What: Celebration of Los Angeles Wrestling History Seminar and Reunion of All The Boys We Can Get There and it opens the WrestleReunion International fanfest convention(it’s third straight year in L.A.)
When: Friday, 1/27/12 Noon to 1:30 and hopefully longer
Host: Olympic Auditorium program photographer/wrestling writer/reporter/radio host(LegendsRadio.net)/historian Mike Lano, DDS
Southern California’s globally important pro wrestling history, from 1928-1983 will be celebrated as the opening, welcoming event at the annual WrestleReunion international convention. Promoters Highspots Mike B and Sal Corrente have put on many of these around the U.S. and Canada, starting I believe at their famous Tampa event in January of 2005 which I was one of the photographers for and featured nearly 100 of the top stars including the Funks, Jack Brisco, Pat Patterson, Bobby Heenan(who we dragged there), Nick Bockwinkel, Bruno Sammartino, Harley Race, Bill Watts, Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka, Mick Foley, Dusty Rhodes, Ted Debiase, CM Punk, Chris Danials, Jim Cornette, Lance Russell, Afa and Sika, Joey Styles, DDP, Wendi Richter, many of the stars of TNA including AMWanted who were the tag champs at the time, and more. This is their third annual WrestleReunion in Los Angeles, with a giant vendor area, signings, past and current stars flown in from all over the globe, original GLOW stars, seminars, q and a’s, the great annual Sunday morning Breakfast with the Legends, shows every day of the event including the first-ever DragonGate event at Wrestlereunion, the annual PWG spectacular, a full legends card and tons more. A veritable 3 full days of Disneyland-like 24/7 non-stop happenings at the LAX Westin Hotel.
Our Hollywood WWA wrestling office was second in importance only to the NWA, with it’s own WWA world title defended all over the West Coast, Hawaii and Japan. Southern California wrestlers(Lou Thesz, the Sharpe Brothers, Fred Blassie and Dick “The Destroyer” Beyer helped get Rikidozan and Japanese wrestling off the ground over there in the late fifties, where it obviously became the premiere wrestling environment in the world. The L.A. Sports Arena and Olympic Auditorium were often a stopping point for pro wrestlers and mixed martial arts legends like Allen (Bad News Allen) Coage to work, going to/from Japan. L.A. promoter Mike Lebell worked closely for years with Vince McMahon Sr(of the WWWF which is now called WWE) and before Shinma Sr, Lebell was briefly a WWWF/WWF vp. Mike switched allegiance in 1973 from NWA and AJPW to primarily focus on the WWWF although the NWA champ would come in about once a year.
Lano(well, that’s me) and other surviving members of the Cal Eaton/Mike Lebell wrestling office photo staff will show their images(like Dan Westbrook) as well as rare, handheld footage from 60′s historian Glen Bray plus 70′s handheld too. And as many surviving wrestlers will be in attendance, coming in from all over the world to reminisce. Confirmed as attending are Judo Gene Lebell(promoter, announcer, wrestler and the “Godfather of MMA”) plus other members of the famous Aileen Eaton/Lebell family and Superstar Billy Graham who toured L.A. several times between 1970 and 1972(the latter year dropping his staid leather cowboy chaps ring vests he wore in the SF/Shires territory to first use the incredibly colorful, influential tye-die look and t-shirts and trunks with slogans and sayings on them that absolutely drove our co-booker, Charlie “Mr” Moto nuts, but he was a traditionalist. Billy of course conquered the biz, taking all his colors and flare with him to finesse further in the AWA and Houston before finally making it bigtime in WWWF.
If their doctors clear them health-wise to fly, Dick “Destroyer” Beyer and Roddy Piper, who sold out every SoCal wrestling venue say they will try to be there as well and are considered amongst the greatest and most creative talkers of all time. Piper main-evented the fantastic Legends event at WrestleReunion last year in a hardcore match with Terry Funk that went all over the building(oddly, they’d never met in a singles w/ each other before). Members of the famous Torres Brothers and Romero family, Mando Guerrero who’ll try to bring his famous nephew Chavo Jr who’s definitely at WR Saturday, Bengali, Jesse Hernandez, Barbi Dahl, Sandy Parker, Carlos Mata, Fritz Von Goring, Paul Diamond, Pepper Martin, Magnificent Mimi, Ann Casey, Tony Rocco, and many more.
If there’s anyone out there who had anything to do with either the Cal Eaton or Mike Lebell wrestling office, are one of the boys or girls who worked there, are a historian or just a long time L.A. fan and loved Blassie/Tolos/Sheik/Rocky Johnson/Pedro/Mascaras/Buddy Austin/Rikidozan/Baba/Inoki/Ladd/Don Arson, etc; you’ll have a great time. And it’s just the opening, kickoff event of this year’s WrestleReunion!
