Where else can you have an Animal, a King, A Bullet, a Mr. Olympia, a Doctor, a Tennessee Stud, a Cowboy, a Bambi, a Thumper, a Wildcat, a Wildfire, and the Party Boys? It could only be in one place. It was at the Continental Championship Wrestling Fanfest 2018 in Dothan, Alabama on May 12, 2018. The Quad Cities Daily was the only news media organization that was on scene from Ring Set-up to the lights was turned off after the last match.
Each year, Fanfest is held in Dothan, Alabama. Because is a night where fans can meet the Legends of Professional Wrestling, especially in the Southeastern-Continental Territory. For our younger fans who might know about this, years ago, there were three main wrestling organizations. They were the AWA (American Wrestling Association), the NWA (National Wrestling Association) and the WWF (World Wrestling Federation).
The NWA had smaller territories throughout the United States. Alabama was part of the Southeastern, later renamed the Continental Championship Wrestling territory. There was a TV taping at Boutwell Auditorium in Birmingham on Monday night and the wrestlers would travel to different cities throughout the month. Florence, Alabama was the city closest to me.
Back to the purpose of this article and the event, Fanfest was held at the National Peanut Festival Fairgrounds on May 12, 2018 on May 12, 2018. Legends from Continental Championship were on hand for a meet and great with the fans. The Legends presents were:
“Cowboy” Dennis Gale “Mr. Olympia” Jerry Stubbs
Dr Tom Prichard Mr. Wrestling 2
“Tennessee Stud” Ron Fuller Robert Fuller
Johnny “Crash” Rich Jimmy Golden
Davey Rich Tommy “Wildfire” Rich
Joyce Grable Bambi
Bullet Bob Armstrong Chic Donavon
Wildcat Wendall Cooley Road Warrior Animal
Jerry “The King” Lawler Charlie Platt
Before the matches started, the fans flooded into the arena to Meet and Great these Legends. The fans were able to get autographs as well as have their pictures made with the Legends. The fans consisted of adults and children. I have to say the kids seemed to have a ball with the Meet and Great. The really cool part was Road Warrior Animal would let you wear his spiked shoulder pads and have your picture made with him.
Speaking of kids, I observed that the Legends spent a lot of time with the kids. There were some kids there with special needs and the Legends went out of their way to accommodate these fans. In all, I would guess the crowd that night at approximately 2, 000 people.
The Meet and Great was a huge success. Wrestler and Promotor “Cowboy” Dennis Gale went out of his way to see that everyone was able to meet the person that they wanted to. After the Meet and Great was finished, the matches started. The really cool aspect of this was the Legends took place in the matches. I will highlight the matches in this next article.
To be continued…………..
Bobby Inman has retired twice from Law Enforcement after 21 years of Service. He is a Consultant for Southern Heritage Gun & Pawn in Tuscumbia. He has articles published in Law & Order Magazine, Police Marksman Magazine, Guns & Weapons for Law Enforcement Magazine as well as several published ebooks on Amazon, Kobo Writing, as well as Nook (Barnes & Noble). He is owner of Poopiedog, an Animal Rescue Dachshund, who is his constant companion. He is a Senior Investigative Reporter for the Quad Cities Daily.
