It was about 60 degrees on Saturday in Waukesha, WI, but inside the Expo Center there was a blizzard. More precisely, there was a blizzard brawl. I am referring to Blizzard Brawl 8, the biggest event of the year for Great Lakes Championship Wrestling (GLCW).
Thanks to the hospitality of David Herro, Matt Parker and I got in a bit early and were able to talk to many of the wrestlers before the event started. We renewed acquaintances with wrestling legends Kevin Nash, Jim Duggan and Terri Runnels, all whom we have previously interviewed. They were all super nice to everyone in line, making sure everyone got their special moment, despite the line wrapping around the building.
We spent the next hour meeting the other star wrestlers, including Larry Zbyszko and the Honkytonk Man, who we have previously met and who were not scheduled to be in ring later. Each refers to me as “Jay Leno,” because I bear a slight resemblance to the late night talk host.
We also connected with several of our friends from the Chicago indy wrestling scene. Agent to the stars Chazz Moretti had his game face on. Photog Rob Myers was lining up shots. Our friends from Resistance Pro Wrestling had a booth full of cool R Pro stuff.
Soon it was time for the wrestling action to start. We booed our “bad guy” friends Moretti and Ruff Crossing as Ruff lost a great match. Later Moretti managed Matt Longtime against WWE Hall of Famer Hacksaw Jim Duggan. We cheered as our friend Melanie Cruise defeated Scarlett Bordeaux. We loved seeing former WWE tag champs Demolition retain their GLCW tag titles. GLCW Heavyweight champ Al Snow beat Robbie E. in a slobberknocker of a hardcore match.
The main event saw Too Cool (Rikishi, Brian Christopher and Scotty Too Hotty) team up for the first time in many years. They defeated WWE legends Billy Gunn and Armando Estrada and another of our Chicago guys, Jay Bradley. When Too Cool got the win and started their trademark dance, the crowd went crazy.
I listed more matches than I usually do, because this card was packed with wrestling legends and great Indy stars. Every match could have gone either way. There was no predictability and the fans cheered and booed all night long.
I attend a lot of wrestling events, but this one stands out. It is unusual to see that many legends not only appearing for the meet-and-greet, but also wrestling legit matches (not just weak nostalgia matches).
There were about 2,000 fans in attendance and everything ran smoothly. The prices were reasonable, the wrestlers were very fan-friendly and the matches were exciting from beginning to end. What more could anyone want?
I believe in applauding successful efforts like this. David Herro worked tirelessly to put on an unbelievable show. His staff, the GLCW wrestling talent and all of the wrestling legends should be applauded.
I went home from Blizzard Brawl 8 with a lot of great memories. This show will be hard to top, but Herro is probably already working on making Blizzard Brawl 9 even better. I guess we will all find out on Dec. 7, 2013, the date just announced for Blizzard Brawl 9. I know I will be there!
