Inland Empire 66ers Baseball & My Pro Wrestling Announcing Career
More than a decade ago, I was one of the morning radio co-hosts on KCAA AM 1050 (the NBC talk radio station in the Inland Empire), which also featured live broadcasts of Inland Empire 66ers baseball games. During one 66ers game, at San Manuel Stadium, then-Inland Empire 66ers baseball play-by-play announcer Sam Farber invited me into the stadium's radio broadcast booth to be a special guest commentator during one inning (currently, Sam Farber is the radio play-by-play guy for the NBA's Charlotte Hornets). I had fun commentating with Sam in the booth, over the airwaves on KCAA...it was similar to when comedian Steve Allen did guest commentary for one match only with WWF lead announcer Gorilla Monsoon at WrestleMania VI.
Some historical insights...Steve Allen briefly did wrestling announcing during the early days of television, and it was during the early popularity of DVDs when Tokyopop's FMW Wrestling videos were among the best sellers on Billboard's sports video chart, and I must say that it's a blessing that people around the globe still remember my hosting & play-by-play work for FMW. I also praise God for being a wrestling announcer when wrestling was still a big deal on syndicated television...when I did on-camera hosting & play-by-play for the syndicated Urban Wrestling Alliance TV shows, UWA executive producer Vic Bulluck, one time backstage, enthusiastically told me and others that our UWA TV show beat the World Wrestling Federation's syndicated TV show "WWF Jakked" in the Nielsen TV ratings. And I give my Lord God of heaven the glory for it all (John 3:27)!
At another Inland Empire 66ers baseball game in San Bernardino, I met a couple of people who were involved with that evening's post-game entertainment...live pro wrestling presented by the independent wrestling group My Lucha TV (promoted by K Ross Kovington). While this group's crew was setting up the ring, someone pointed me to My Lucha TV's booker (pro wrestling's equivalent to a radio/TV program director), Carlos Condor Zamora. When I took off my sunglasses and introduced myself to him, Carlos' eyes became as big as saucers and his jaw dropped. Carlos instantly recognized me and complimented me on my work which he had viewed (it's nice to find favor with both God and people--Proverbs 3:4), and during our conversation, I was impressed by Carlos' knowledge of and respect for pro wrestling history/wrestling's regional territory days. Most importantly, Mr. Zamora shared with me that he, praise God, is a fellow believer in our Lord Jesus Christ, recognizing the need to be born again/reborn from above/spiritually transformed to see the kingdom of God (John 3:3).
Before this post-game entertainment began that evening at San Manuel Stadium, I also met My Lucha TV's champion at the time, Super Natural (a stocky heel/"bad guy" with unnatural bleached blond hair). Since he knew that I was "smart to the business", Super Natural shared his thoughts with me, when it came to nuances involved in the "craft" of pro wrestling (there's a lot more to it than some may think, among those who think that just anyone off the street can do "that fake stuff" you see on TV). I later told booker Carlos that with Super Natural's keen mind for the business, Super Natural deserved to be that group's champion. Super Natural also noticed that I was wearing a Christian T-shirt, and then he and someone else near him were careful to talk and present themselves in a more Christ-like manner (or in such a way, deep down inside, that they knew existed).
Just weeks ago, more than a decade after I met him that night at an Inland Empire 66ers baseball event, I watched and listened to a recent online interview (circa October 2023) with Super Natural (presented by Soft White Underbelly). Even though this insightful interview has some strong language here and there (perhaps to reflect the reality of some of the brutal situations he's been in), I was impressed not only by Super Natural's insights into the wrestling business, but also when he said that he reads God's Word, which keeps him humble (that's good...Matthew 23:12, Proverbs 29:23), and toward the end of this online interview, Super Natural talked about his faith, saying, "I don't invest my inheritance here", that this life "is a blink of an eye", and that "there's another life...with the Lord...a lot more than I can imagine"! Super Natural also quoted a Bible verse from 2 Corinthians 4:18, that what we see is temporary, but what we cannot see is eternal. Super Natural, above any temporary championship or temporary arena, praise the Lord that He has enabled you to share in the inheritance of His people in the kingdom of light (Colossians 1:12)!
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