August 2005...I snuck into that show...

Hello again, - I quickly want to say a thank you to all who have reached out about the site, it warms my little black heart that so many are enjoying it. 

Last weekend I joined Mitchell's Mess & More at the Sports Wax Promotions - Collector's Jam at the Concord, NC Arena & Event Center:

 

This weekend, I'll be joining the table at the 4th & Goal Collector's Vault show in Shelby, NC at the LeGrande Center.  

I've posted a few photos from August 2005 here. Other than the routine HVW and APW shows this month, I did venture out to Asheville, NC with Nick Fury to attend the Universal Championship Wrestling show at the Civic Center. Very cool for me as the Civic Center is where I used to watch the NWA whenever they came through town. I wasn't booked to shoot this show, but I was at the right place at the right time and got to go to ringside.  Even though the attendance was very low, it still had a big show feel to me, plus I got to shoot the Steiner Bros. for the first time. 

That's it, thanks for reading and don't forget: Take the Picture.

July 2005...Big Bill, low ceilings, tv tapings, Kingsport

Short post today - things have been busy here at the home office!  

I've been off the road for a few weeks, but I'll be back at the Mitchell's Mess & More table for the following: 

June 5-7:  Sports Wax Collector's Jam in Concord, NC

June 20: Fourth & Goal Collector's Vault in Shelby, NC

July 22-26: The Gathering VII in Charlotte, NC

Just because I'm not in attendance shouldn't keep you from visiting the MMM table - they are on the road much more than me - click here for their upcoming events in Lumberton, Goldsboro, Fayetteville, Wilmington, Myrtle Beach, and more!

I plan to attend Wrestling Evolution tonight in Shelby, NC at Weathers Arena/Cleveland Co. Fairgrounds for "Adrenaline Overload" - come on out, really enjoy their shows. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today's photos come from July 2005. Other than a road trip to Kingsport, TN I only shot at APW in Spartanburg, SC and HVW in Hendersonville,NC. Below are a few highlights:

July 2, 2005 - "Big" Bill White. Bill and "Honest" Doug Hawkins held the APW tag titles at this time. Bill was a great locker room presence at APW. Smart, funny, generous with his knowledge and criticism. Bill passed away in 2021 and I knew he'd been a journeyman wrestler but I had no clue 
how well traveled he was. Read this. Read this too. 

The photo below (also July 2) has Bill talking with Eddie "The Great ER" Rich at the APW announce table - Eddie is in his "I don't want no trouble" position, hands up (which is this instance, I find very funny) and is joined by Danny Parris and Rowdy James. 

July 9 - Nick Fury. One of my all time favorite photos of Nick. The ceiling at the APW Arena was very low, so high flyers were limited in what they could do - it never stopped Nick. I wish him the best in his recovery from a recent injury, he has a strong will and I know he can do it. 

July 16 - "Hot Shot' Shane Austin and APW had gotten a spot on local television to showcase the show every week - so "TV tapings" were started at the Saturday night shows. This night we were visited by Ricky Morton (have you heard of him?) - he teamed with "Big Country" Billy Rucker later in the show. Below are two shots of them doing an interview segment with Bill Hazelwood. 

July 16 - Another shot of Nick Fury. This time versus Ostgard at APW. One of my favorite shots - Fury is in position, ready to lunge. 

July 29 - Road trip for myself, Ken Magnum, Adam Jaxon and Viper. This was for All Pro Wrestling in Kingsport, TN at the National Guard Armory. I recall it was a great trip and we had a lot of fun. It was also the first time I ever heard a crowd BOO Ricky Morton! He was smacking Brad Thomas around and the folks there didn't like that. You'll see below that Adam got to do a move that was impossible to do at APW (the aforementioned low ceiling). 

That's it! Thanks for reading and don't forget: Take the Picture.

May 2005

What better time to make a new post than a completely snow covered day? So here we go. 

I started branching out in May 2005 - AWC (promoter: "Stray Cat" Brodie Ray Chase) in Easley, SC; Carolina Championship Wrestling in Gaffney,SC and UCW in Greenwood, SC.  Looking back on all the photos I took away from APW and HVW I can tell I was having to adjust how I shot matches to adapt to the variety of talent I saw while on the road. Seeing these different faces and venues sparked the desire to broaden my horizons with wrestling photography.  

This album includes photos from: 
May 7 - CCW, Gaffney SC Middle School 
May 8 - American Pro Wrestling, Spartanburg (Mother's Day show)
May 20 - UCW, Greenwood, SC. 

It also includes a photo of a young man that I had the pleasure of knowing for his whole life: Trevor Arrowood - he came down to the APW Mother's Day show and was interviewed by Jay Eagle. I encouraged Trevor's interest in 'rassling and he later joined me on the road to Charlotte,NC for a memorable show and Waffle House visit (he got to eat with Kevin Owens aka Kevin Steen). I have worked with his father for many years and Trevor followed his father into law enforcement, working at Rock Hill,SC Police Department. The Trevor's Gift Scholarship Program was established to honor Trevor's memory by providing students the means to pursue a degree in Criminal Justice at Western Carolina University. If you have a moment, check out their website. 

Click here for the May 2005 Album

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Mitchell's Mess & More news -coming up in February, the bosses will be at the American Legion in Wilmington for the Carolina Sports Promotions card show on the 7th and then at the Segra Stadium for the Fayetteville Woodpeckers Spring Fling on the 28th. 

This time of year means Mad Monster Party time in Charlotte, NC! This is the anniversary of my reconnection with the Smiths and has become an annual meet up for us all. 

April 2005

 Hi there reader - I hope you had a good [insert your winter holiday(s)/festival(s)] and happy new year!

Wanted to make a quick post - I realized today the last post was in November! Holidays get busy here at the home office. 

******************************************

Uploaded a few photos from April 2005 in this album. These are all from American Pro Wrestling in Spartanburg, SC and High Velocity Wrestling in Hendersonville, NC.

*********************************** 

For Mitchell's Mess & More, upcoming: 

Saturday, Jan. 17th - Greater Goldsboro Collectibles Show in Goldsboro, NC at the Maxwell Ag Center. 
Saturday, Feb. 7th - Carolina Sports Promotions in Wilmington, NC at the American Legion. 

MMM hit Gastonia,NC back in December for the Fourth & Goal Collector's Vault Show - check out the post below on the MMM facebook.  If you're not already, follow the page - upcoming shows, updated photos, and the great group shots of all our pretty faces!

January is quiet for myself - I am planning on visiting the Spartanburg Comic Con on January 24: 

Collector's Vault Shelby AND Wrestling Evolution: Love is Pain on January 31: 

That's it - thanks for reading!

March 2005

First off, I'll be heading to Greenville, SC tomorrow for the annual Retro-Toy Con! Looking forward to getting back together with the Mitchell's Mess & More gang -the toy con has become another great time for us just to hang out and have a good time...and stay up late for the room swaps! 

The year is winding down, but you have a couple more chances to see MMM in 2025. December 12-13th, we'll be at Fourth & Goal Promotions: Collector's Vault Showcase in Gastonia, NC. This will be the first of their shows we'll be set up at - I'm looking forward to it. 

Next up, on December 20-21st, MMM is once again at the Lumberton Toy & Comic Holiday Show in Lumberton, NC. 

**************************

Photos for this post are from March 2005. This month saw me take my first road trip for a show in Kingsport, TN on the 11th with Ken Magnum and Viper. 

Ken got to meet some nice locals: 

And we got to meet the King of Kingsport: 

March 18, 2005 - the first High Velocity Wrestling "Redneck Champion" title belt: 

March 19,2005 - here's a mid-air shot of Dirty kicking Nick Fury - American Pro Wrestling, Spartanburg, SC. 

On the 25th, I was invited to shoot the last "Hardcore Hell" show under the NWA Wildside banner. "Hot Shot" Shane Austin invited me and I was welcomed by the talent and Bill Behrens, who ran the promotion. It closed a month later as Bill left to work at WWE's Deep South Wrestling. I would return to the building though as it reopened as NWA Anarchy. This night I shot one of the best pics I ever got in my opinion - look for the fireball in this gallery!

You can view the show here, and will occasionally see me at ringside. This was before I started wearing solid black, so you can't miss me, it looks like I was wearing an orange shirt (why? I don't know...I should have listened to that drag queen who told me I look like the Great Pumpkin in orange). 

Thanks to all for reading - and have a happy Thanksgiving. 

February 2005

I am pulling photos from February 5, 12, 18, 19 and 26 of 2005. All of these were at American Pro Wrestling in Spartanburg, SC. 

On 2/18, APW helped promote the Legends of Wrestling show that took place the next night at the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium (See the booking sheet below). A strap match between Greg Valentine and Chief Jay Eagle was set up as a tribute to the Valentine / Wahoo McDaniel match from 1977 where Valentine won the Mid-Atlantic Title. 

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE GALLERY

Further Reading:

https://midatlanticwrestling.net/resourcecenter/spartanburg_legends/spart_nol_index.htm

https://www.midatlanticwrestling.net/resourcecenter/spartanburg_legends/2005/spartanburg_2005_pl.htm

https://www.midatlanticwrestling.net/resourcecenter/spartanburg_legends/2005/spartanburg_2005.htm

Mitchell's Mess & More is taking the month of October off - but will return in November: Wrestling With Purpose on Nov. 1 at Scotland High School in Laurinburg, FWE on Nov. 15 at Sport HQ in Cary, and then I'll join up with the guys at this year's Retro-Toy Con in Greenville, SC from Nov. 21-23. 

Thanks for reading!

January 2005

January 1, 2005 - American Pro Wrestling hosted the (first?) Johnny Weaver Iron Man Tournament. There are a couple of photos in the gallery of Johnny - I'm not sure where the rest of the pics are from the night. This was the last night I used the Sony Mavica camera. 

By the next show, Jan. 8 I had moved up to the Nikon D70 Digital SLR.  It was leaps and bounds better than what I was used to. I slowly learned what I could capture with it. 

In Mitchell's Mess & More news: 1/2 of Mountain (me), Coastal and Piedmont were all able to get together at the Mad Monster Expo held in Concord, NC August 22-24. Mad Monster (the MM Party in February) is where Tre and I were reunited many years ago from our 'rasslin days and it has become an annual tradition for all of us to get together, enjoy a Red Lobster lunch on Saturday - support the awesome charity: Scares That Care, see old friends and hang out.

September sees MMM debuting in Havelock, NC on Saturday, the 6th at the Brothers Boyd - Friends of the Comic-Con III and then I'll be joining the tables at the Southeast Collectors Showcase in Concord, NC on Sept. 20 & 21. 

The gallery below has photos selected from APW shows on Jan. 1, 8, 15 and 22.  The show was snowed out on Jan. 29 per my notes. 

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE GALLERY. 

Speaking of notes, take a look at these original booking sheets from APW, Jan. 15 & 22: 

Thanks for reading!

2004 - APW, HVW...

The last couple of weeks I have looked through the 2004 photos folder. It was over 3300 photos...and...they were not the best. I took photos from a seated position for a few months at American Pro Wrestling in Spartanburg (APW). It was the top tier of the metal bleachers you see on the left of the below photo: 

 I was learning "on the job" so to speak. I had no experience in photography, but I was a big wrestling fan and knew what a good wrestling photo looked like. I was learning my way and the photos showed that. Also, the Sony Mavica had a bit of a delay, so I missed more than I got. 

So here are some selected pics from (mostly the latter part of ) 2004. I've tried to do a mix and include different wrestlers, but as I mentioned not all of the photos were that great, so if you're looking for someone specific you may not see them-this wasn't intentional...again, in 2004...I wasn't that good. 

View the gallery here.

I'll be joining the con family again next weekend at the Mad Monster Expo in Charlotte, NC. It's a great horror convention and is where I reconnected with Tre & Mitchell from Mitchell's Mess & More. They usually have a rassler or two also. This year: The Honky Tonk Man, Killer (Karrion) Kross & Scarlett Bordeaux, and Saraya.

Further Reading: 

https://midatlanticwrestling.net/andersons/abc/2004_abc1/abc1.htm

https://witnesstheevolution.com/

https://jimmyvaliant.weebly.com/

https://madmonster.com/expo-2025/

https://scaresthatcare.org/

It started in 2004...

 It started in 2004...Adam Jaxon and Ken Magnum started training with Gary "Viper" Benfield and debuted in American Pro Wrestling (Spartanburg, SC) for owner, Chief Jay Eagle.  They used different names back then:  Ethan Cage & Kris Pain. These guys are family - they were a great classic tag-team (called The UnderGround) and we had a lot of fun together. This was the beginning of the journey for me and I'm forever thankful they let me tag along with them. 

Below are some photos from that year:

Just like everybody involved, we started out as fans and we happily ran into Barbarian several more times down the road.

The bear belonged to Jimmy Kindrid...Ken didn't care. 

Blond hair courtesy of "Hot Shot" Shane Austin

The "I Hate Viper" head wrap.

The fireball injury head wrap. 

July 4, 2004 - High Velocity Wrestling in Hendersonville, NC at Jackson Park - what was published...

...and what you didn't see: