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www.theeveningleader.com/articles/2004/02/05/sports/sports03.txt

Wrestlers return to St. Marys

By B.J. BETHEL

ST. MARYS -- Lima native Al Snow, who has achieved success in the
wrestling business throughout his 22-year career, says returning to
St. Marys to face a new generation of fans will be a treat.

Snow ventured into Memorial High School Wednesday, alongside friend
and former trainer Jim Painter, to publicize the return of Painter's
Midwest Championship Wrestling in St. Marys on Feb. 21. Snow will take
on Brian Beech in the main event of the night. MCW will also hold a
Hall of Fame induction ceremony featuring Painter, his brother Rick,
the Patriot, Sam Cody, Luis Martinez and "Flyin'" Fred Curry, who was
one of the most popular wrestlers in the Midwest for much of the 1960s
and '70s.



"I'm real excited about coming back and getting to wrestle," Snow
said. "They (the St. Marys fans) were always fun to work in front of.
There are a lot of memories and good times for everyone."



Representatives from newspaper, radio and television media stood by at
Memorial, while a throng of wide-eyed students -- as well as a few
teachers -- surrounded Snow as he made his way into the gymnasium.



"We haven't had anything this big since Dan Quayle was here," one
adult observer said to another, standing near the entrance to McBroom
Gymnasium. "This is probably bigger."



The reaction to Snow, who is a World Wrestling Entertainment wrestler,
announcer and perhaps the world's most famous wrestling trainer, was
quite different from the one he received nearly 20 years ago when he
first appeared at Memorial High School. Back then, Snow was just
another worker on wrestling's independent circuit. He was looking for
a payday, looking to get noticed and just trying to get by.



Since that time, Snow has owned his own wrestling school, wrestled his
way to national notoriety as a part of Extreme Championship Wrestling,
the World Wrestling Federation and Smoky Mountain Wrestling. He also
became the face of the hit cable television show, Tough Enough, as a
wrestling trainer. The show, which put contestants through the paces
of the wrestling business so they could earn a dream job with Vince
McMahon's World Wrestling Entertainment company, aired on MTV for
three seasons.



"Coming back to the St. Marys and Lima area is fantastic," said Snow,
who first wrestled in St. Marys in 1984. "It's really exciting to
return home to my roots and I'm real excited about wrestling here on
Feb. 21 at St. Marys High School. I can't wait to perform for a new
generation of fans."



Snow made several apperances at Memorial High School in the '80s.



"I think my last match here was in '86, '87," he said. "It was so long
ago, I can't remember. I know Rick Lancaster was on the show and so
was Mickey Doyle. I know I stepped on his (Jim Painter's) shoestring
in the back and he got upset."



The first time Snow wrestled in St. Marys, Ronald Reagan was
president, Hulkamania was just in its infancy, and over 20 major
wrestling territories operated in the United States. Now there is one
major company, a fledgling pay-per-view based federation and hundreds
of independent promotions. Surprisingly, however, the core of the
business hasn't changed much in that time.



"The wrestling business has changed dramatically since I first
performed in St. Marys," Snow said. "But it's still inherently the
same business, in that it's still one of the true American art forms.
Other than jazz, it's the only home-grown art form we have.



"For the wrestlers themselves, it has changed," he added. "The amount
of money has improved. The skill level and the athleticism has gone up
tremendously. The fans are so much more sophisticated now. We live in
a completely different age than, let's say 20 years ago, when I first
wrestled in St. Marys. The kids who go to this school can get on the
internet, access Antarctica, Australia and watch a war happen live on
the news as it transpires. The level of sophistication is just night
and day."



Snow said he doesn't know what inspired him to start wrestling in the
first place, but he knows his infatuation for the business hasn't
changed over the years.



"I really don't know what drew me to wrestling," Snow said. "At a
young age or at this age. If you can answer why you want to do
something, then it isn't really your passion, no matter what it is.
I've been doing this for 22 years of my life, and I still can't fathom
why I have to do this, but I feel I absolutely have to."



Snow has spent the last several years of his career working for Vince
McMahon, whom he describes as a very hands-on owner.



"We all, in WWE, work for Vince McMahon," Snow said. "There is nobody
else. Vince McMahon runs that company. He's an incredible leader from
the standpoint that he never asks an employee to do something he
wouldn't do. He works 23 and a half hours a day, seven days a week. He
has an absolute passion for it. And believe me, you work for Vince
McMahon. Every person on the payroll, directly, and no one else."



Snow, who has owned a wrestling school, said he believes training is a
way for him to give back to the wrestling industry and is a way for
him to achieve a legacy.



"Those were vehicles for me to give back to a business that gave me so
much," Snow said. "They have allowed me to leave my legacy behind.
It's important for me to achieve some immortality, something that
lasts beyond me. Each one of those people that I trained now take my
reputation and my name and carry it forward. Through them, my name
lives on."



Snow said today's newer performers often have problems in relating
their matches to the crowd.



"The thing a lot of wrestlers lack is the ability to work the
audience, or to get a feel for the audience," Snow said. "They're
becoming so athletic that they go in the back, say they are going to
do A, then B, Then C tonight, and then go out there and do it. The
fans may not be able to relate to that. You have to be able to feel
emotionally what the audience wants and take them in that direction.
That's kind of being lost, because everything is happening so fast in
the ring now."



While the speed of the maches have given wrestlers problems in
communicating with the crowd, he feels that it won't directly impact
the number of injuries that wrestlers suffer.



"I think the injuries are just going to happen," Snow said. "It's not
ballet. Bones are going to be broken, necks are going to be messed up,
concussions are going to occur, knees will be displaced or torn. This
idea that it's real or fake is ridiculous. There are probably 12 to 20
guys who have had their necks broken in the last two years. That
should dispel any of it being real or fake. I'm sure Jim Painter can
attest, you live with pain every day of your life. I wake up,
something hurts all the time. If it didn't, I don't think I'd feel."


--- Internet Rex 2.29