SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
TRAGOS-THESZ HALL OF FAME WEEKEND – LIVE PWTORCH PODCAST TAPING ANNOUNCED – JIM ROSS, BOOKER T, ANIMAL, ARIES, NIKITA, ORTON, MORE
Details of the annual George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame weekend in Waterloo, Iowa, have been announced, and “All-Access Passes” are available for $120 through June 1, after which the price goes up to $130. All-Access Passes allow attendees an opportunity to attend all events from Thursday through Saturday, including a ticket to the Hall of Fame Banquet, a ringside seat to the Impact Pro Wrestling show and preferred access at the autograph signing.
Announced for this summer’s event: Booker T, Jim Ross, Road Warrior Animal, Austin Aries, J.J. Dillon, Bob Holly, Nikita Koloff, Stan Hansen, Larry “The Axe” Hennig, B. Brian Blair, Gerry Brisco, Bruce Hart, “Cowboy” Bob Orton, DJZ/Zema Ion, Brian Cage, and Dan Severn are among those advertised.
I will also be there for the fourth straight year along with PWTorch senior columnist Bruce Mitchell including recording a live podcast. This is a great weekend and the most economical way to have the best access you’ll find anywhere to a great weekend of wrestling happenings; the Dan Gable Wrestling Museum itself is worth the drive not to mention a strong IPW indy shown Friday night and the HOF banquet on Saturday night, plus just a fun small town atmosphere where everything is walking distance and there’s always someone to hang out that you’ll recognize. Getting to Waterloo, Iowa is a four hour drive from Milwaukee, a three hour drive from Minneapolis/St. Paul, a two hour drive from Des Moines, Iowa, a one hour drive from Cedar Rapids, Iowa., and a four-and-a-half hour drive from Chicago. It’s worth the drive (or a flight and then a drive).
“Attending the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame is a must for any true fan of professional wrestling,” said Jim Ross, master of ceremonies for this year’s hall of fame banquet and “The Voice” of professional wrestling. “I’m challenging everyone to bring at least one additional person with them to this year’s event. I can’t wait to attend.”
The Gable Museum is also offering an all-access pass and a three-night hotel stay package from July 26-29 at the newly remodeled Hotel Fourth (formerly Ramada Inn) for $355. All-inclusive Hall of Fame packages and all-access passes must be pre-ordered by contacting the Dan Gable Museum at dgmstaff@nwhof.org, calling (319) 233-0745, CLICK HERE. For more information on weekend events, including Impact Pro Wrestling’s Saturday night event and a LIVE taping of a Bruce Mitchell Audio Show at 3 p.m. on Friday, CLICK HERE. Follow the Tragos/Thesz museum on Facebook HEREfor further updates and info.
(LIVE IPW SHOW TONIGHT… By the way, if you’re in the area, IPW is running a live event in Des Moines, Iowa tonight. Details are HERE.)
MLW FUSION TV TAPINGS COMING TO NEW YORK IN JULY
Tickets went on sale for MLW Fusion this morning for the July 19 MLW Fusion TV tapings in Queens, N.Y. at the Melrose Ballroom. There are limited VIP tickets available which include early entry at 5:30 ET and a pre-show “Meet & Greet” with select MLW talent, plus a complimentary poster. For tickets, visit http://mlwnyc.eventbrite.com.
ALL-IN TICKETS GO ON SALE TOMORROW
This year’s Labor Day Weekend will be among the biggest wrestling weekends of the year. and tickets for the “All-In” indy mega-show go on sale tomorrow (Sunday, May 13) at 4 p.m. ET. This event, taking place at Sears Centre Arena near Chicago, Ill., is being promoted by Cody and The Young Bucks. Their goal is sell at least 10,000 tickets which would be the first time a non-WWE event has sold 10,000 seats in the United States since WCW. Today the Chicago Tribune published a story on this event: 7 things to know about ‘All In’ – the huge indie wrestling show coming to the Chicago area.
JUST ANNOUNCED – STARRCAST ’18 TO FEATURE LIVE PWTORCH PODCAST TAPING AT MEGA-PODCAST CONVENTION IN CHICAGO LABOR DAY WEEKEND
Conrad Thompson has announced Starrcast ’18, a mega-convention of podcasters in Chicago the same weekend as the “All-In” indy super show in Chicago. Bruce Mitchell and I will be taping a PWTorch podcast at the convention which runs Thursday night through Sunday. Others already announced as appearing include Sean “X-Pac” Waltman, Cody, The Young Bucks, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Jeff Jarrett, Road Warrior Animal, Jerry Lawler, Colt Cabana, Sean Mooney, Bruce Prichard, Eric Bischoff, Tony Schiavone, J.J. Dillon, Teddy Long, Dutch Mantel, DDP, Lex Luger, Tully Blanchard, Joey Janella, and even Macaulay Culkin.
Why are sites hyping MLW? I honestly don’t get it. It’s on a channel no one gets. No one has bothered to even report their ratings on BEIN network so far. If Impact were on that channel, you guys would go out of your way to report the ratings especially if they were poor. But with MLW, nothing, nada. It’s like there is a payola deal going on with sites and MLW. Just feels that way.
Lou,
Have you watched the show yet? It is pretty entertaining if you are a wrestling fan and not a Sports Entertainment fan. I do agree with your point on the Impact bashing. I prefer to watch wrestling rather than sports entertainment, so I hope MLW does well. I prefer it to the WWE’s 20 minutes of talking and two minutes of wrestling. I haven’t noticed it being overhyped, but now I am going to start paying attention. You also made a great point about BEIN, I had no idea what that even was or if I had that channel. Luckily, I do have it, but I had never watched anything on there before checking out a MLW show.