Codell Rodriguez
Daily Egyptian
Aaron Smith takes dropkicks, chairs to the head and splashes off the top rope. It‚s all in a day‚s work. But on July 29, his pain will not be for a paycheck or for fame. Smith will take pain so a 6-year-old girl won‚t have to.
Smith is wrestling with the local organization Attitude Championship Wrestling in an attempt to raise money for Melina Lashbrook. Melina is fighting a tumor under her right eye. To help her with her fight, ACW is having a benefit show to help Melina‚s family pay for her medical expenses.
„[Her dad] definitely needed it,‰ Smith said at a practice Monday in a stuffy Marion warehouse. „So it‚s for a good cause.‰
Smith works with Melina‚s father, Quentin, as a paramedic at Williamson County Ambulance Service in Herrin. Quentin told Smith about his situation and learned soon after that the ACW was planning the benefit show.
„I was just like, Œthanks,‚‰ Quentin said. „It just doesn‚t seem like Œthank you‚ is enough.‰
Smith said the event will be beneficial for both parties because the organization is looking for ways to get its name out. So far, ACW has been mostly limited to shows in Herrin.
„We‚ve been kind of wanting to spread out in the Southern Illinois area,‰ Smith said.
This particular show will feature two title matches: a women‚s match and a battle royal. For the members of ACW, taking part in these matches is routine. According to Homicidal Steven Davis, who doesn‚t want to use his real name, it takes time to get used to the wrestling lifestyle.
„It‚s not something that just comes naturally to everybody,‰ Davis said as he watched from outside the ring as one of his peers was dropkicked in the head.
Davis, who is currently managing the organization, said sometimes he deals with wrestlers who take the fights too seriously, and he said those are the ones who don‚t last very long in the business. He said even though he‚s been wrestling for about three years, he still suffers from some jitters.
„I generally get a little nervous before every match,‰ Davis said, „making sure you‚re keeping everybody safe.‰
Unfortunately, the wrestlers have to deal with some self-inflicted violence. If one of the wrestlers is supposed to bleed during the show, usually from the head, they have to use a small blade and make a tiny incision just below the hairline. Wrestlers refer to the action as „juicing.‰
But Davis said there would be no blood at the benefit show.
„It‚s a very family-oriented show,‰ Davis said.
„Except when I shove that chair up his a**,‰ said Slayer shirt-clad wrestler Ax Stevens, pointing at a dented blue folding chair hanging on the wall.
„Well you know, some things you can‚t help,‰ Davis said, laughing.
Stevens and Davis both play „heels.‰ To differentiate between the good guys and the bad guys, wrestlers apply the terms „heels‰ to bad guys and „baby faces‰ to good guys.
„I enjoy playing the bad guy,‰ Davis said.
Smith, who plays Hot Stuff Tony Storm, takes the role of the baby face. He said his character is usually clad in flashy clothing such as glittery jackets. He said his character tends to keep the old-school style of wrestler from the late Œ70s and early Œ80s.
While the wrestlers get along with each other outside of the ring, the same can‚t always be said of the fans, according to Davis. He said because of fans who get too involved in the storyline, he doesn‚t wrestle at venues where alcohol is served.
„You mix alcohol and stuff like this and people tend to get a little stupid,‰ Davis said.
But Davis said that with a minor exception, the fans are great. One fan he and the other wrestlers are looking forward to is Melina. While it‚s uncertain if she can attend because she is starting chemotherapy, the wrestlers are looking forward to meeting her.
The only one who has already met her is Smith. He said Melina is an active girl and is staying brave for the situation.
„Her spirits have stayed high,‰ Davis said. „She‚s a great little girl.‰
Melina‚s father, Quentin, said her condition is 90 to 95 percent curable, but there is always the danger of her losing vision in her right eye. She‚s been receiving radiation treatment once a week at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.
Quentin said that with the costs, he can‚t even begin to thank the ACW enough for the more than $1,000 they hope to bring in.
„Thank you is just a small word for what everyone‚s doing to help,‰ Quentin said.
Attitude Championship Wrestling‚s event will take place at 7 p.m. July 29 at De Soto Grade School. Tickets are available at the Williamson County Ambulance Service, 808 E. Deyoung, in Herrin. Tickets are $8 for general admission and $10 for floor seats.
Reporter Codell Rodriguez can be reached at crodriguez@dailyegyptian.com.
Published on 11/17/05; 12:24:44 PM
