Ryse At Ringside 2

As my roller bag with my suit, energy drinks, and trusty comb bumped along the uneven pavement of the parking lot, I saw Ryse Wrestling on the marquee of the venue. I had been there before as a part of the Stomp Out Cancer events and really enjoyed the set up, but this was a different scenario. I sent clips of those Stomp shows to Ryse management to give them a recent sample of my work before they gave me the green light to take the booking at the desk for that night's card. Nobody had told me, but I considered this show on a muggy night in July as purely a tryout to see if I could accomplish the goal for Ryse's presentation. I certainly didn't assume it would automatically be a new regular gig. I knew the promotion had made a reputation for itself in its first year of quality events with quality talent, and I felt I had something to prove that I was capable of contributing at that level.

Again, as with most things, timing got me the opportunity to be there, and this wasn't just another showcase at The Stronghold, it was a pivotal chapter for not only the organization, but for a specific athlete in the main event, or in Ryse lingo, the feature presentation. When I saw Lee Moriarty debut in the sport less than three years earlier, as cliche as it sounds, you could already tell from his first match that he was going to be a star in the industry. In his initial offering in the sport, he looked like he had already been wrestling for a few years and the natural talent was obvious for the youngster known as "The Apex of Combat" in the squared circle. So, it wasn't much of a surprise when he was crowned the first Ryse Grand Champion some eight months earlier. On the flip side, Matt Conard was an eight-year pro in 2018 that had all the tools to be a top performer for an organization, but a combination of oversight, red tape, and just not being at the right place at the right time saw that particular spot elude him throughout his career. Ironically, it was Moriarty vs. Conard in the finals of the tournament that decided the inaugural champion. Eight months later, Conard had his chance to elevate himself to a new level and make a definitive statement that he was, indeed, a top caliber champion.

I felt I need to be at the top of my game to properly tell the audience that story and to give this anticipated Pittsburgh bout the proper call it deserved. But, while Lee and Conard were trading arm bars in the ring, who would I trade calls with at the desk? As mentioned before, their original play-by-play guy had finished up, and the energetic "Rev" Ron Hunt had outside commitments so as we entered the venue that night, I actually didn't know who I would be working with for the broadcast. On the way to the building, after BC Steele delivered an ear-jarring rendition of a Lady Gaga song, he mentioned that Paul Atlas, a grizzled thirty-year veteran of the sport, might be the color analyst.
Atlas, who broke in under the guidance of Dominic Denuce, started grappling at a time when the territory system that helped young wrestlers get noticed in the previous era had evaporated. As a result, he spent the majority of the early-90s traveling several hours just to get a chance to perform in a ring because local groups still weren't a regular concept at the time. A weekend in Pittsburgh was considered almost a luxury, as to continue to hone his craft, he found himself in New Jersey the week after that and perhaps Michigan the following weekend. He had to log the miles just to stay active as a wrestler, regardless of if those bookings were fruitful or not. Eventually, he settled in as a Western Pennsylvania mainstay, working for basically every established group in the area and had virtually every role possible at one time or another. Ironically, the only aspect of the industry that Paul didn't have extensive experience with was commentary, as he had only done a few guest spots years earlier to talk about an upcoming opponent that might be in the ring.

During his three decades as a pro, Paul had a few former Mrs. Atlases and an artificial knee to thank pro wrestling for. I actually met Paul the year I started in the business in 2008. At the time, I was the photographer that did my best to hustle around the ring for action shots and generally tried to stay out of everyone's way, saying hello to be polite, but didn't want to step on any toes. I really enjoyed Paul Atlas and Brian Anthony's run as "The Wrong Crowd" at the time because it was such a cool moniker for two guys that spoke their mind in a business that was known for some talking out of both sides of their neck. During this particular time frame, Paul and Brian were very eloquently pointing out the hypocrisy of the board of directors of the National Wrestling Alliance of that era. Before Billy Corgan rescued the initials from obscurity and gave the brand credibility for the first time in years, the leadership of the NWA  was passed around more than a bucket of popcorn at a teeny bopper sleepover during a Disney movie. Names like Bob Trobich and Bruce Tharpe took over the NWA in name only in an attempt to leech off of the legacy of the legitimate National Wrestling Alliance under the Jim Crockett banner. Those guys had no interest in promoting the NWA, but rather use it as a platform to attempt to get themselves known as something in the wrestling industry. It was a total ego trip for those on the board of directors, and Paul called them out on that, including when he mailed back the NWA North American tag belts in a dilapidated box to prove a point.

During all of this, Paul seemed a little gruff when I would see him rummaging through his bag to find wrist tape so I always kept our interactions short with the standard polite hand shake and left him get back to preparations for that night's match. It might've been injuries, frustrating with the business that caused those injuries, or a combination of factors, but Atlas didn't exactly light up a room in his waning years of in-ring competition. I once told Quinn Magnum that he was featured in one of the magazines I had from years earlier, but he had longer hair in the photo so I initially didn't recognize it was him until I reorganized my collection earlier that same week. Quinn thought this discover was neat because he didn't know he made it into the magazine in 2001. Atlas, who had walked up to Quinn during the course of this exchanged responded with a monotone, "Well, we needed to know that."

In the decade since that warm response, I had seen Paul sporadically at shows, as he was in and out of the Pittsburgh scene, depending on the deteriorating condition of his knee and a badly broken wrist that required plates to repair. Quite simply, I had no idea what to expect that July night at the Stronghold when the red light went on. I knew Paul could cut a great promo, but that was a different skill set that selling a show on commentary. I specifically remember tying my dress shoes that night wondering how this was going to go and if it would be enough to land an invitation back to the Stronghold.

Surprisingly, Paul must've mellowed with age and at 87 seemed enthusiastic about the opportunity to take a seat at the desk. As the action for that broadcast began, we had a natural chemistry on commentary, which I would guess is because I presented him as the vast resource of knowledge that he is, and he trusted me the to set the stage for him to explain those in-ring details that only a seasoned veteran can provide. I'm only guessing here, but I think without the pressure of in-ring competition while trying to work around the injuries he piled up or the stress that goes into a venture such as promoting, the commentary gig allowed Paul a way to contribute his knowledge to a product that was trending upward without the physical or mental stress he endured in his previous roles in the industry. I found us to be similar to a Joe Buck and Troy Aikman dynamic, I set the stage for the stories of our athletes and Paul expanded upon it with insight from an in-ring perspective. Despite Paul training to wrestle around the time I was born, I think we have a similar mindset for the presentation of the industry, and my studies of the history of the sport allow us to have a similar process to sell the sport on the mic. Between the two of us, we covered all the bases, and most importantly, we put a spotlight on the talent that they deserved.

Lee and Conard had a terrific match, a back and fourth contest that saw the drama of the narrative unfold through a series of counters and near falls. The final bell saw Conard narrowing defeat Moriarty to claim the championship to prove to himself and the rest of the Pittsburgh scene that he was definitely a top-tier talent for Ryse Wrestling.

For me, I was really happy with the experience and it was a major confidence boost to feel like I had performed up to the level of a match like the feature presentation. A few days later, a text from Brandon K told me I had done a good job and I was offered the full-time spot at Ryse's new play-by-play commentator. Aside for the pandemic that shut down most of the planet, two years after that Grand Championship title switch, Paul Atlas and I are still calling events, and I'm very thankful to call him a friend. I'm sure I will have another write-ups about the LaMotta/Atlas adventures on the mic during this series, but I want to conclude this with a recollection of Paul's thoughts on that Ryse debut for us during an interview with Sorg last year. Atlas was very complimentary of my work, saying, "working with Jim is great. He knows the history, he knows the wrestling, and he knows the business." His kind works meant a lot to me, not only to get the stamp of approval from a thirty-year pro that was a respected veteran, but because Paul didn't BS anybody so I knew his comments were genuine. It's been nearly two years since I started with Ryse and I can honestly say it's been the most rewarding time of my commentary career, which I will detail in more articles in this series.

-Jim LaMotta