This is a weekly series featuring friends who have met celebrities.
Late last year, Louie brought his kids and nephew and a friend and his son to their first Resistance Pro wrestling show. It was great seeing them all have a fun time and meet some of my newer friends in R Pro.
The boys got to meet most of the wrestling talent and I totally appreciated how nice the talent was to the boys. Everyone eagerly posed and talked to the boys. I was not surprised though, the wrestlers at R Pro do that all of the time. They are great with all of their fans (young and old).
The boys clearly have an eye for the lovely ladies. They all were very happy about posing with Nikki St. John, one of the R Pro originals. I certainly cannot blame them for that. I have posed with Nikki many times and I plan on getting more pictures at future shows (fair warning to Nikki).
Seriously, Nikki is fantastic in and out of the ring. I have seen her wrestle for over two years and I have seen her work very hard at improving and the results are visible. Nikki is just a real sweetheart, too.
I also like this picture because of the Johngy shirts. Wow that is a lot of Johngy. It makes me laugh to see them all wearing my shirt. I have known them for their entire lives and they are great kids.
Peter, Steven, Nikki St. John, Christopher and Andrew in Chicago, IL-November 2013.
One of the best parts of Resistance Pro Wresting happens after the actual night of wrestling. Most of the R Pro talent either appears at their table selling their stuff and posing for pictures or just mingles with the crowd. They are all cool about posing, even though they get asked a lot.
I scored a two-fer at the last show. Nikki St. John (a top contender for the Women's title) and Sheri Shaw (Musical Director) were standing together, when I jumped between them and asked for a photo. I could not miss the opportunity to be surrounded by two beautiful women!
The really awesome thing about them is that in addition to their beauty, both ladies are as sweet as can be. Oh sure, Nikki will kick your butt in the ring, but she is great to her fans. It has been a pleasure knowing them and enjoying their work.
If my passion for R Pro isn't enough to get you to come to an R Pro show, perhaps the idea of meeting these beautiful, talented and sweet women might get you to attend a show. As a matter of fact, there is a show tonight in Willowbrook. For more info, go to ResistancePro.com.
Nikki St. John, me and Sheri Shaw in Merrionette Park, IL-May 2013.
I first met Nikki St. John over a year ago at Resistance Pro Wrestling's first event. Nikki was part of a three woman group that we interviewed. That interview can be found at On the Beat with Melanie Cruise and Nikki St. John. At the time, I had not seen Nikki wrestle.
I have learned a lot since then. Nikki does indeed wrestle. In fact, she wrestles a lot. I have probably seen her wrestle 25 times in the last year or so and I know I have not seen every match of hers. I also know I have seen her improve a lot since the first time I saw her.
I mean no disrespect there. She was always solid in the ring, but she seems to be constantly improving. It is very evident that she is working hard to hone her skills. She is growing much stronger in terms of wrestling moveset and growing her character. You know you will see an excellent performance every time Nikki is in the ring. I look forward to seeing where she is in a year.
During that time, I will keep on enjoying her matches and talking to her at the various shows. Not only is she a talented wrestler, she is very fan-friendly. I would hate to destroy her bad girl persona, but the truth is she is a sweetheart. Of course, now she will probably kick my butt for revealing that.
Nikki St. John and me in Merrionette Park, IL-January 2013.
This is a regular series about friends who have met celebrities. If you want to share your pictures and stories, send them to me.
One of the first people I ever met at a POWW event was Anthony Smoody IV and rightfully so. AS4 is possibly POWW's biggest fan. He is at virtually every event, usually in the front row. The wrestlers know him and often interact with him.
AS4 isn't just about the wrestling. He supports POWW in all endeavors, such as when POWW appeared in Tinley Park for a Walk-A-Thon.
Of course, he could have been there to see the beautiful Nikki St. John, one of the best female wrestlers in POWW at the time. AS4 is a huge fan of NSJ, perhaps even her biggest fan and she has a lot of fans, including me, of course.
The picture below is about as good as it can get for AS4. A warm summer day. The POWW title belt. Nikki St. John on his arm. Life is good for Anthony Smoody IV!
Anthony Smoody IV and Nikki St. John in Tinley Park, IL-July 2012.
When Matt and I arrived at Wizard World 2012 for our pre-event meeting of official video bloggers, we put in our claim for the Resistance Pro Wrestling booth. Who would be better at talking to the R Pro family than Matt and me, sort of the odd cousins of the family. Because of our previous work with R Pro, the fine folks at Wizard World handed the R Pro duties to us.
We started off by talking to Jacques Baron, who along with brother Gabe, is the man behind Resistance. Jacques is a cool guy who has welcomed us with open arms. We have seen R Pro grow in so many great ways in less than a year. Jacques is certainly responsible for a lot of that success. Check out ResistancePro.com to learn more about this exciting wrestling organization.
While Eric St. Vaughn has yet to make his wrestling debut, his presence at ringside is certainly noticed. He also has a large contingent of fans at every event especially the Johngy's Beat crew. We look forward to watching his career develop. To follow him and get his updates, check out the Eric St. Vaughn Facebook page.
R Pro's Women's Champ Melanie Cruise has held the belt since Day 1 of R Pro. She is one of our favorite interview subjects. For more info on Melanie and to follow her career, check out Melanie Cruise's Facebook page.
Nikki St. Johnstarted in R Pro as an associate of Melanie Cruise. Now Nikki is gunning for Melanie's title. Another of our favorites, Nikki shows her big heart with her work for the Animal House Shelter in Huntley (IL). Go to Nikki St. John's Facebook page to keep up with all things Nikki.
"The Ego" Robert Anthony has been involved in some of R Pro's most memorable matches. The Ego definitely has a bright future. To learn more about him and keep updated, go to the Robert Anthony Facebook page.
Jay Bradley is one of the first breakout stars at R Pro. Jay puts on 5 star matches with everyone he faces and is currently in the thick of the title picture. Jay is bound for stardom. Follow him on the Jay Bradley Facebook page.
Michael Bradley is part-comedian, part wrestler-in-training and an all around great guy. Like all members of the R Pro family, he is all over the place at each event. Check out Michael Bradley's Facebook page to keep up with his latest activities.
Jacques Baron and brother Gabe are the men behind Resistance Pro Wrestling. These guys work tirelessly to put out the best product possible. They are definitely "hands-on" and highly visible and active at each event. They have been great to JohngysBeat.com since the beginning and we love the entire R Pro family. Head over to ResistancePro.com to learn all about this exciting wrestling company!
Resistance Pro is having their next event, "Just a Game", tomorrow night at Excalibur in Chicago (IL). Gene Snitsky is on the card, Johngy's Beat will be in the audience and you should be there, too!
A couple weeks ago, Scott Beatty and I attended another great POWW Wrestling show in Elk Grove (IL). Before and after the night of wrestling, we got interviews with several members of the POWW roster.
Who better to be the first interview than Jimmy Blaze. Blaze is a veteran wrestler who runs POWW. Blaze has experienced success as a singles competitor and as part of Psychotic Rage with Mitch Blake. After watching the interview, you can learn more about Blaze and get updates from the Jim Blaze Facebook page.
Blaze's partner in Psychotic Rage is Mitch Blake. Blake is a ring veteran who has many stories to share. We look forward to hearing some of those stories in the future. For now, you can watch our introductory interview. After that, head over to Mitch Blake's Facebook page to learn more about him and to get his updates.
I finally got to interview Nikki St. John one-on-one. Nikki is the Queen of POWW and one of JohngysBeat.com's favorites. In addition to her work in the ring, Nikki is a huge supporter of the Huntley Animal House, a no-kill shelter located in Huntley (IL). After watching this interview, go to Nikki's Facebook page to follow her and also check out the Huntley Animal House. The little animals deserve all the love they can get.
Stay tuned for more interviews from the POWW talent coming very soon. The next POWW show is on July 21 at the Tinley Park (IL) Convention Center. Special guests Hardcore Bob Holly will be wrestling Billy Gunn. Johngy's Beat will be there to provide full coverage and get some new interviews, but you should check out the great action for yourself!
When we last talked to Melanie Cruise, she was the newly crowned women's champ at Resistance Pro Wrestling. Melanie and her associate Nikki St. John talked about Resistance and about the Animal House Shelter (in Huntley, IL).
We appreciated their time and we also support organizations such as the Animal House Shelter. Who would have thought these two women, so ruthless in the ring, would have such soft spots for our animal friends (or for Johngy's Beat for that matter). Since they do, we are glad to give them and the Animal House Shelter a little more exposure.
At Obsession, R Pro's March event, we caught up with this dynamic duo before the show. They gave us a little update on themselves, along with more info on the Animal House Shelter. They also showed off their new tshirt, which benefits the Animal House Shelter.
The best line of the night came from Nikki, who stated, "The puppy is not trying to steal her belt." This was classic. Bobby Heenan would have been proud.
Melanie and Nikki (and Taylor Made) are quite a force in the women's division of R Pro. There are plenty of solid challengers, but Cruise shows no signs of slowing down and giving up her title.
After you watch the interview, to learn more about these ladies and to get updates, check out Melanie Cruise on Facebook, Nikki St. John on Facebook, and follow Melanie on twitter and Nikki on twitter. You can also go to ResistancePro.com for more info on them and the rest of the organization.
Lastly, please check out AnimalHouseShelter.com to learn about the no kill shelter. They do wonderful work. The animals (and Melanie and Nikki) would really appreciate it..
