FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Duo graduates from wrestling school following 1-hour match
WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. - A two-year journey came to a successful end Sunday afternoon as Eric Wayne and Kevin "Kid" Nikels completed their requirements to become the first two graduates of the "Nightmare" Ken Wayne School of Professional Wrestling.
The duo competed against each other in a one hour match held at the wrestling school, which is located at 201 E. Jefferson, Bldg. No. 2, in West Memphis.
To graduate from the school, each wrestler had to avoid being pinned or forced to submit by the opponent during a time frame of 60 minutes. Each wrestler was also allowed just two rope breaks during the contest.
Despite finishing the one-hour match, the decision of success or failure was still left in the hands of school owner/operator Ken Wayne. After watching Sunday evening's performance, there was no doubt in Wayne's mind about the outcome.
"I am so proud of these two," said Wayne following the match. "I would not have put these two into this situation in front of a viewing audience if I didn't think they could accomplish this goal. But, there is always a chance that something will go wrong. Fortunately that was not the case."
Approximately 75 people attended Sunday night's event. The crowd included a mixture of fans, professional wrestlers, wrestling journalists and family members of both combatants.
Attendees from the wrestling business included Bill Ash, Matt Riviera, Derrick King, Mark Tipton, Dell Tucker, Baron Malkavain, "Gentleman" Jim Casey, John Steele, Brian Thompson, Richard Bressler, Debbie Wayne, Brian Tramel and "Crazy" Luke Graham, Jr.
"I am very honored that so many people took time out of their busy schedules to come and be a part of the match," said Ken.
Eric Wayne and Nikels took two similar yet different paths to reach their monumental moment.
Both decided at a young age that they wanted to become wrestling superstars. However, for Eric, becoming a wrestler was the continuation of the family's business.
"Both my grandfather and father were wrestlers," said Eric. "And they were very successful. I watched my dad for so many years and heard all of the accolades he received. I knew then that I wanted to do the same thing."
Despite being the heir to the Wayne family-wrestling dynasty, Eric could have picked a different trainer. He opted to learn from the same man who taught him about life in general, his father Ken.
"There was no doubt in my mind about who I wanted to train under," Eric said. "Just traveling with my dad, other wrestlers and people in the business would tell me how smoothly he did everything and how good it was. By being around Dad I was able to learn what was right or wrong even then."
Growing up in the Tupelo, Miss., area, Nikels became a wrestling fan and started have a few "matches" of his own.
"I would wrestle around with my dad when I was about 4-years-old," said Nikels. "At that time I thought, wow it would be neat to be a wrestler."
As Nikels grew older, he still followed wrestling. His dream was put on hold for a short time until a chance meeting with Eric.
"We were working at the same place and we started talking about wrestling," Nikels said. "Eric told me about his dad's school and I became interested again in becoming a wrestler."
Nikels then visited with Ken and the two discussed the possibilities of Nikels training at the school. First impressions certainly were proved wrong.
"My first thought was this boy isn't going to do anything," Ken said. "But I am so glad I am wrong."
Nikels worked hard to get into the proper physical condition to endure the training required by the school.
In 2006, Eric and Nikels joined other classmates to begin their training. They are the only two students of the very few session to survive and arrive at the graduation point.
They began competing on the independent wrestling circuit in November 2006, facing each other at a Don Bass/Jim Casey promoted card in West Memphis.
Since then, they have traveled primarily in the Mid-South, Nashville and Mid-West areas to sharpen their skills.
For more information on the "Nightmare" Ken Wayne School of Professional Wrestling, log on to www.nightmarekenwayne.com, call (901) 831-4198 or e-mail wrestlingschool@nightmarekenwayne.com.
(Note: Be sure to watch the site for Brian Tramel's perspective on the 1-hour contest.)
