Shootin' with The Snapshot

I know a lot has been posted and said already but I want to send out my condolences to the family of Ray Traylor " The Big Boss Man". I was sort of taken back when I read about passing. The first time I met Ray was at a Dennis Coraluzzo show in NJ at the Dunn Sports Center in Elizabeth, NJ. That is a famous gym at the Elizabeth High School. He wrestled another legend in Dick Murdoch. This was about 10 years ago. He was very nice and easy to talk to. I met Ray again a few years ago at a local signing at a church fair and again he remembered me. He loved the signing and doing the right thing by the church and the sponsor. It amazes me that a bunch of young guys are losing there life at an early age due to different reasons. The obvious drug and alcohol is one thing that can be controlled with a little common sense and moderation or even "JUST SAYING NO." I do not think NO is in the vocabulary of many of the boys. What can't be controlled but should be monitored yearly is your general health. It is important especially if you have a family that you go to a doctor and get a yearly physical. I know some or many might not have insurance but can you really put a price on your health. Spend $60 -- $100 and get a check up. It is better to be penny wise than pound foolish. Take a look at many of the legends of the 80's, they are still going strong. Why are they still going strong since they live or lived the lifestyle? I know I will get some heat for this but considering some of there lifestyles they should be the ones dying not the young boys. Just so you know I do not wish death on anyone but I am trying to make a point. Take a look at a famous legend that shall remain nameless but is very close to me and sort of associated with me everytime he is in town. It is amazing that he is still going strong and is still alive with all the stuff he takes.

Speaking of legends this weekend I had Cowboy Bob Orton in town. All I can say is that he is a first class gentleman. Saturday I had a triple shot with him. He came in to Philadelphia where he was picked up by the sponsor for the aforementioned autograph session. I met Bob at the autograph session in Allentown Pa. It was held at Pro Wrestling World. That is Bud Carson's place. That is a famous wrestling memorabilia store. I have been there before and I have to say this is a first class place. They had Bob in the back room which doubles as training facility for Ring General and Chikara. Bob was in the ring signing autographs and talking to the fans. If you have never been there I suggest going to this place for the autograph sessions as the price is always right and you get treated first class. If you are looking for some great hard to find videos go to Bud as he has them. Upcoming autograph sessions include Oct 3, 1-3 PM Ivan Putski ( I will have a report on that next week ) and Superfly Jimmy Snuka on Oct 9 which is his first appearance since his health problems. I taped the Q & A for Bob Orton and will probably tape the Ivan Putski Q & A next week. Both will be on one tape and available through ESS Promotions in the near future. After that Bob and I headed to the debut of Pro Wrestling Unplugged. I made this deal with Johnny Kashmire the week before at the USA PRO show. He wanted to keep it as a surprise. Since USA PRO canceled there convention which had Bob booked I thought this was a good way to make up for that not to mention a bonus for Bob for the weekend. They held it at tavern in Berwyn, PA where some of the boys work. I have to say this was first class all the way also. When we arrived we were met with a red carpet arrival with some wacky announcers doing the intro. I think Mac Smack and the old CZW crew that was there fit perfectly into this role. Once inside they had Bob do some interviews and promos for the radio show. It was nice to see some of the young guys there. All were very respectful to Bob and I. I also got a chance to talk to Rockin Rebel. He is a great guy. He is on his 17th year in wrestling and I am going on my 20th year. We were making small talk about for this genre of indy wrestling how both of us are the legends. After Bob was done we went to the merch table which had about 8 different PW Unplugged shirts which is impressive and to me seemed totally professional. I noticed a lot of people wearing there shirts and getting drunk at the bar. Many indy wrestlers were just hanging out and partying at the bar. Wouldn't you know it where there is booze there is everyone's favorite indy reporter Sean the drunken Mic getting blasted. Having ESP ( Eric Simms Perception ) I see mic needing a new liver somewhere down the line. Needless to say we were there for 45 minutes and had a very good experience and I highly recommend checking out this new promotion. The final leg of my triple shot Saturday was a 2 hour ride from Berwyn, PA to West Paterson, NJ for IWF. That is Kevin Knights promotion. This is where his students get a chance to hone there craft and perform in front of a crowd. Kevin has some good talent there that has done some WWE work. Some of those guys include Bonecrusher Fred Samson and Roman. Bob was the guest referee for the main event. I like IWF shows because they are short usually 6 match shows and run no more than 2 hours which includes an intermission. Kevin runs a very tight shift there and it really shows. If you are looking to become a wrestler and want to get trained I highly recommend going to Camp IWF. They even have guest instructors there on occasion. Some of the guests include Dr. Tom Pritchard -- WWE trainer, The Honkytonk man -- a famous legend and former WWE intercontinental champion, Ken Shamrock -- former UFC and Pancrease champion, Stevie Richards -- current WWE star.

The final legs of my 5 shot weekend led Bob and I on Sunday to the IHPW / JCW show in Garfield, NJ. They had a nice crowd there. They had Cousin Stevie from Showtime's Family Business there doing and appearance. The release girl got a little pushy with some of the legends for a release which did not sit to well with them. Bob was on second in a 6 man tag which went 2 out of 3 falls and Bob's team got the win in the 3rd fall with the famous superplex. The crowd seemed to pop for Bob when he did his spots not mention punches which are one of the best in the business. I also thought I would mention that the groan I heard from the crowd after the first fall was priceless. Bob got redemption in the third fall. I want to thank Bob for doing the right thing in the match for all the wrong reasons. I also had a chance to see Steve Corino who I have not seen in a while. He looks good. Steve and I had a private conversation over an issue that was bothering him. I admire Steve for his professionalism and class while expressing his view points which I totally agree with. After IHPW we headed over to IWF for the last leg of our 5 shot weekend. Bob managed Roman in the main event which was a bullrope match against Shane O Brien with Bonecrusher Fred Sampson in his corner. This was to my surprise a 5 star match. For indy wrestling this was one of the best bull rope matches I have ever seen and as good as any performer in the big leagues could do. This was total old school style.

Overall a great weekend with some good people and great promotions and a true class gentleman in the legend Cowboy Bob Orton.

Next week my recap of the Boston Legends convention and the return of the Iron Sheik

Eric Simms
ESS316@aol.com
www.esspromotions.com