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Since y'all asked for it. Newt's deep south indie wrestling pic thread

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  • Since y'all asked for it. Newt's deep south indie wrestling pic thread

    Really the only time I take pics is at the various independent wrestling shows I do video work for.Started back in 2010 just taking pictures from the crowd.Which morphed into a few of the groups asking me to take ringside pics. And that morphed into me shooting video.Now I hit 4 to 6 shows a year,filming matches,doing commentary and even sometimes doing security work.

    So here is the second show I shot pics at. It was the day before Halloween 2010. And it was a free show in the parking lot of the Factory Furniture Outlet.

    From what I can find out this was either Kamala's last or next to last match.Not long after this he had to get one of his legs removed below the knee cause of diabetes.The other guy in the ring with Kamala is Snakeman Mitch Torretta. Mitch is kind of a local legend,mostly cause he brings a 8 foot albino python to most shows. And the dude makes good money,cause every intermission he charges $5 to get a pic with him and the snake in the ring. I got one somewhere I need to scan.

    That is me on the right,and the 24 time NWA Mississippi State Champion the Faroh of Phunk. No I didn't spell that wrong. Before taking the pic he whispered to me "Hey Pimp you mind slouching down some so I don't look like a midget?" I slouched a bunch but as you can see he still looks short. But that day I did have my boots on,with them on I am 6'4".

    And one last shot from this show.

    The guy giving me the stinkeye is Ron "Fatt Hardy" Horn. At one time he was one of the best indy wrestlers in MS,then he got hooked on pain pills and had a bunch of issues. At this show he worked two matches. During the main event he worked a tag match. So kid was heckling Ron,calling him fat. Ron turned to the kid and yelled "That ain't what your mother said earlier at the Super 8 Motel!" Then out of nowhere this very large lady that had maybe 8 teeth jumps up and yells "I AM HIS MAMMY!" Ron looked at her did a double take then said "I need to stop drinking so much!"

    The only other stand out thing about this show is this one fan I met. He was an older guy,I am guessing mid 50s. And was convinced that before Mid South/UWF folded,they went under in 1987,that all pro wrestling wasn't predetermined. "Yep back in the Mid South days it was real. You know the ref hides a tiny pair of scissors. So when the wrestlers want to bleed the ref stabs them with the scissors."

  • #2
    This is already great.

    Comment


    • #3
      After the Halloween 2010 show there was none locally that I knew of until August of 2012. A new group,Last Rites Championship Wrestling,had started up and ran their first show at the civic center in town.

      At the time I was taking my neighbor's son to shows with me. He was in his early 20s at the time but has the mind of a 12 year old. We got there 2 hours before the show started and there was maybe 10 cars in the parking lot. Once the doors were open we went in and sat front row. I noticed they had giant screens up on two of the walls. And that there was no ring apron,so we could clearly see the chairs,pieces of plywood and other weapons they had hidden under the ring.

      The first match was a 20 man Royal Rumble style battle royal. Where it started off with 2 guys in the ring and every 2 minutes someone else would come out. The idea was the last two left in the ring would fight in the main event for the Last Rites World title,yeah a fed that only ran 3 towns had a world title. About 5 minutes into the match we noticed that the ring crew had no secured the ring mat down. So it was slipping and sliding all over. The ring crew ran out and squatted at ringside trying to hold it steady. After the match someone got on the mic and asked if anyone in the crowd had any rope or whatever to secured the mat down. Some guy ran out to his truck and came back with a bunch of bungee cables.

      The guy holding the belt is Max Maverick,that was another thing about Last Rites this was their first show and all but one of the matches was for a title. Max had just won the Last Rites Hardcore title. Not long after this match it was intermission. Max came out and a group of us ended up getting a picture with him.

      The guy on the far left is my neighbor's son Blake. Also look close at the belt Max has. It is a weightlifting belt they stuck a bunch of car decals on.

      I just love this shot. It was from the Last Rites Women's title match.Which ended up being the second best match of the show.

      This was from the only singles match that wasn't for a title. It was a bullrope match. You can see that one guy is bleeding from his forehead. Also look behind them you can see all the empty seats. When the show started there was maybe 80 people in the crowd. Every match ran long,so by intermission it was 10pm. Most of the crowd was parents with young kids,so during intermission almost all the crowd left. By the time intermission was over there was maybe 15 people left.

      This was from the main event. At 10 minutes to midnight the lady in pink,Lil Brit,and the guy on the mat,Frankie Superkick Thomas came out. Then out came the Faroh of Phunk. He stood outside the ring and "whispered" to Frankie "Hey they want us out of here by 12:30 so go home quick!" Go Home is wrestling talk for end the match. About 8 minutes into their match the crowd started chanting GO HOME GO HOME. 5 minutes later Faroh won. Then cut a 15 minute long promo. About how we were the best crowd he has worked in front of. And how next month Last Rites will be back and he wanted a Lincoln County Street Fight with Frankie.

      For me the best part of the show was something I didn't get a pic of.One of the wrestlers,Cale Conners,is a tall bald and chubby guy. He was a heel aka bad guy,so we were heckling him when he came out. After a few fat jokes he looks at me and said "Yeah real original can't you come up with something I haven't heard before." So I quickly said "Yeah you look like Kane and Playboy Buddy Rose had a kid!" Cale tried his best to not laugh and said "Well look we got us a smart mark!" Mark is wrestling speak for a fan and a smart mark is a fan that thinks they know all the secrets. Plus my middle name is mark.After he said this the neighbor's son Blake turns and asked me "How did he know your name was Mark?"

      After the show I was going to use the bathroom. Ran into Cale and thanked him for the smart mark comment."Dude when we got to the back everyone in the locker room was asking me Who Playboy Buddy Rose was."

      Last Rites held 2 more shows before folding. Mostly cause after that first show they never drew more than 20 people to a show.

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Newt Cox View Post
        So kid was heckling Ron,calling him fat. Ron turned to the kid and yelled "That ain't what your mother said earlier at the Super 8 Motel!" Then out of nowhere this very large lady that had maybe 8 teeth jumps up and yells "I AM HIS MAMMY!" Ron looked at her did a double take then said "I need to stop drinking so much!"
        So awesome. Thanks for this thread.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by enandalusiskhund View Post
          So awesome. Thanks for this thread.
          Thank you sir. I have wondered how entertaining these stories and pics would be to non-wrestling fans. And to people that are not from this area. Since MS has no major league sports teams,indy wrestling is pretty big in the state.

          I have been a wrestling fan since the age of 4. At the age of 17 my plan was to do 4 years in the Army,get out and goto the Malenko Wrestling school in Florida. Then while in the Army I blew out my left knee and did serious damage to my left arm and shoulder. So my dream of being a wrestler died. So it has been nice to get into the business as a cameraman/video guy/commentary team/security.

          Comment


          • #6
            Holy, awesome.

            Comment


            • #7
              Newt, thank you. This is fucking fantastic. I love your passion.

              I grew up on wrestling in the deep south. For the commentators, Do you remember the great Gordon Solie (may be before your time)? What a voice!

              Quot
              Bark! Go away
              Last edited by Quot; 10-21-2016, 09:49 PM.

              Comment


              • #8
                I'm gonna join in the chant here - Newt, this is great stuff.
                Rock! Shock! Pop!

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Quot View Post
                  Newt, thank you. This is fucking fantastic. I love your passion.

                  I grew up on wrestling in the deep south. For the commentators, Do you remember the great Gordon Solie (may be before your time)? What a voice!

                  Of course I remember Gordon Solie. Started watching wrestling every week around the age of four,so summer of 78.

                  Thanks everyone for the comments.Just got back from Pro Wrestling EGO's Face Fear show in Byram MS. It was held in an old abandoned church gym. Thankfully the promoter of EGO clued me in before I got there. He knows I'm an Atheist. "Newt if the preacherman asks just tell him your were raised Catholic. That way you aren't lying really." Which is true I was raised Catholic.

                  Was a decent show. I got a few good pics. But between ring crew,wrestlers,refs,annoucer plus all of us doing video there was 40 people and the paying crowd was maybe 30 tops.But I did win a belt.

                  I am the New Big Ramp Enterprises champion. Big Ramp is a local indy manager,has won the MS indy Wrestling manager of the year award the past 4 years. And had his own belt made. I have been joking with him that I was gonna sneak up on him and pin him for it. So before they let the crowd in he laid down and let me pin him.The mask is a cheap Ultimo Guerrero mask. Taken to wearing it while doing commentary. And adopted the name Ultimo Gallos.


                  That is Big Ramp. He is holding a VHS of Back to the Beach. It is a very inside joke,as a kid Ramp watched that movie every day and recite it word for word. So I brought my VHS got him to sign it. Can't make it out but he wrote "Big Ramp..... Bird is the WORD!....Jamaican SKA!!!!!"

                  From earlier this month. Myself and Pentagon Jr. Before and after the show he had his translator asking me if I wanted to sell my shirt.
                  Newt Cox
                  Senior Member
                  Last edited by Newt Cox; 10-23-2016, 02:31 AM.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Now I have this mental image of Newt having Jerry Lawler's voice when he's doing commentary. And I just can't stop imagining Jerry Lawler watching Jess Franco movies.
                    Alex K.
                    Senior Member
                    Last edited by Alex K.; 10-23-2016, 02:54 AM.
                    "Ah! By god's balls what licentiousness!"

                    Marquis de Sade, The 120 Days of Sodom.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Alex K. View Post
                      Now I have this mental image of Newt having Jerry Lawler's voice when he's doing commentary. And I just can't stop imagining Jerry Lawler watching Jess Franco movies.
                      Let me go find one of the matches where I do commentary. I mostly do that for Bodyslam Media. Most of the time at a show I will film a match or two with my own camera for my own channel.



                      I am the first voice speaking. The other voice you will hear is Koby Rutland. The teenage owner and operator of Bodyslam Media Productions. In 5 years this kid has filmed over 200 matches in 12 states for 30+ groups.This match was one local fans had been wanting to see for a year. Lukas Frost is the heel and long time vet,and Nate Moss is 2 years into his career,good guy and was trained by Frost.The annoying airhorns well....

                      Since most of these guys are lucky if they get 50 bucks for these matches,lots of the time they get 15 to 25. Sometimes they don't get paid,but since they lots of the time they don't get paid enough to cover their gas they will got Dollar Tree and buy piles of cheap toys for a buck each. Then resell them at shows for 2 or 3 bucks each. Well Monty Warbucks,part time pro wrestler full time high school football coach,found at Dollar Tree these airhorns that have a hand pump on the bottom. So unlike most airhorns they never run out of air. He sold 15 of them for 3 bucks each. And the kids that got them honked them thru out the entire show. The wrestlers in the back gave Monty shit the entire show.

                      THis is the first show I donned the mask and did commentary as Ultimo Gallos. On the drive down to the show I kept seeing Trump signs everywhere. So I joked about putting on the mask and claiming I was my cousin that came up from Mexico. So right before the doors were opened I put the mask on and didn't take it off until all the crowd was gone. Steve Starr,the promoter of the show,came over before the show started and said "Better watch out come November there,One that wall is up gonna be hard to sneak back into the States."

                      So the rest of the show I played the character up. At intermission had piles of kids come over and want a pic with me. Plus we also had two of the wrestlers' gimmicks for sale at our table. "Gimmicks=shirts,pics,anything a wrestler can sell and make a profit" Well since every kid wanted to some over and see the tall masked guy we ended up selling right at 200 bucks of gimmicks for one guy and 40 for the other.

                      Ok now a few pics.

                      That is Tracy Smothers on the left and me on the right. At the annual Wrestle Birmingham show Tracy was booked to escort Jimmy Golden to the ring. Golden faced a guy billed as Donald Trump's Nephew. I met Tracy Labor Day weekend 2015. Had gotten a pic with him. But it was so blurry that people think it is Bigfoot meeting the loch ness monster. So on the ride up to the show I had talked the photographer into making sure I got a good pic with Smothers. I planned on doing it after the show.

                      Then while we were out on the stage filming and doing commentary Tracy comes out and sits next to me. Joins in on the commentary. And I asked and got a quick pic with him.

                      That is me getting stared down by Mississippi Indy Wrestling 4 time in a row manager of the year Big Ramp. Back then he was a heel. And I would heckle the living shit out of him. A friend snapped that pic for me.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Man this all looks like a hell of a lot of fun.
                        Rock! Shock! Pop!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Makes me miss ECW.
                          Ŗǭƈḱ!Ꞩẖȫçꞣ!Ƥӧꝕ!

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                          • #14
                            Brilliant thread, Newt :)
                            'You know, I'd almost forgotten what your eyes looked like. Still the same. Pissholes in the snow'

                            http://www.paul-a-j-lewis.com (my photography website)
                            'All explaining in movies can be thrown out, I think': Elmore Leonard

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Thanks again everyone. It is a lot of fun.Plus it is cheap entertainment. Back when I was paying to get into shows the average ticket was 10 bucks and that got ya a 2 to 3 hour show. Now I get in free at most shows,but either make a few bucks getting paid to film. Or sell some gimmicks. Most shows as long as I get 15 bucks I am good. That covers my pre and post show meal,plus some cash to give to whoever was driving to help pay for gas.

                              Sunday a bunch of the guys are gathering at my house. Next month is the Wrestlecade convention on NC. Bodyslam Media is going out and wants DVDs to sell. So we are gonna go thru the 400+matches they have in the archive. And pick out enough to fill 4 dvds. Then film intros and outros and shit.

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