GLEN CARBON - Throughout the long and colorful history of professional wrestling, the fans often see the sport's greatest stars at their best.
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Whether in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) or old organizations such as the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the American Wrestling Association (AWA) or World Championship Wrestling (WCW), fans could count on heroes and villains giving their all when cards were held in their home areas.
That's just as true with today's independent organizations. And their wrestlers' backgrounds can make for a very interesting story in their own right.
Such is the case for Dynamo Pro Wrestling's tag team champions, High Level Enterprise. Jack Gamble and Jon Webb, who successfully defended their title with a win over The Professionals Saturday night at The Sports Academy in Glen Carbon, each have a similar story of how they got interested in the mat game.
Both watched various wrestling shows on television as kids. “One thing that got me hooked was watching the cruiserweights and the high flyers,” Webb said in a post match interview. “That's what got me interested.”
Gamble had a different reason that attracted him.
“I wanted to be the center of attention,” he said with a smile.
The duo's influences are some of the biggest names of more recent times. “My influences were guys like Shawn Michaels, The 1-2-3 Kid (Sean Waltman) and Bret Hart,” Gamble said. Webb cited Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio Jr. and Eddie Guerrero as the wrestlers who've most influenced him.
Both Gamble and Webb started their training at an academy ran by one of the all-time greats, Harley Race, in Troy, Mo. The natives of the Lake of the Ozarks area both went through physical training as well as learning in-match psychology.
A tag team for three years, both had a similar high-flying style early in their careers. In 2013, Gamble was forced to change his style after a accident caused by a drunk driver left him seriously injured.
"My femur was ripped out and I broke both my humerus and ankle along with a severe concussion.” he said.
Webb's style is still of an aerial nature. “I have a very high-flying style with strong style influences.” Webb said.
As for the future, both would like to make it to the WWE, but a more immediate goal lies overseas. The duo have done tours with Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan, where the sport is very popular.
“The WWE is always the dream, but right now, we're more focused on Pro Wrestling Noah,” Webb said.
“My main goal is to get back to Pro Wrestling Noah,” Gamble said.
Gamble also thought that the fan support in both the United States and Japan were very similar. “There's no real comparison,” he said. “The fans are very receptive in both (countries).”
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