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http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2003/08/20/164993.html

Freebirds, Von Erich meet again at convention

By MEREDITH RENWICK -- For SLAM! Wrestling
 
Kevin Von Erich, Michael Hayes, Buddy Roberts, Jimmy Garvin, and Terry
Ray Gordy Jr. answer questions from fans at Wrestlecon. See more
pictures from the event at www.wrestlecon.com. - Meredith Renwick

ARLINGTON, TX -- It was a strange scene. Kevin Von Erich joked with
Fabulous Freebirds Michael Hayes, Buddy Roberts and "Gorgeous" Jimmy
Garvin as though their feuds never happened. Missy Hyatt and Francine,
the Queen of Extreme, laughed, chatted and shared desserts like
long-lost sisters. The mysterious Missing Link finally resurfaced
after fifteen years - and turned out to be former Canadian Heavyweight
Champion Dewey Robertson.

Welcome to Wrestlecon. Held this past weekend in Arlington, Texas, the
all-wrestling autograph, memorabilia, collector's show and reunion
brought together some of the top stars of World Class Championships
Wrestling, WWE, ECW and more for a weekend of autographs, photo ops,
mingling with fans, and reminiscing about the good old days.

Other guests at Wrestlecon included Killer Karl Kox, Candi Devine,
Playboy Buddy Rose, Terry Ray Gordy Jr. (son of the late Terry "Bam
Bam" Gordy), Killer Tim Brooks, The Angel of Death, Cowboy Johnny
Mantell, Chris Youngblood, ICP's Rude Boy, Shawn Stasiak, NWA-TNA's
Lollipop, and others. Vendors included Mark McNulty of
wrestlingclassics.com and Tim Brooks and Karl Kox also had items for
sale.

Wrestlecon kicked off with a cocktail party Friday night that was open
to fans who had purchased VIP passes. At one point Killer Tim Brooks
looked around the table at Killer Karl Kox and Dewey "Missing Link"
Robertson and joked, "There's about 150 years of the business sitting
at this table."

An event like Wrestlecon would have been unimaginable back in the
glory days of World Class when the Von Erich/Freebirds feud was at its
peak and the old code of kayfabe was firmly in place. Killer Karl Kox
summed it up best: "I never imagined one day we'd be sitting around
talking about the business like this." But the fans were clearly
delighted to have the opportunity to talk to their favourite wrestlers
one-on-one, purchase autographed 8x10s and/or get photos taken with
the greats.

At Saturday afternoon's fan Q&A with the Freebirds and Kevin Von
Erich, a recurring theme was the changes in the world of wrestling
since the 1980s. In response to a fan's question about the possibility
of the current situation running pro wrestling "into the ground, Hayes
said "I don't think you can ever run this business into the ground
because of fans like yourself that'll love it no matter what... I
think [wrestling] has evolved a lot and the competition on television
is quite different now than it was back then. Back then there was a
lot more focus on the wrestling, and nowadays there's a lot of
sexuality and a lot of other things that you'd probably see on any
other show that's on at the same time. But as far as running it into
the ground, I think wrestling will always be around one way or the
other."

[]
  

At the buffet dinner Saturday night, the headline guests and former
World Class referee David Manning regaled the crowd with tales of
behind-the-scenes shenanigans and favourite ribs, most of them
instigated by the Freebirds - like the time Buddy Roberts arrived for
a show and found a dead possum placed in his bag by his teammates then
got his revenge by putting the stinking costume on anyway and making
them smell it all through the match. Or the time Kevin Von Erich got
bitten on the arm by a monkey during a tour of Africa and the monkey
dropped dead several minutes later. Manning also revealed that Vince
McMahon Sr. and Jr. had approached WCCW promoter Fritz Von Erich in
1982 about forming a partnership, "and unfortunately for us, Fritz
said no."

Wrestlecon was organized by Britt Britton, owner of Autographs Ink, a
movie, sports and music collector's store in Colleyville TX. Britton
has been involved in collector and memorabilia shows for over 20
years, and Wrestlecon is the first show he's done that's been strictly
pro wrestling-oriented. Attendance was lower than Britton had been
hoping for, but he's confident that word-of-mouth will get out about
the event and attendance will be higher for the next Wrestlecon in
February 2004. "I'm a little disappointed by the turnout, but I don't
think I did anything wrong," Britton said. "I decided if I was going
to do one [wrestling convention] I'd do two, so the one for February
is definitely a go."


--- Internet Rex 2.29