As a good friend of mine Rusty says;
"Let me tell you a story"
So, a story it is, hehe, as if you had any choice.
This particular story starts with the liberal consumption of wine and great food at the Greek Festival. And ends up with pumped up, aggressive muscle bound warriors facing off in hand to hand combat at professional wrestling match.

Well now. We were just hangin at the annual Greek festival in Norfolk, eating some Souvlaki and Loukamades while drinking "moderate" amounts of red wine.
When who should appear, but our good friend George Pantas. He is "The man" at the Greek Festival. Easy to spot in his traditional Greek garb, either on the dance floor bustin a move, or out and about in the crowd helping to motivate the peeps to participate in the festivities. If you've been to the festival, then you've seen him.
Anyway, while talking to George and sharing some wine and food, the subject of vocation came up.
And to my surprise he revealed that he is the commissioner for VCW wrestling.
I was astounded to say the least. I`ve been a fan of pro wrestling since I was a kid and had recently just found out about the local version of this sport.
I was actually planning to get Splash involved somehow, but didn't have an inside contact at all. So I guess it was fate that George and I connected on this.
Now I had my contact.
VCW and Splash, a Tag Team that can't be beat.
So George invites me to the June 6th VCW match, and gets me right up front to photograph the event.
I've seen a few pro wrestling matches in my time, but never this close up. WOW! Talk about action! It was incredible! These guys did it all. From rope diving, to full body slams to just kicking the living crap out of each other. It was a night of pure excellence and professional athleticism of the highest order. Anyone that scoffs at Pro wrestling needs to just shut right on up and go to a match.
VCW will change your mind real quick. I'm not kidding when I say these guys are pros. And after you see it live you WILL agree.
Now for me, one of the highlights of the evening was getting to meet
"Living Legend" Larry Zbyszko, who's been a huge name in pro wrestling since 1973. Any serious wrestling fan out there would surely be honored to meet Larry, as was I. He's a real nice guy in person, but I wouldn't want to get on his bad side in the ring.

The whole night was one of shear entertainment. Walking in early you get to see some of the wrestlers hangin around posing for pix, signing autographs, and selling merchandise. You can feel the excitement in the air, cause you know these seemingly nice guys are soon gonna be smackin the stew out of each other when the bell rings.
The matches were totally amazing in every way. From the costumes, to the fighting, to the incredible physical agility of the wrestlers.
I could almost feel each hit and body slam. And there was plenty of each going on here.
There was no slacking in the acting dept either. All the wresters and managers were extremely theatrical and animated. At one point while George was making announcements, one of the wrestlers (Qsic I believe) doused him with "gasoline"
And whipped out his bic and almost gave him a light. Hilarious!
Wrestlers were throwing each other out of the ring, hits with chairs, backflips, rope diving, lots of faceplants and general pain were delivered in grand fashion. Much to the enjoyment of the enthusiastic audience.
The 6 man tag team grudge match was brutal. Oh the pain!
And a surprise appearance by wrestling superstar "Raven" was a crowd pleaser for sure.
I could go on and on about the excitement and competition but mere words don't do VCW justice Check'm out online http://www.vcw-wrestling.com/ Also look for VCW on fox 43 at 1 a.m. on Monday nights.
Or better yet, to get the full experience, go to a live match and feel the power for yourself.
The schedule is listed on their website. The next event is gonna be held on July 18th .
Full details forthcoming online.
Billed as the "Liberty Lottery Battle Royale" it promises to be spectacular!
Be there, or be square.
If you're lucky, you might see the Splash crew running around and get your pic taken by yours truly and end up in Splash magazine!
Or if you are really serious you could go to VCW's pro wrestling school, become your own "living Legend" and live out your childhood dream.

Kent Kelley
Splash Magazine.