Thought I'd post my .02 on the experience. I also had the honor and privilege to attend the National Wrestling Hall of Fame/Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa. Chad and Tim had been asking me (prodding me???
) to come for some time now, and this year, I was finally able to break away, and make the trek.
Folks, let me just say, if it is at all possible for you to make this journey yourselves, I would highly recommend it. Any fan of wrestling history would be the proverbial kid in a candy store for this experience.
The weekend started on Thursday evening, with the Hall of Fame being open to the attendees. The memorabilia was pretty darn impressive, to say the least. Some items of note that stood out to me were a ring robe from John Pesek (it was freaking awesome!), one of Lou Thesz’s ring robes, and his title belt which I believe he took with him to Japan (??), as well as a few personal items from Frank-freaking-Gotch. Simply great stuff, and you couldn’t help but feel like a kid seeing all of it.
But that’s hardly all there was to it. The displays were all very well done, and the history is rich indeed. For this weekend, Rob Schamberger (an artist commissioned by WWE to do portraits) had his art adorning all of the walls of the Hall. It was incredible! So many great champions of the past were portrayed, and there was one print that I was tempted to try and run off with (just kidding….kind of!) of a famous photo shot of Harley Race trapped in Ric Flair’s Figure Four. I hadn’t heard of Rob, but had the chance to meet him, and found him to be just awesome. You can find his WWE artwork, if you’re so inclined, at
shop.wwe.com/rob-schamberger-art/?curr=USD. He’s a lifelong fan, and he is prolific!
Friday was an incredible day. The Legends and inductees started arriving for one thing. We’re talking Stan Hansen, Nikita Koloff, Gerry Brisco, Bob Orton, Dan Severn, B. Brian Blair, Tony Garea, JJ Dillon, Bob Roop, the Hart Family, Charlie Thesz (Lou Thesz’s widow….great lady!), Barbara Goodish (Bruiser Brody’s widow), and eventually Booker T (he came on Saturday) and his wife. And unlike many autograph shows, the fans were mingling quite freely with the legends. It was all an intimate affair, somewhat informal, yet very respectful.
And also on Friday, we were treated with wrestling off and on from 11:30-on. One of Iowa’s finest independent promotions, IPW, has been running cards in conjunction with the HOF induction ceremony for years now, and this year was a veritable extravaganza, featuring not only IPW’s great roster (James Jeffries is one helluva wrestler….worth the trek to catch him!), but also the likes of independent stars Colt Cabana, Brian Cage, good ol’ Bob Holly (yes, THAT Bob Holly, who still looks in phenomenal shape….he and Cabana had a great match!), and yes….Austin Aries! The stars of IPW, along with these great independent and former stars, went all out to entertain us, and the action was great.
I was very impressed by IPW, and again, highly recommend them to any of you in that part of the world (they run Iowa and some neighboring states). Their match presentation harkened back to the days many of us all love, with logical psychology and a variety of styles. As mentioned, James Jeffries really stood out (he is their top face), but they had a number of very good performers (Matty Star, their current IPW Champion, is a heck of a fun heel!).
And then on Saturday, the event concluded with panel discussions with the Hart Family (Owen was being inducted this year) as well as a special (and fascinating!) discussion on Bruiser Brody (featuring Stan Hansen, Barbara Goodish…his widow…Tony Garea…and a couple of others), followed by the Main Event, which was the HOF induction ceremony itself.
Adam Pearce hosted the event, and just did one helluva job with his MC duties (seriously…this guy is a dynamic public speaker). The HOF inductees were Severn and Owen Hart, with annual awards being given to Bruiser Brody, Booker T, Ben Askren (great wrestler and MMA fighter), and Koji Miyamoto (historian’s award). The evening never dragged, and was just an incredible night of celebration for the sport we all know and love.
The Hall of Fame is actually for both amateur and professional wrestling, with the professional Hall of Fame wing named the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame. There are several criteria for entry, not the least of which is a demonstrated and actual background in amateur wrestling. I have a personal feeling/hunch that this may be relaxed in the future to include “performers” too, as eventually, they will run out of all-time greats with legit amateur backgrounds. But for now, they are still leaning this way (still, guys like Dusty Rhodes are in….who was a good athlete and football player, but don’t think he had a great amateur wrestling career, so maybe its already relaxing a bit).
Again, I highly, highly recommend this experience. I would think that many folks on this board would love it. While admittedly its not as big as Cooperstown or Canton, it is still extremely well done, and is growing every year.
Check it out if you’re able….I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Heck, the access to all the legends alone is worth the trek!
But one of the best things about it is hanging out with friends, which is absolutely one of the great joys in life. Catching up with Chad and Tim (has it really been that long??), seeing/meeting Zeke, Eric K., and Iowa Oak/Matt was just outstanding. The beer was great, and the camaraderie was even better. Well done fellas.
-Stu
) to come for some time now, and this year, I was finally able to break away, and make the trek.
Glad everyone had a good time and can only hope that Bob Holly was one of the signings.