----I worked in a factory for 10 years on an assembly line. Even though you work with the same people doing the same job, you sometimes have people that start having bad days. They put parts in wrong places, they forget to hook up wires and then they just plain screw up. It starts as a day, and then turns into a week of bad parts and then week after week. I finally got tired of getting bad parts one day and I told my co-worker – can you please start watching what you are doing? [I was not being nice] Her comment and it was her usual comment for anything she did wrong was “If you think you can do a better job, and then come do it!!” And being that I was just in “that mood” I said, “A one arm one eye peg leg monkey could do a better job!!” This all ended with her cussing me and I ended up in the office with my boss saying, “Everyone just don’t get your sense of humor Brian.” So in preparing to choose some wrestling dates for rest of the year with an area promoter, I talked the Memphis Zoo into loaning me a monkey to help me. I stress this was a healthy monkey – I didn’t want him being hindered with having only one arm, one eye or a peg leg. I also made sure I didn’t use Crackjacks from over there at Jimmy’s site either. That monkey is just too damn smart. So, I just had him randomly pick three dates and here is what he came up with..
*October 31
*November 28
*December 26
----Stupid monkey!! I think I will get a jackass to pick them next time. I mean – Halloween night, the day after Thanksgiving [biggest shopping day of the year in a bad economy??] and the freakin day after Christmas [ditto economy comment]. What was that stupid monkey thinking???
----LAW is going thru another major change with the exit of their booker Greg Anthony and Stan Lee to NEW. I look for a few more to leave – probably Christian Jacobs. I don’t look for guys like Derrick King and Flash Flanagan to work the show either. So where does the promotion go from here after another major change?
----In May, 2007 Kelly Warner left the promotion after a situation in Keiser, AR which lead to the promotion having to start over from scratch. Insert your own Kelly Warner comment here – and I have few – but Warner was hands down a better promoter than Jeff O’Dell. “The Golden Boy” Greg Anthony took over as booker and slowly the talent level went up on this show to the point I considered it a “worker’s haven” for good workers. Anthony as booker would have to be considered a failure if you just go by just the gates. And, in old school, that is all that would matter. I am not sure Bill Watts could book this town though and get a good crowd. It started out as almost a loss-liter. I cannot see how owner Jeff O’Dell has ever made money.
----I have enjoyed almost every show I have seen live there, but also at times were critical of Anthony’s booking. He did seem to help establish a promotion that was about a BELT, which is unusual in this day & age. After he lost the belt though it seem more like it was still about TGB and not the belt. Anthony may have just been grasping and trying to find something that would make it work. Maybe Anthony just wasn’t “into it” as he continued to live, eat and breathe the business – he still could not do anything to bring the gates up with no help with advertising & such. The fans grew tired of Anthony and some feel with Anthony gone it might help this group in the long run. Well, if they had spent some money on advertising – that would have helped a long time ago.
----A great angle that can be remembered in the Anthony reign is how he built a very young “Bulldog” Slim Pickens into a huge babyface leading to a chain match, which was probably the best bout Pickens has ever been in. His booking and huge credit has to be given to the performer here – Idol Bane has turned from a mediocre worker to a REAL GOOD worker. Rumors have it that Bane will take the book from this point on and it will be another role of this crazy business he can try to succeed in. I look for an influence of more ASWF talent to migrate here to work on Fridays, but only time will tell.
----Jeff O’Dell has made the decision to run three more shows this year - October 31, November 28 and December 26, 2008. LAW will then become a bi-weekly promotion in 2009. [Anthony was against this idea and he almost left the promotion a few weeks back.] I think this might be a good idea for a few of the promotions in this area, but when you are drawing 25 – 30 fans weekly it will probably will not matter. If you get 60-75 in the start bi-weekly, then O’Dell’s idea will work. If you continue to get 20 people every other week, then my advice would be to shut the doors.
----Good luck to Idol Bane and the next crew. I really do wish you success. Even you Jeff O’Dell. LOL I shared a moment earlier this year with O’Dell where he made it a point that “Brian Thompson is not even in the wrestling business”, - Thompson’s photo was in Yearbook 2007, but his photo was not in it. Funny how quickly the business changes; huh??
Some LAW history…
----LAW was formed October 2002 with Kelly Warner, Brian Thompson and Jeff O’Dell. O’Dell and Thompson were working as announcers for CCW [my promotion] and as MCW folded in June, 2001 Warner also helped CCW with Rector. The trio promoted their first show in August, 2002 in Paragould, AR. Their “crowning moment” was a huge show in January of 2003 in Popular Bluff, MO and went on to have weekly shows in Dyersburg, TN. Brian Thompson exited the promotion in October, 2003 over “creative differences” and Warner left for a few years [a job with the state], O’Dell was in charge with Derrick King as booker. Thompson also left to work as a booking agent for Bobby Eaton. Ken Wayne, who joined the promotion in July, 2003 to help Derrick King with booking, also exited during that time, noting “creative differences”. Their Dyersburg stint finally ended in 2004 because of the building being sold. The promotion settled in doing 3 or 4 shows a year in Rector, AR until the return of Warner. Warner was very aggressive in trying to get shows in various areas including a rumor of a big show in Jonesboro, AR. A new building was bought in Rector and they began to run weekly shows in early 2007.
