Krash hoists 8-year-old Joshua Tyson over his head for a photo before the wrestling matches Saturday night at Yongsan Garrison’s Collier Field House. (T.D. Flack / Stars and Stripes)
YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea — Fans of all ages were on hand Saturday night to watch World Wrestling Alliance stars battle in Collier Field House.
The wrestlers, including “The Barbarian,” “Krash,” Christie Ricci and Brandi Wine, also spent about an hour signing autographs and posing for photographs.
Eight-year-old Joshua Tyson and his 6-year-old friend Walter Shoulders waited patiently in a line that snaked through the gym. Krash came around the table and hoisted Tyson into the air, holding him above his head for the photo.
“It was cool,” Tyson said of meeting the wrestler. He’s seen plenty of wrestling on television but it was his first time in person.
Staff Sgt. Thomas Rude, 44, nearly ran from wrestler to wrestler, posing for photos.
“I’ve been watching it since I was a little kid,” he said. “I grew up on Detroit wrestling.”
Clad in a “Wrestling Saves,” T-shirt, Rude said it was the first time he’d been to see wrestling on base in his three years in South Korea.
“I think it’s great” the wrestlers visited the base, he said.
He was familiar with “The Barbarian,” who would face Krash in the main event, but his favorite was “the female wrestlers, of course.”
The drama began as the ring announcer greeted the audience.
Tom Shane, “Demolition’s” manager, climbed into the ring to stir up the crowd.
“It’s great to be here at Yongsan Air Force Base,” he said to boos from the crowd. When he was corrected and told that Yongsan Garrison belonged to the Army, he struck again.
“That would explain the lack of intelligent looks,” he said.
The first match of the night pitted 225-pound Dave Dupont against “The Volcano Kid,” a 300-pound Samoan wrestler.
Kids lined the rails of walkway to the ring and Dupont made it clear he was the “bad guy” when he pulled a sign out of one fan’s hands and shredded it.
The Volcano Kid made quick work of Dupont, much to the fans’ delight. After the match, the “Kid” said it was fun playing the “good guy,” since he’s usually the heavy.
He said he enjoys performing at the bases “because it’s for the armed forces.”
Krash hoists 8-year-old Joshua Tyson over his head for a photo before the wrestling matches Saturday night at Yongsan Garrison’s Collier Field House. (T.D. Flack / Stars and Stripes)
Venus makes her way to the ring. (T.D. Flack / Stars and Stripes)
Allison Danger pulls Venus' hair during a wrestling bout Saturday night. (T.D. Flack / Stars and Stripes)
