Local show to serve as launch for new pro-wrestling promotion
It’s going to feel somewhat “Raw” or “Impact”-ful, but what Marvin Ward hopes you’re thinking when you leave the show at Waynesboro High School on Feb. 5 is, “That was awesome!”
The “Superstars of Pro Wrestling” card will serve as the launch of Ward’s new national and international touring company, Awesome Wrestling Entertainment, or the AWE. The show will crown the promotion’s two singles champions – with former WWE superstar Jimmy Wang Yang taking on Samoan newcomer Vasaga for the AWE world title and another former WWE talent, Carlito, squaring off with Micah Fletcher for the United States championship.
The card also features former TNA stars Sonjay Dutt and Traci Brooks in addition to a slew of new AWE talents who have been the focus of the development arm of the promotion the past two years. That’s how long Ward has been laying the groundwork for the launch.
Ward believes there is room for another pro-wrestling company on the landscape to compete with the WWE and TNA. “That’s anybody’s dream in the industry,” said Ward, whose company also features MVP, Shelton Benjamin, Rodney Mack, Short Sleeve Sampson, Trinity and Jazz.
Acquiring talent has been a point of emphasis – along with patience. “We want to do this the right way,” said Ward, who admits to getting antsy with the launch, which will be followed by a tour that will eventually take the company overseas for an extensive schedule in Asia.
That the opening bell will be rung in Waynesboro has been a constant question from those in the industry. Ward, an Augusta County native, got his start in wrestling promotion with the inaugural “Night of the Superstars” at Waynesboro High School in 2001.
“When it comes to me, and what Waynesboro, Va., did for me, did for my family, and did for my career, this is where we need to be,” Ward said.
Interview: Marvin Ward
Superstars of Pro Wrestling
- WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 5
- BELLTIME: 8 p.m. Meet and Greet with AWE superstars begins at 6 p.m.
- WHERE: Waynesboro High School
- TICKETS: $10
- TICKET LOCATIONS: Crossroads Music in Waynesboro and Staunton, Eavers BP and Liberty in Stuarts Draft
- ORDER BY PHONE: 540.946.4616
Story by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.
Morris, WHS athletics director, passes
What I’ll remember about longtime Waynesboro High School athletics director Mel Morris, who passed away Friday night from an apparent heart attack, was seeing him in the stands at WHS football games every Friday night in the 2009 season.
AugustaFreePress.com did live Internet broadcasts of WHS football in ’09, and Jerry Carter and I traveled the Valley following a Little Giants team that struggled to a 1-9 finish. We broadcast road games from the visiting team stands in large part because of the lack of noise. We’d usually sit a few feet away from Morris, who took over as AD at WHS in 2000 after a long run as the baseball coach at Broadway High School.
After games, we’d talk about the challenges that Morris faced heading up at the athletics department at WHS that were evidenced by the low turnout at football games. The lone win for Waynesboro in the season that we did the play-by-play was a home win over a Rockbridge County team that late in the season was also winless. And yet the RCHS faithful made the hour drive up Interstate 81 in greater numbers than the home team could fill its stands from across town.
Facilities, scheduling and various other behind-the-scenes minutiae dominate an athletic director’s life. As do unusual requests like, Hey, Mel, do you know where I can get my hands on a hat?
I made that one to Morris a couple of years back after scouring the city in advance of the epic regional final boys basketball game between WHS and R.E. Lee. I desperately wanted a purple W hat to wear to the game. Mel gave me two, one for me and one for my wife.
“Just promise me that you’ll wear them,” was all he exacted as payment.
I saw the news that Morris had passed on Facebook on Saturday. I put on that W hat that Morris had given me a couple of years ago and wore it on my errands.
Story by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.
New Year’s 5K in Waynesboro
The Waynesboro High School Swimming and Diving Team is hosting a 5K Run/Walk and a 1-Mile Cub Run/Walk on Saturday.
The event will start in the Waynesboro High School parking lot. The 1-Mile Cub Run/Walk starts at 9 a.m. The 5K starts at 9:45 a.m.
Entry fees are:
- 1 Mile Cub Run: $10 (adults running in the 5K may accompany their child in the Cub Run for free.)
- 5K Run/Walk: $20 (signup through Dec. 31)
- 5K Run/Walk Team: $18 per team member (six members to a team) if you sign up through Dec. 31)
- Race Day Registration: $30
More information is available here.
Edited by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.
WHS upset bid comes up just short
Waynesboro opened its 2009 season with a 49-0 loss at Western Albemarle that set the tone for a 1-9 season.
The Little Giants came up short again on Friday night in their 2010 season opener with the Warriors, but it was nothing like the game we saw a year ago.
WHS was threatening upset until an interception by Western linebacker Tommy Mullins on a fourth-down pass attempt by quarterback Skylar Phillips with 1:40 to go closed things out in a hard-fought 15-10 Western Albemarle win.
Western (1-0) scored on its first play from scrimmage on a 65-yard run by quarterback Abbott Wallenborn that made it 7-0 WAHS 4:45 into the game.
That’s where the similarities to the ’09 season opener between the two, which Western led 35-0 in the first quarter, came to an end. Waynesboro (0-1) got on the board with 7:20 left in the second quarter on a 26-yard field goal by Tanner Walter that pulled the Little Giants within 7-3.
Western extended the lead to 15-3 at the 3:36 mark when Wallenborn connected with Adam Diehl on a 16-yard scoring pass and Pete Barber tracked down an errant snap on the extra-point attempt and hit Mitchell Parks in stride down the right sideline for the two-point conversion.
Waynesboro dodged a bullet after Phillips fumbled the ensuing kickoff and saw WAHS recover the ball at the Little Giant 20. Tre Turner intercepted a Wallenborn pass in the end zone to end that threat and send the teams into the locker room at the half with the score still at 15-3.
The game got interesting after another mistake, this one by Western Albemarle, a bad snap on a punt attempt that set up Waynesboro with a first down at the Warrior 15. Bryant Carter scored on a three-yard run into the right flat to bring the Little Giants to within 15-10 with 1:01 left in the third.
Waynesboro had two cracks at taking the lead in the fourth. The first ended on a controversial fumble call on a third-and-short run by Carter that stopped Waynesboro at the Western 40. The second ended on the interception by Mullins.
Wallenborn was the offensive star for Western Albemarle, running 24 times for 169 yards and a touchdown and going 7-for-14 passing for 62 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions.
Desean Dillard was the workhorse for the WHS offense, running 24 times for 147 yards.
Waynesboro had 219 yards of total offense. Western Albemarle had 258 yards of total offense.
Story by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.
Generals give back to local high-school baseball programs
Edited by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
The Waynesboro Generals have made contributions to the high-school baseball programs at Waynesboro, Wilson Memorial and Stuarts Draft as part of an ongoing commitment to benefit local youth baseball.
WaynesboroGenerals.com has the story.
Radford lays smack down on VMI, 111-84
Staff Report
VMI sports: www.vmikeydets.com
Three different players posted double-doubles for visiting Radford, led by Art Parakhouski’s 30 points and 22 rebounds, as the Highlanders defeated the VMI Keydets 111-84 in a Big South contest played Tuesday at Cameron Hall.
The two teams battled through a close game early, with six ties and six lead changes coming in the opening 9:52. VMI retook the lead on a basket by Hunter Houston, 24-22, with 10:08 left in the first half, but Radford launched a 15-2 run over the next 2:14 to go up 37-26, and the Highlanders would not trail again.
Parakhouski’s 30 points moved him past the 1,000 career point plateau, as he reached the mark in just 55 career games, the sixth-fastest effort in Big South history. His 22 boards tied the Cameron Hall record, was a new Radford school record and allowed him to post the first 30-20 game in Highlander history. Joey Lynch-Flohr had 13 points and grabbed 13 caroms, and Lazar Trifunovic scored 27 and had 12 boards.
With the win, Radford moves to 12-10 on the year and 8-4 in the Big South, while VMI falls to 7-14 and 2-9 in conference play.
2008 Waynesboro High School graduate Nick Gore had six points in 23 minutes off the bench for VMI.
Brown named Big South Player of the Week
Staff Report
Liberty U. sports: www.libertyflames.com
After helping Liberty win a pair of road games and claim a share of the Big South lead, redshirt freshman Devon Brown has been named the Big South Conference Choice Hotels Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for the second time this season.
Brown (G, Waynesboro, Va.) led the Lady Flames in both scoring (24.5 ppg) and rebounding (11.0 rpg) last week, collecting a pair of double-doubles. Her efforts helped Liberty complete a 4-0 road swing, with victories at High Point and Radford.
High Point entered Saturday’s game at the Millis Center as the Big South Conference co-leader and built a 41-34 halftime lead. Brown then stepped up in the second half, recording 19 of her career-high 29 points and collecting eight of her 11 rebounds during the final 20 minutes of play. She single-handedly matched the Panthers’ second-half rebounding total and rejected two High Point shots during a 75-62 Liberty triumph. Read more
