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ouuv/vw............... *................................. 010 027 x—10 5 1— Senzel, Pankey (6th), Rohwadder (6th), Schuch (6th) and Carpenter— Gauna and AlexanderRoberts(Continued from Page E-l)someone who has been involved in it for so many years.‘The fans love to see the battles between the good guys and the bad guys,” said Roberts, who as part of the Fabulous Freebirds,’ became one of the best tag-team wrestlers in the sport. “When you go to the matches, you won’t find any bosses telling you what to do and you won’t find anyone complaining to you about life.“It’s just a chance to release some of your frustrations and have a lot of fun with your whole family,” he added. “When I first started, the crowd leaned mainly toward adults. But over the last 10 years, the kids' attendance has started to increase. A lot of that is due to the television exposure.”Exposure may be an understatement in this case. Over-saturation may be the phrase we are looking for. It seems you can’t turn the channel, cable or regular television, without hitting some wrestling organization.And Roberts has seen just about all of them. The 5-11, 230-pound grappler was born in Vancouver but has wrestled everywhere from Fort Worth, Texas to Israel. He now calls Olympia Fields home, after moving their from Mokena.If you are a die-hard wrestling fan, Roberts’ name should be very familiar. In the battle of good vs. evil, Roberts has made himself into one of the classic bad guys.’“The fans’ reaction usually tells you which way you go,” said Roberts of the decision to wrestle predominantly as a rulebreaker. “If they like you, then you head in the fans' direction. I’ve always wrestled on the aggressive side, but I don't consider myself a badguy“I really believe the bad are good and the good are bad, he added “The bad guys’ are the ones I have found who will talk to the fans after matches and sign autographs.”When it comes right down to it though, Roberts is really a good guy. He has settled in this area with his wife, Janice, and his four-year old son, Brandon After engaging in some memorable feuds with the first family of wrestling in Texas, the Von Erics, which you can still see on ESPN to this day, Roberts has come to Chicago with his eye on some business-related ventures in wrestling.“I’m concerned about the ticket prices for the average fan who goes to a card,” said Roberts. “When I first started to wrestle, there were 25 territories you could go to and the average-ticket price was about seven dollars. Now, there are two territories (WWF and NWA) and the average price is somewhere around $17.“We feel we can gradually develop a territory where the prices are reduced,” he added. “And it wouldn’t be just New York (WWF)or Atlanta (NWA). It would be one where competitors from all over could come in and wrestle.“Chicago is a perfect area because wrestling draws very well here, and it’s a great sports city.” When Roberts speaks of we, he is talking of himself and his partner in this venture, Juan Hernandez of Steger— better known as Mr. Karate’ in the Championship International Wrestling Circuit.Together, they are working on the wrestling promotions as well as trying to put together Roberts’ main goal and dream— opening a pro wrestling school in the south suburban area.We are putting our differences aside and putting our knowledge together to make these ideas work,” said Hernandez in the true wrestling nature, as he wrestles as a fan favorite in the CIW.“I really have no differences with Juan because I’ve never wrestled him. He reminds me of myself at that age,” added a smiling Roberts. “I heard about him in this area, so I called Juan to tell him about my idea to open a wrestling school. He told me about his Karate school, and we decided it would be a perfect combination “I want to work with young people in the area, he continued. “There is plenty of room for good young talent to move into pro wrestling with the right training, and I think I can provide that.” Kids and wrestling are a big connection for Roberts. It’s a connection that many parents would shy away from, claiming it as an influence that would promote needless violence But the wiley ring veteran strongly disagrees “The kids see the little guys wrestle, and they watch them win or at least compete,” said Roberts. “They realize you don’t have to be a big guy to be a success. One of the most successful guys in this sport was a smaller guy— a guy named Dick the Bruiser from Chicago,“I know I gained a lot of respect for myself, when I was younger, through watching this sport and beginning my training in it,” he added.Respect is not something that has come easily from the fans for Roberts during his career, but who knows what the future holds. One thing is for sure, though— the Buddy Roberts that’s in the ring is a different person then the well-respected one outside of it.“I’m going to be wrestling some tough guys in this area,” said Roberts, who had his match with Shiek Adnan A1 Kaissie cancelled last Friday at the Copernicus Theatre in Chicago because the Shiek wasn’t interested in going up against someone so tough.“I have a family now, and I am settling down in this area,” he added “Who knows, maybe the fans will react differently to me this time around.”iI
Newspaper Details
Homewood Star
Homewood, Illinois, US
Thu, May 24, 1990
Page 42
Full Page
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TN, USA 13 Jun 2019
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