Good News Of Great Joy With Mando Guerrero
Many years ago, Mando & his wife Barb led an Awana group at this church, and just hours ago, surrounded by a group of children on stage, Mando recited the Biblical account of Jesus our God and Savior (2 Peter 1:1) coming to this earth in the form of a baby in Bethlehem, based on the gospels of Matthew and Luke. I told Mando beforehand that this should be an easy performance, "with no bumps in the ring", but Mando was nervous and said that he had "bumps in the heart!" Afterward, Mando liked my "review" of his Christmas Eve performance, in which I compared his presentation to "old school pro wrestling", as opposed to today's glitzy "sports-entertainment"...not polished or spectacular, but gritty and more real!
When I was the on-camera host & play-by-play announcer for the syndicated Urban Wrestling Alliance TV series, it was an honor for me to work at ringside at the Grand Olympic Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles. During the late 1970s through early 1980s, Mando wrestled many times in that same historic venue...it was there where Mando and his brothers Hector and Chavo battled in the ring against this skinny, obnoxious kid who wore a kilt and played bagpipes named Roddy Piper. The Guerrero brothers and a young Roddy Piper were a part of my childhood memories, inspiring me to become a part of the pro wrestling business years later...growing up in Illinois, I watched the Los Angeles wrestling territory on Monday nights via the Spanish International Network on WCIU/Channel 26 (listed in local TV listings as "Lucha Libre"). I thank God that these days (decades after I watched him on TV during my childhood), Mando calls me a good friend and that he always feels good whenever he sees me (and I call Mando my amigo and my hermano in Christ).
Some years ago at the above mentioned Grace Harbor Church in Tustin, I played one of the Wise Men from the East in a Christmas play. After this service, while I was still wearing my Wise Man costume, this big, rough-looking guy wearing a leather jacket came up to me, and he said (while I was announcing a Bible verse from Matthew 2) that he instantly recognized me as "the wrestling announcer"! This big guy turned out to be So Cal-based pro wrestler Adam Croom, aka Adam Haystacks!
How exciting that God uses people from all walks of life, including pro wrestlers and pro wrestling announcers, to spread the good news of Jesus Christ's first coming to this earth, as we wait for the glorious return of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, coming soon (THE main event)!
Comments
Post a Comment