pro wrestling makes its mark in seymour

Professional wrestling is making its presence felt in Seymour with the rising popularity of the United Wrestling Association (UWA), a homegrown organization spearheaded by pro wrestling veteran promoter/manager Danny Grubb.

The UWA matches take place at Andy’s Junction, an entertainment venue known for its live music and dancing that is located in the basement of Seymour Hardware, on Tuesday nights from 8 p.m. until approximately 10:30.

Local pro wrestling fans have taken notice. More than 70 fans were in attendance Tuesday night for this week’s UWA event.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said one wrestling fan seated on the front row Tuesday night. “I’ve always been a fan of pro wrestling. It’s good clean family entertainment. Even though the wrestlers here aren’t as popular as the ones you see on T.V., they do a good job and put on a great show.

“I definitely plan to come back and bring my grandkids. They’ll get a kick out of it.”

Grubb said the UWA events in Seymour involve anywhere from 10-to-18 wrestlers who come from as far away as Nashville to perform at the Seymour shows.

Fans sit in fold-out chairs situated around the ring and either boo or cheer wrestlers as they walk out of a makeshift dressing room with their theme song blaring over the sound system. Once in the ring, the wrestlers are greeted by a referee dressed in the typical black and white stripped garb and officially introduced to the crowd by the ring-side announcer.

The ring-side announcer, a masked man who refused to give his name but calls himself “Dr. X”, is allegedly a former Georgia Mountain Wrestling Champion who claims to have rubbed shoulders with such legendary pro grapplers as Ric Flair and Andre The Giant.

Dr. X, who is in his 60s and resides in Clinton, says he sees potential in the pro wrestling scene in Seymour.

“It’s really coming along quite a bit,” said the masked man who keeps the fans entertained with his ongoing banter between matches. “Danny (Grubb) has brought in some good young talent, some outstanding wrestlers, and that’s the most important thing.”

Arguably the biggest name currently wrestling in the UWA is Chase Stevens, a fan-favorite who will reportedly wrestle at the World Wrestling Entertainment show scheduled for Knoxville in early August.

Gossett said the attendance for the Tuesday night matches has been steadily improving despite the rise in gas prices. Gossett, a Seymour resident, says he’s been involved with pro wrestling in some form or another for 25 years.

“A lot has changed since I first got involved with pro wrestling,” said Gossett. “The biggest thing is there is just so much competition to deal with these days. There are six other professional wrestling organizations locally that I can think of off hand in Sevierville, Alcoa and Knoxville.

“But I think it can do well here. There’s a lot of great talent around here.”