HP and the NWA Weekend for Cooper

Highland Park and the NWA came out big time in a show of community togetherness. Saturday's HP Cares For Cooper fundraiser was followed on Sunday by two NWA Powerrr television tapings. I enjoyed all the activities from my ringside seat. (This recap contains no spoilers.)

On Saturday, fans packed the Recreation Center in support of Cooper Roberts, the eight-year old shot in last year's Fourth of July mass shooting. Thousands of dollars were raised and Cooper was the star of the day. Sitting ringside, Cooper was greeted by wrestlers and cheered by attendees.

There were several great matches, including
NWA World Women's Championship
Kamille (c) vs. Natalia Markova
NWA World Television Championship
Thom Latimer (c) vs. Chicago area's Jay Bradley
NWA National Heavyweight Championship
EC3 (vs) vs. Jordan Clearwater
NWA World Women's Tag Team Championship
M-95 (Missa Kate and Madi Wrenkowski) (c) vs. Kenzie and Kylie Paige
NWA United States Tag Team Championship
The Country Gentlemen (c) vs. SVGS
Tag Team Match
Knox and Murdoch vs. Daisy Kill and Talos
Jake Dumas vs. Chicago area's Robert “Ego” Anthony
Angelina Love vs. Ruthie Jay

The crowd was lively all afternoon. The highlights for me were seeing long-time favorites, Ego, Bradley and Missa Kate in action. I also chatted with Cody James, who I interviewed last week.

Several items were part of a big raffle to raise even more money. NWA President and Highland Park resident Billy Corgan donated a signed guitar, which drew major interest from attendees.

On Sunday, the action moved across town to Studio One for two television tapings. I will not reveal the matches. You'll have to tune in to the NWA YouTube channel to see all the action. Believe me, there was plenty of action. A few additional wrestlers had matches, including the Brothers of Funstruction (Yabo and Ruffo), two of the most talented and entertaining wrestlers, also from the Chicago area.

The weekend had everything. It started with a heart-warming even for a great cause. It included seeing a bunch of fellow wrestling fans, taking part in a raffle (I didn't win, but was happy to help the cause), seeing a few of my Chicago-area favorites and enjoying dozens of awesome NWA matches.

I applaud Corgan for his effort to bring together the community. I also give him credit for breathing life back into the NWA, the nation's oldest and most respected wrestling organization.

While the weekend of fun ended Sunday evening, the NWA will be back in action on July 19. The NWA and Boca Raton Championship Wrestling will present Boca Versus the World from the Boca Black Box in Boca Raton, Florida.

Later in the Summer, the NWA presents NWA 75, its 75th anniversary show. Held on August 26-27 at Chase's Khorassan Ballroom in St. Louis, Missouri, NWA 75 promises to be a major celebration of NWA's legacy. Matches have not been announced yet, but there will be many fantastic bouts, including several championship matches.

Go to NationalWrestlingAlliance.com for more information. Also, check my Patch page for all of my coverage..