Metro Sports anchor Chris Gough is far away from his days of booking Madison Square Garden for the largest wrestling company in the world, Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Entertainment. This Saturday, Gough will put on his second Metro Pro Wrestling show at the Turner Recreation Center (831 South 55th Street in KCK).
Gough is enjoying life in the indies and excited to crown his first champion in an eight-man tournament this weekend.
"We got a new belt made by Ringside, so we're looking forward to having
our first Metro Pro title," he says.
Gough is feeling his way out
as he goes. Metro Pro's first show drew 250 fans to Memorial Hall --
the historic arena where local legend Harley Race won his first NWA World Heavyweight Championship -- a number Gough was pleased with.
"I was encouraged by that," Gough says. "It was special to have our first show there."
No
doubt Gough wants asses in the seats, but he says he doesn't need a
huge crowd to break even. The big deal for him is the 11 p.m. Saturday
time slot on Metro Sports.
"Having a time slot on Metro Sports was a big deal," Gough says. "I
wouldn't do this if I didn't have a television slot.
"Selfishly, it was fun for me to be able to work on this," he adds. "I thought it
was cool for the wrestlers to have a chance to show their skills
on TV, and they can go on and hopefully get a better job somewhere if
they want to continue to be a pro wrestler for a career -- Ring of Honor
all the way up to WWE."
The names may not be familiar -- Michael Strider, Superstar Steve Fender, Mark Sterling and Mike Sydal (the brother of WWE star Evan Bourne). But hard-core wrestling fans might remember Trevor Murdock from
his run in the big leagues, and his three runs with the WWE's World
Tag Team Titles (with Lance Cade, who died from heart failure on August 13 at the age of 29).
The
reactions to the show have been positive, Gough says. I've watched
the shows, and they've made for an intriguing hour of television -- some
good-to-decent wrestling with some wacky characters and a bit of blood.
Gough says he's taken the most heat for his commentary with Dave
Borchardt, who calls the Kansas City Wizards soccer matches.
"I think it's gotten better," Gough says. "I think it'll get better over time."
Indie
promotions typically aren't long for the world. But Gough says he
thinks Metro Pro can "go for quite awhile" and start bringing in bigger-name
wrestlers.
He acknowledges that he's not going to please everyone. But he'll try on Saturday night.
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We attended the match at Turner Recreation on the 8th - was pleased to see so many parents there with their children - I would encourage parents to make this family event - wrestlers interacted with the crowd and took time for the children - wrestlers made it something new the whole evening - location is good, free parking, we had a good time and will attend again
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