Wes Brisco Article
Posted by David Damage on Saturday, December 10, 2011
Under: Internet Columns
Wes Brisco makes WWE Hall of Famers proud
Brisco tradition continues Dec. 14 at Fort Lauderdale’s National Guard Armory
By Jim Varsallone jvarsallone@MiamiHerald.com
It’s been a long time since pro wrestling occurred at the Fort Lauderdale National Guard Armory.
Pro wrestling returns there Dec. 14.
Back in the day, during the territory days, Championship Wrestling from Florida traveled to the armory — off State Road 84 — every other Friday night - at a time when wrestling fans believed.
Dusty Rhodes, Bob Roop, Cyclone Negro, Mike Graham, Steve Keirn and the Brisco Brothers (Jack and Jerry) headlined many matches at that armory.
When the Florida territory ended, the semi-weekly shows ended.
The business changed.
Howard Brody (author of “Swimming with Piranhas”) has seen, lived the change first-hand. He is a longtime Florida wrestling promoter, photographer and writer and former NWA president.
With his contacts and experience, Brody decided to give it another shot; so pro wrestling is at the Fort Lauderdale National Guard Armory on Wednesday, Dec. 14.
Brody hopes to attract old school Florida fans as well as new ones when he brings a diverse collection of talent including former WWE DX members Billy Gunn and X-Pac as well as a Brisco.
Wes Brisco, the son of WWE Hall of Famer and CWF legend Jerry Brisco, will compete in a tournament on the card.
• Pro wrestling features some very athletic characters with backgrounds in baseball, basketball, football, weightlifting and amateur wrestling.
Wes is unique. He is working toward becoming the first professional wakeboarder to make it in professional wrestling.
Already trained by Steve Keirn, Dusty Rhodes, Norman Smiley and Dr. Tom Prichard at Florida Championship Wrestling, the feeder group to WWE in Tampa, Brisco is making a return, after suffering an ACL injury in November 2010 that eventually ended his run with FCW.
Wes Brisco is hopeful of another FCW program and progressing to WWE.
He came close to wrestling some dark matches with WWE at shows in Jacksonville and Orlando after the WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view in Miami, but the knee injury occurred just a couple of days before that opportunity, halting those plans. He’s been on the road to recovery ever since and starting to compete on the indies.
“Shows like the one in Fort Lauderdale [Dec. 14] is what he needs to show what he can do and produce and impress the fans and the people down there,” Jerry Brisco said. “All that gets back to the main office and it’s a tremendous stepping stone for him. There’s a strong possibility he will get back to FCW.”
• Jerry Brisco could pick up the phone and most likely make it happen now, but Wes and he decided to approach it differently.
“We want him to get some more experience and get some matches with different guys,” Jerry Brisco said. “The great thing about the old days of wrestling: you get to travel around; you get to work different styles; you get to learn different things. I went to Oklahoma. I went to Texas. I went to Carolina. I went to Georgia. Each area and each different group has its own philosophy, its own style.
“When you’re out working with different guys and you’re getting to work different styles, it really helps your overall game. When you’re in one organization, everybody does the same thing; everybody wrestles the same way; everybody thinks the same way. You’re kind of limited on the knowledge that you learn because you’re not learning from a lot of different styles.
“When you go out and work these shows - like the one [Dec. 14] Howard has in Fort Lauderdale – you’re able to work with different people and see how they compete in the ring and their philosophy of wrestling and also get to watch different styles of matches. It brings a lot more to the plate. You learn a lot more, and you get better by wrestling different people. I think this is the direction for him to go right now. Then when the time is right, I’m sure the door will open up.”
Jerry Brisco credits the tremendous work of Keirn, Rhodes, Prichard and Smiley in FCW with teaching Wes the business and how to compete.
“I’m really thankful for that opportunity he had there,” Jerry Brisco said. “It’s just unfortunate that he got hurt.”
• It will take some time for Wes to develop, and hopefully he will earn a chance to shine in WWE. As for wakeboarding, that spotlight shined quickly.
What started as something fun to do in the lake behind his home in Tampa developed into so much more.
A natural, Wes came a long way (in a short time) from his early days with just a rope tied to the family’s jet-ski. He achieved a major wakeboarding sponsor, Hyperlite, at age 15. He was so good at this extreme sport that he even had a wakeboard named after him, the Brisco Gator Board.
Ranked sixth in the world, Wes represented the United States in several world wakeboarding tournaments. Like a successful pro wrestler, he traveled the world through wakeboarding, competing in Asia, Canada, Mexico and the United States.
“Wakeboarding is a young guy’s sport,” Jerry Brisco said, “and Wes finally realized his passion for wrestling.”
Now 28, Wes has been embarking in the family business – not the Brisco Brothers Body Shop (4315 N Hubert Ave., Tampa) but rather pro wrestling.
“He was very successful in wakeboarding,” Jerry Brisco said, “but he always had the love of the sport of wrestling. He was a tremendous high school wrestler in Polk County and the bloodline that he had from me and my brother, Jack.”
• Reminiscent of his dare devil approach in wakeboarding, Wes took some risks in the wrestling ring with his aerial tactics. Placed in a tag team in FCW, he and his partner earned a tag team title match in November 2010.
“Talk about carrying on the family name,” Jerry Brisco recalled. “He and his tag partner [Xavier Woods] became Florida tag team champions at FCW, and I was very thrilled and happy. It was déjà vu all over again with the Brisco name on that Florida tag team championship.
“I was there that night, and I ran to the ring to go out there and celebrate with him. It was a thrill for an old man to get to see his son win a tag team championship that my brother and I wore for so long, very proudly. It was great strapping that tag team title around his waist.”
Jack passed away earlier that year.
“Jack was smiling down that night,” Jerry Brisco said. “Wes pointed toward the sky for his uncle, and it was an emotional night for both of us. I’m sure Jack was extremely proud for his nephew.”
• Jerry Brisco will not be making the trip to Fort Lauderdale, but he will be there in spirit.
In October, Jerry Brisco, 65, suffered his fourth stroke. He is not a smoker, nor a heavy drinker, and he maintains a steady cholesterol level. So this time he opted to see a stroke specialist in Pittsburgh, who diagnosed the problem, and Brisco is well on his way to recovery, planning to be in Miami on April 1 for WWE’s WrestleMania 28 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens.
“I told Howard [Brody] that I won’t be able to make this one [Dec. 14],” Jerry Brisco said. “I’m physically not ready to make the trip down to Lauderdale, yet. I wish I could because it would be great to see my son wrestle in a building that I’ve wrestled in so many times.
“I hope all the fans of the Brisco Brothers come out to see a new generation of Brisco and enjoy it. I’m sure it will be a spectacular event that Howard puts on and very entertaining.”
• Major League Baseball has scouts, scouring for prospects. So does WWE.
When healthy, Jerry Brisco attends events like the NCAA Wrestling Championships, looking for pro wrestling prospects.
• Jerry Brisco, a former Oklahoma State University wrestling standout, won bragging rights over Good ole J.R. Jim Ross as the Oklahoma State Cowboys football team beat recently beat the Oklahoma Sooners 44-10.
Brisco — who said J.R. ‘texted in the towel’ during the game — did not boast about the big victory to J.R., since Oklahoma’s been winning and winning and winning in the past.
• Xavier Woods, who was Wes Brisco’s tag team partner in FCW, is former TNA wrestler Consequences Creed.
• Former DX members Billy Gunn and X-Pac battle the Dark City Fight Club (Kory Chavis and Jon Davis) for the NWA tag team titles during an NWA Ring Warriors show at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14 at the Fort Lauderdale National Guard Armory, 400 SW 24th St./State Road 84.
For the NWA title, the Tokyo Monster Kahagas faces Chance Prophet.
In a grand championship tournament: Vordell Walker vs. The Giant Titan; Francisco Ciatso vs. Cassidy Riley; Bruce Santee vs. J.D. Maverick; and Wes Brisco vs. Steve Madison.
• To learn more about NWA Ring Warriors, call 888-695-0888 or visit nwaringwarriors.com.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/10/v-fullstory/2539932/wes-brisco-makes-wwe-hall-of-famers.html#ixzz1gAhYSPr4
Brisco tradition continues Dec. 14 at Fort Lauderdale’s National Guard Armory
By Jim Varsallone jvarsallone@MiamiHerald.com
It’s been a long time since pro wrestling occurred at the Fort Lauderdale National Guard Armory.
Pro wrestling returns there Dec. 14.
Back in the day, during the territory days, Championship Wrestling from Florida traveled to the armory — off State Road 84 — every other Friday night - at a time when wrestling fans believed.
Dusty Rhodes, Bob Roop, Cyclone Negro, Mike Graham, Steve Keirn and the Brisco Brothers (Jack and Jerry) headlined many matches at that armory.
When the Florida territory ended, the semi-weekly shows ended.
The business changed.
Howard Brody (author of “Swimming with Piranhas”) has seen, lived the change first-hand. He is a longtime Florida wrestling promoter, photographer and writer and former NWA president.
With his contacts and experience, Brody decided to give it another shot; so pro wrestling is at the Fort Lauderdale National Guard Armory on Wednesday, Dec. 14.
Brody hopes to attract old school Florida fans as well as new ones when he brings a diverse collection of talent including former WWE DX members Billy Gunn and X-Pac as well as a Brisco.
Wes Brisco, the son of WWE Hall of Famer and CWF legend Jerry Brisco, will compete in a tournament on the card.
• Pro wrestling features some very athletic characters with backgrounds in baseball, basketball, football, weightlifting and amateur wrestling.
Wes is unique. He is working toward becoming the first professional wakeboarder to make it in professional wrestling.
Already trained by Steve Keirn, Dusty Rhodes, Norman Smiley and Dr. Tom Prichard at Florida Championship Wrestling, the feeder group to WWE in Tampa, Brisco is making a return, after suffering an ACL injury in November 2010 that eventually ended his run with FCW.
Wes Brisco is hopeful of another FCW program and progressing to WWE.
He came close to wrestling some dark matches with WWE at shows in Jacksonville and Orlando after the WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view in Miami, but the knee injury occurred just a couple of days before that opportunity, halting those plans. He’s been on the road to recovery ever since and starting to compete on the indies.
“Shows like the one in Fort Lauderdale [Dec. 14] is what he needs to show what he can do and produce and impress the fans and the people down there,” Jerry Brisco said. “All that gets back to the main office and it’s a tremendous stepping stone for him. There’s a strong possibility he will get back to FCW.”
• Jerry Brisco could pick up the phone and most likely make it happen now, but Wes and he decided to approach it differently.
“We want him to get some more experience and get some matches with different guys,” Jerry Brisco said. “The great thing about the old days of wrestling: you get to travel around; you get to work different styles; you get to learn different things. I went to Oklahoma. I went to Texas. I went to Carolina. I went to Georgia. Each area and each different group has its own philosophy, its own style.
“When you’re out working with different guys and you’re getting to work different styles, it really helps your overall game. When you’re in one organization, everybody does the same thing; everybody wrestles the same way; everybody thinks the same way. You’re kind of limited on the knowledge that you learn because you’re not learning from a lot of different styles.
“When you go out and work these shows - like the one [Dec. 14] Howard has in Fort Lauderdale – you’re able to work with different people and see how they compete in the ring and their philosophy of wrestling and also get to watch different styles of matches. It brings a lot more to the plate. You learn a lot more, and you get better by wrestling different people. I think this is the direction for him to go right now. Then when the time is right, I’m sure the door will open up.”
Jerry Brisco credits the tremendous work of Keirn, Rhodes, Prichard and Smiley in FCW with teaching Wes the business and how to compete.
“I’m really thankful for that opportunity he had there,” Jerry Brisco said. “It’s just unfortunate that he got hurt.”
• It will take some time for Wes to develop, and hopefully he will earn a chance to shine in WWE. As for wakeboarding, that spotlight shined quickly.
What started as something fun to do in the lake behind his home in Tampa developed into so much more.
A natural, Wes came a long way (in a short time) from his early days with just a rope tied to the family’s jet-ski. He achieved a major wakeboarding sponsor, Hyperlite, at age 15. He was so good at this extreme sport that he even had a wakeboard named after him, the Brisco Gator Board.
Ranked sixth in the world, Wes represented the United States in several world wakeboarding tournaments. Like a successful pro wrestler, he traveled the world through wakeboarding, competing in Asia, Canada, Mexico and the United States.
“Wakeboarding is a young guy’s sport,” Jerry Brisco said, “and Wes finally realized his passion for wrestling.”
Now 28, Wes has been embarking in the family business – not the Brisco Brothers Body Shop (4315 N Hubert Ave., Tampa) but rather pro wrestling.
“He was very successful in wakeboarding,” Jerry Brisco said, “but he always had the love of the sport of wrestling. He was a tremendous high school wrestler in Polk County and the bloodline that he had from me and my brother, Jack.”
• Reminiscent of his dare devil approach in wakeboarding, Wes took some risks in the wrestling ring with his aerial tactics. Placed in a tag team in FCW, he and his partner earned a tag team title match in November 2010.
“Talk about carrying on the family name,” Jerry Brisco recalled. “He and his tag partner [Xavier Woods] became Florida tag team champions at FCW, and I was very thrilled and happy. It was déjà vu all over again with the Brisco name on that Florida tag team championship.
“I was there that night, and I ran to the ring to go out there and celebrate with him. It was a thrill for an old man to get to see his son win a tag team championship that my brother and I wore for so long, very proudly. It was great strapping that tag team title around his waist.”
Jack passed away earlier that year.
“Jack was smiling down that night,” Jerry Brisco said. “Wes pointed toward the sky for his uncle, and it was an emotional night for both of us. I’m sure Jack was extremely proud for his nephew.”
• Jerry Brisco will not be making the trip to Fort Lauderdale, but he will be there in spirit.
In October, Jerry Brisco, 65, suffered his fourth stroke. He is not a smoker, nor a heavy drinker, and he maintains a steady cholesterol level. So this time he opted to see a stroke specialist in Pittsburgh, who diagnosed the problem, and Brisco is well on his way to recovery, planning to be in Miami on April 1 for WWE’s WrestleMania 28 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens.
“I told Howard [Brody] that I won’t be able to make this one [Dec. 14],” Jerry Brisco said. “I’m physically not ready to make the trip down to Lauderdale, yet. I wish I could because it would be great to see my son wrestle in a building that I’ve wrestled in so many times.
“I hope all the fans of the Brisco Brothers come out to see a new generation of Brisco and enjoy it. I’m sure it will be a spectacular event that Howard puts on and very entertaining.”
• Major League Baseball has scouts, scouring for prospects. So does WWE.
When healthy, Jerry Brisco attends events like the NCAA Wrestling Championships, looking for pro wrestling prospects.
• Jerry Brisco, a former Oklahoma State University wrestling standout, won bragging rights over Good ole J.R. Jim Ross as the Oklahoma State Cowboys football team beat recently beat the Oklahoma Sooners 44-10.
Brisco — who said J.R. ‘texted in the towel’ during the game — did not boast about the big victory to J.R., since Oklahoma’s been winning and winning and winning in the past.
• Xavier Woods, who was Wes Brisco’s tag team partner in FCW, is former TNA wrestler Consequences Creed.
• Former DX members Billy Gunn and X-Pac battle the Dark City Fight Club (Kory Chavis and Jon Davis) for the NWA tag team titles during an NWA Ring Warriors show at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14 at the Fort Lauderdale National Guard Armory, 400 SW 24th St./State Road 84.
For the NWA title, the Tokyo Monster Kahagas faces Chance Prophet.
In a grand championship tournament: Vordell Walker vs. The Giant Titan; Francisco Ciatso vs. Cassidy Riley; Bruce Santee vs. J.D. Maverick; and Wes Brisco vs. Steve Madison.
• To learn more about NWA Ring Warriors, call 888-695-0888 or visit nwaringwarriors.com.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/10/v-fullstory/2539932/wes-brisco-makes-wwe-hall-of-famers.html#ixzz1gAhYSPr4
In : Internet Columns