have a great time and can't wait to hear stories about the weekend!

[TTX]

Have fun, guys. Hope you get a few signings and have a great time together. One year, I hope to make it although the fact it's between Galacticon and Gen Con makes the odds fairly slim.

[Vegas]

I am home now, here is a recap (please forgive if some of this is repeated on my Road to Iowa thread as I do not remember everything I typed there.) This was definitely a trip of planes, trains, and automobiles (and a bus.)

Sunday night
I caught the shuttle from McCarran Airport in Las Vegas (we have not had Amtrak service here since the mid 1990s) which dropped me off in northern Arizona to catch the Amtrak.

Monday
I spent the entire time on the Amtrak going through Arizona, New Mexico, and parts of Colorado. The train saved me over $200 in travel money (plus hotel money for two nights as well) and the WIFI overall works extremely well on the Amtrak. The food on the train is horrible, but they do serve beer and it is a cool experience to ride through the Rockies while drinking a beer.

Tuesday
After traveling through Kansas, I arrived in Kansas City's historic Union Station mid morning. After 30 hours on the train, I mostly rested but did attend the Tigers/Royals game that night and Kauffman Stadium became the 21st MLB ballpark I have attended and ironically I attended on the 35th Anniversary of the George Brett pine tar incident. A really nice ballpark with the fountains (appropriate since Kansas City has more fountains than any city in the world outside of Rome, Italy.) The Royals Hall of Fame is especially worth seeing as they have George Brett's #5 made out of 3,154 baseball (the exact number of hits Brett had with the Royals,) a good history of baseball in Kansas City, the Royals two World Series Trophies (I consider the Royals the Marlins of the AL,) the Gold Gloves worn by Frank White and the other Royals winners, and many other cool things.

Wednesday
I spent the day in Kansas City. I went to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum which every baseball fan should do at least once in their life IMO. Admission is only $10. There is alot there to learn about past baseball greats such as Andrew "Rube" Foster, John "Buck" O'Neill, Leroy "Satchell" Page, Josh Gibson (arguably the greatest hitter of all time,) James "Cool Papa" Bell, Larry Doby, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, Jackie Robinson, and many other past greats. I spent almost 2 hours there.

Afterward I went to the National World War I Museum which is also incredible. Since it was World War Wednesday and since I am a teacher, I got a discounted admission to the entire museum which included a trip up the Liberty Tower for only $8. (Seeing both the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and the National World War I Museum for a total of less than $20 combined was an amazing way to spend the afternoon in Kansas City!)

Afterward, I had to kill a few hours in the evening before going to the Greyhound Station, so I had an amazing dinner of KC BBQ at Jackstack's in the Plaza area and then went to see The Equalizer 2 (better than just sitting around the bus station.) Overall I liked Kansas City alot but would definitely visit a new city instead next year.

Thursday
I departed Kansas City on the Greyhound a little after 1 AM (the bus is even cheaper than the train and it also saved me yet another night of a hotel as I instead slept for a little on the bus) and a few hours later dropped me off at Des Moines. Avarice picked me up and we drove to Waterloo about 2 hours away. After reaching the hotel we met up with Chad, Tim, and Stu for lunch at a Mexican restaurant.

Thursday was my first-ever chance to see the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame. An amazing place with lots of wrestling history including LOW history (although I sort of laughed when one old wrestling poster was promoting Pepper Gomez as Lou Thesz's "greatest challenger of all time"- Buddy Rogers says hello.) On the walls of the museum are many incredible paintings by WWE artist Rob Schamberger, just incredible work. At the museum, they served us pizza, deli meat, vegetables, beer, soda, and water for dinner. Next to our table was The Revival who were sent over by the WWE. Later, the Revival were actually standing in front of the room with Impact World Champion Austin Aries. Aries mentioned that it was the local promoter in Iowa (Troy Peterson who I know from attending the CAC and who I saw again this past weekend) who first booked him outside of his original local area of Milwaukee.

Afterward, we went to the hotel bar to play a game of pro wrestling trivia. I had Tim, Stu, and Eric with me at my table. Overall we did really well. Tim and Stu answered most of the questions which were really easy for them (seriously, Tim does his WWWF bootleg stats and the first question was what year did the WWWF switch to being the WWF- 1979 is the answer-and there were times when Eric knew the answer and dropped it off before the person asking the question had finished even asking the question. I went 100% on the Indy questions with questions such as "What year did Ring of Honor start?." One question I knew that almost nobody else did was the answer to "Who was the last wrestler managed by Bobby Heenan?" I think most of the tables went with Curt Hennig but I remembered Heenan spent time in ROH so I told Eric to go with the answer choice for CM Punk which was correct (and we were one of only 3 out of the 15 tables to get that question correct.) We were in 1st place going into the final question but ended in 2nd place because none of us knew for sure the answer to the final question.

Afterward, I went out to drink with Chad, Tim, and Eric.

Friday
Me and Eric went to Single Speed Brewery (an incredible brewery for both food and beer) for lunch and met up with Matt (aka Iowa Oakes.) Afterward we went to the show to see the first round of this weekend's tournament:

Brian Cage defeated Curt Stallion

Air Wolf upset DJZ

Colt Cabana defeated Hardcore Holly

Austin Aries defeated local favorite and my friend James Jeffries.

I got my JJ Dillon color card signed and also my copy of JJ Dillon's book signed at the show. I also got my DJZ card signed. I wanted to buy the new Mad Dog book, but my bags were packed to the max due to being on the road for a week so I just decided I will get it later.

Afterward, most of us went back to Single Speed for dinner and then went back for the 2nd half of the show which included moments such as Austin Aries defeating Colt Cabana in the tournament finals, James Jeffries teaming up with Davey Boy Smith Jr. in a 4 way tag match for the tag team championship won by Wes Brisco and his tag team partner, a women's ladder match won by Jeffries's girlfriend to retain the title, and Ugly's final wrestling match.

Afterward we took a shuttle to the Screeching Eagle for drinks and then some of us walked over to another bar until Closing Time (something we do not have in Las Vegas.)

Saturday
We went to a panel discussion about Bruiser Brody and then there was the autograph signings. Over the weekend, I got the following autographs added to my WWE Encyclcpedia:

Booker T (I also got a picture with Booker T and Sharmell.)
Stan Hansen
Cowboy Bob Orton Jr.
Tony Garea
Gerald Brisco
Larry Hennig
B. Brian Blair
Hardcore Holly

In the evening we went to the Half of Fame inductions that included a buffet dinner with prime rib and chicken. The Hall of Fame inductions moved at a fast pace and the food was better than the food they serve us at the CAC for those inductions every Spring. Afterward we went back to Single Speed Brewery one last time.

Sunday
ate breakfast at the hotel
said goodbye to Chad, Tim, and Stu
Eric drove me to the Des Moines International Airport
I flew home

Thanks to Eric (first tine I ever met him) for driving me from Des Moines to Waterloo and then back again!
Thanks to Chad Olson for helping arrange everything this weekend!
As LOW players, we are so lucky to have Chad, Tim, and Stu. They really know their wrestling history and have created important friendships with many of the wrestlers signed to the game. I know they made at least a couple of awesome LOW signings to the game this weekend.
Hopefully I am attending next year too (I just do not know my plans for the Summer until the first Friday of June when I find out whether for sure if I am teaching that Summer which thus determines my schedule and available finances for traveling.) One idea Chad suggested is me visiting Minneapolis first and then possibly riding down with Cory if Cory goes next year. Perhaps if the Twins are in town at that time I can also add MLB Pallpark #22 to my list.

[pikemojo]

Jul 29, 2018 21:22:21 GMT -5 Vegas said:

I am home now, here is a recap (please forgive if some of this is repeated on my Road to Iowa thread as I do not remember everything I typed there.) This was definitely a trip of planes, trains, and automobiles (and a bus.)

Sunday night
I caught the shuttle from McCarran Airport in Las Vegas (we have not had Amtrak service here since the mid 1990s) which dropped me off in northern Arizona to catch the Amtrak.

Monday
I spent the entire time on the Amtrak going through Arizona, New Mexico, and parts of Colorado. The train saved me over $200 in travel money (plus hotel money for two nights as well) and the WIFI overall works extremely well on the Amtrak. The food on the train is horrible, but they do serve beer and it is a cool experience to ride through the Rockies while drinking a beer.

Tuesday
After traveling through Kansas, I arrived in Kansas City's historic Union Station mid morning. After 30 hours on the train, I mostly rested but did attend the Tigers/Royals game that night and Kauffman Stadium became the 21st MLB ballpark I have attended and ironically I attended on the 35th Anniversary of the George Brett pine tar incident. A really nice ballpark with the fountains (appropriate since Kansas City has more fountains than any city in the world outside of Rome, Italy.) The Royals Hall of Fame is especially worth seeing as they have George Brett's #5 made out of 3,154 baseball (the exact number of hits Brett had with the Royals,) a good history of baseball in Kansas City, the Royals two World Series Trophies (I consider the Royals the Marlins of the AL,) the Gold Gloves worn by Frank White and the other Royals winners, and many other cool things.

Wednesday
I spent the day in Kansas City. I went to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum which every baseball fan should do at least once in their life IMO. Admission is only $10. There is alot there to learn about past baseball greats such as Andrew "Rube" Foster, John "Buck" O'Neill, Leroy "Satchell" Page, Josh Gibson (arguably the greatest hitter of all time,) James "Cool Papa" Bell, Larry Doby, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, Jackie Robinson, and many other past greats. I spent almost 2 hours there.

Afterward I went to the National World War I Museum which is also incredible. Since it was World War Wednesday and since I am a teacher, I got a discounted admission to the entire museum which included a trip up the Liberty Tower for only $8. (Seeing both the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and the National World War I Museum for a total of less than $20 combined was an amazing way to spend the afternoon in Kansas City!)

Afterward, I had to kill a few hours in the evening before going to the Greyhound Station, so I had an amazing dinner of KC BBQ at Jackstack's in the Plaza area and then went to see The Equalizer 2 (better than just sitting around the bus station.) Overall I liked Kansas City alot but would definitely visit a new city instead next year.

Thursday
I departed Kansas City on the Greyhound a little after 1 AM (the bus is even cheaper than the train and it also saved me yet another night of a hotel as I instead slept for a little on the bus) and a few hours later dropped me off at Des Moines. Avarice picked me up and we drove to Waterloo about 2 hours away. After reaching the hotel we met up with Chad, Tim, and Stu for lunch at a Mexican restaurant.

Thursday was my first-ever chance to see the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame. An amazing place with lots of wrestling history including LOW history (although I sort of laughed when one old wrestling poster was promoting Pepper Gomez as Lou Thesz's "greatest challenger of all time"- Buddy Rogers says hello.) On the walls of the museum are many incredible paintings by WWE artist Rob Schamberger, just incredible work. At the museum, they served us pizza, deli meat, vegetables, beer, soda, and water for dinner. Next to our table was The Revival who were sent over by the WWE. Later, the Revival were actually standing in front of the room with Impact World Champion Austin Aries. Aries mentioned that it was the local promoter in Iowa (Troy Peterson who I know from attending the CAC and who I saw again this past weekend) who first booked him outside of his original local area of Milwaukee.

Afterward, we went to the hotel bar to play a game of pro wrestling trivia. I had Tim, Stu, and Eric with me at my table. Overall we did really well. Tim and Stu answered most of the questions which were really easy for them (seriously, Tim does his WWWF bootleg stats and the first question was what year did the WWWF switch to being the WWF- 1979 is the answer-and there were times when Eric knew the answer and dropped it off before the person asking the question had finished even asking the question. I went 100% on the Indy questions with questions such as "What year did Ring of Honor start?." One question I knew that almost nobody else did was the answer to "Who was the last wrestler managed by Bobby Heenan?" I think most of the tables went with Curt Hennig but I remembered Heenan spent time in ROH so I told Eric to go with the answer choice for CM Punk which was correct (and we were one of only 3 out of the 15 tables to get that question correct.) We were in 1st place going into the final question but ended in 2nd place because none of us knew for sure the answer to the final question.

Afterward, I went out to drink with Chad, Tim, and Eric.

Friday
Me and Eric went to Single Speed Brewery (an incredible brewery for both food and beer) for lunch and met up with Matt (aka Iowa Oakes.) Afterward we went to the show to see the first round of this weekend's tournament:

Brian Cage defeated Curt Stallion

Air Wolf upset DJZ

Colt Cabana defeated Hardcore Holly

Austin Aries defeated local favorite and my friend James Jeffries.

I got my JJ Dillon color card signed and also my copy of JJ Dillon's book signed at the show. I also got my DJZ card signed. I wanted to buy the new Mad Dog book, but my bags were packed to the max due to being on the road for a week so I just decided I will get it later.

Afterward, most of us went back to Single Speed for dinner and then went back for the 2nd half of the show which included moments such as Austin Aries defeating Colt Cabana in the tournament finals, James Jeffries teaming up with Davey Boy Smith Jr. in a 4 way tag match for the tag team championship won by Wes Brisco and his tag team partner, a women's ladder match won by Jeffries's girlfriend to retain the title, and Ugly's final wrestling match.

Afterward we took a shuttle to the Screeching Eagle for drinks and then some of us walked over to another bar until Closing Time (something we do not have in Las Vegas.)

Saturday
We went to a panel discussion about Bruiser Brody and then there was the autograph signings. Over the weekend, I got the following autographs added to my WWE Encyclcpedia:

Booker T (I also got a picture with Booker T and Sharmell.)
Stan Hansen
Cowboy Bob Orton Jr.
Tony Garea
Gerald Brisco
Larry Hennig
B. Brian Blair
Hardcore Holly

In the evening we went to the Half of Fame inductions that included a buffet dinner with prime rib and chicken. The Hall of Fame inductions moved at a fast pace and the food was better than the food they serve us at the CAC for those inductions every Spring. Afterward we went back to Single Speed Brewery one last time.

Sunday
ate breakfast at the hotel
said goodbye to Chad, Tim, and Stu
Eric drove me to the Des Moines International Airport
I flew home

Thanks to Eric (first tine I ever met him) for driving me from Des Moines to Waterloo and then back again!
Thanks to Chad Olson for helping arrange everything this weekend!
As LOW players, we are so lucky to have Chad, Tim, and Stu. They really know their wrestling history and have created important friendships with many of the wrestlers signed to the game. I know they made at least a couple of awesome LOW signings to the game this weekend.
Hopefully I am attending next year too (I just do not know my plans for the Summer until the first Friday of June when I find out whether for sure if I am teaching that Summer which thus determines my schedule and available finances for traveling.) One idea Chad suggested is me visiting Minneapolis first and then possibly riding down with Cory if Cory goes next year. Perhaps if the Twins are in town at that time I can also add MLB Pallpark #22 to my list.

Sounds like an amazing weekend! Always great to hear about new signings!

If you do trek through Minneapolis next year, I'd love to grab a beer with you guys or something!