Wednesday, February 15, 2023

On the Beat With Erik Hodson

We are now less than two months away from Squared Circle Expo III. Running April 7-8 at Wyndham Indianapolis West, SCX III promises to surpass the first two fantastic SCX events.

SCX III is two days of wrestling-related fun, including meet-and-greets, Q&As, panels, photo ops, wrestling matches and more, including vendors with cool merchandise. One of those vendors is Erik Hodson. Yesterday, I interviewed Erik to discuss his career and SCX III, which is at On the Beat With Erik Hodson.

Interested in art most of his life, Erik was able to turn his passion into his career. He started with other subjects, but eventually started to incorporate wrestling into his work. That created a whole new audience. It also opened new possibilities at wrestling-related events, like Squared Circle Expo.

In addition to Erik, there are nearly 30 other great vendors announced, too, including Great Lakes Championship Wrestling, artist AJ Moore, Mess Bucket Comics, Tony Hunter Promotions and Collar and Elbow. If you are looking for wrestling memorabilia or merchandise, chances are some vendor will have it or at least tell you where to get it. I have picked up quite a few Roddy Piper pieces, some I didn't even know existed until I saw them at SCX. As I told Erik, I'm looking forward to picking up his Roddy Piper comic book this year.

My last update listed the first couple rounds of wrestling guest announcements. That list was packed with legends, including Hall of Famer and Olympic Gold Medal winner Kurt Angle, All Elite Wrestling's MJF, WWE legend Tatanka, podcasters and current stars Matt Cardona and Brian Myers, AEW's Jamie Hayter, WWE Hall of Famer “Big Sexy” Kevin Nash, Heath, Rhyno, current SCX champ Jake Omen, WWE Hall of Famer Lisa Marie Varon, WWE legends Tugboat/Typhoon and Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake, multi-time WWE and TNA/Impact Women's champ Mickie James, multi-time NWA champ Nick Aldis and ECW stars Al Snow, Sandman, Shane Douglas, “The Queen of Extreme” Francine and the bWo's Blue Meanie, Nova and Stevie Richards.

Recently added were WWF Hall of Famer Tito Santana, Christian, Evil Uno, AEW's Toni Storm, NJPW's Juice Robinson, WWE HOFer Sgt. Slaughter, AEW's Willow Nightingale, Red Velvet, D-Von Dudley, SoCal Val, Impact's Ace Austin, Impact's Crazzy Steve, PG-13 (J.C. Ice and Wolfie D), Shark Boy, Athena and Danhausen. That' makes 40 wrestling greats and the promoters aren't done yet. As I have previously written, although that list would be enough for any regular convention, SCX III never settles for regular. That list keeps growing.

In previous years, Saturday night was filled with great wrestling matches. My buddy Tony Feddeler and I agreed last year's matches were among the best independent wrestling matches we have ever seen. This year, the fun doubles, as a full card has been added to Friday night.

Aside from it simply being twice as much wrestling, it also creates a lot of possibilities. Actions from the first night could affect the second. It also opens the possibilities of some wrestlers now being able to make one of the nights, if they had a previous commitment on the other.

Tony will be joining me "On the Beat" all weekend at SCX III. I will recap all the fun here, but I encourage everyone to experience it firsthand.

For more info on Erik, go to ErikHodson.com. Check SquaredCircleX.com for scheduling and updates.

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