  Rico, ex of WWE, drops by to inspire the trainees on Thursday in Las Vegas. - photo by Greg Oliver |
LAS VEGAS - The Riviera Grande Ballroom reeked of aspiration and perspiration all day Thursday and Friday.
Approximately 40 hopefuls ignored the charms of Sin City and gathered around
a makeshift ring the past two days for a wrestling seminar put on by greats,
Les Thatcher and Harley Race. This is the third year the Cauliflower Alley
Club has included the tuteledge as part of its annual reunion.
According to Thatcher, all participants are required to have at least one
year of professional wrestling experience. It was an ecclectic mix. Women.
Men. All shapes and sizes. Some were awfully green. Some were overly
cocky. Some were intimidated. Hard not to be with the likes of Bob Orton
Sr., Nick Bockwinkel, Penny Banner and Ox Baker in the audience looking on
at the future of their sport.
One enthusiastic participant, who just happened to be the sole Canadian
involved in the seminar, was Nathan Burke. The 29-year-old from Maple
Ridge, B.C. stood out in his black ECCW t-shirt and funky blue, yellow and
white trunks.
A pro wrestler for seven years known as Disco Fury, and having just dropped the NWA Canadian Jr.
title just days earlier, Burke couldn't say enough about his first trip to
Las Vegas.
"This is phenomenal," declared the lithe blonde. "No one ever knows
everything about professional wrestling. There is always more to learn.
Plus it is just a priviledge to be in the same room as Les Thatcher and
Harley Race."
An instructor himself, Burke plans on taking all he has learned back over
the border and applying it to all his students.
The highlight of the seminar on Thursday, which lasted about seven hours, was when
Thatcher divided everyone into tag teams and picked who were the heels and
the babyfaces. An opportunity that allowed many to take on unknown personas
and work with wrestlers they had never met before. A remarkable and
intriguing test to say the least.
The teams were given six minutes to have a match with instructions that the
heels were to always go over. Afterwards, they were critiqued by both
Thatcher and Race.
After several matches kept having the heels dominating for five of the six
minutes, a fed up Thatcher and Race offered some stern advice and warned
their pupils to start listening.
"We're not trying to hurt your feelings, we're trying to make you better
wrestlers," offered Thatcher. "We are all being generous, benevalent and
very calm with this today."
Even "Killer" Tim Brooks, who was just being a spectator by the ring, grabbed the
microphone and decided to speak up, "You are here to learn. Pro wrestling
is not going to change for you. You are going to change for pro wrestling."
Their words seemed to make an impact as the evening concluded with a highly
praised womens tag match followed by what was dubbed by many as the best
match of the night. A moment that had Thatcher almost at a loss for words,
which I'm told is a first.
"Gentlemen, this is frightening to me, but I think I just saw a tag team
match," he commented.
The evening closed with Thatcher saying that 30 of the best workers would be
picked to put on a show on Saturday.
Someone hoping to be included for that show is 19-year-old Jack Manley.
Originally from Alaska, Manley moved to Las Vegas two weeks ago hoping to
continue his wrestling training.
"I'll continue this as long as my body holds up," he promised, although his
slim chest was already showing signs of scrapes and bruising. Manley was
hastily making notes in his notebook trying to remember all the comments
Thatcher and Race had made.
Clad in a grey t-shirt that reads, "If you're big star bound, let me warn
you, it's a long hard ride," Les Thatcher is exhausted after the seminar
and ready for a beer, but you can't wipe the smile off his face. He lives
for this.
"One of the problems today with the independent wrestlers is that they try
to teach other or by watching tapes," he observed.
Because of the inticate nature of professional wrestling, Thatcher feels
that seminars like the one here in Vegas allow young wrestlers to expand and
develop their skills as they should be done -- over time and with the
instruction of people who have been at the top like he and Harley Race have.
"It's just like if you wanna climb Mount Everest, you must go to someone who
has climbed that mountain before to teach you how," he said.
In his opinion the seminar, is beneficial to him as well. It allows him to
give back to the business and if any of the students end up doing well, he's
filled with a sense of pride.
As for what elements he is looking for in the talent he chooses for
Saturday's show, Thatcher said it is simple.
"They have to look like athletes," he explained. "They have to have
charisma and they have to be able to do their moves crisp, not sloppy. They
also have to understand that this is a business of mass hypnosis. You have
to be able to control a crowd."
RELATED LINKS
CAC 2005: Terry Funk honored by his peers at CAC
CAC 2005: Adrian Street proposes to Miss Linda
CAC 2005: Youth sweats it out in Vegas
2005 Cauliflower Alley Club reunion gallery
More on the Cauliflower Alley Club
Jamie Kreiser is in Las Vegas covering the Cauliflower Alley Club reunion.
