Final bell sounds

After a frigid Christmas weekend last year, there was one warm place that locals could go for fun to close out their holiday. It was the same place many of them had gone for 25 years of entertainment.

More than 300 locals packed into the Landmark Arena in Cornelia for Anarchy Westling’s “Violent Night” on Dec. 25, 2022, not knowing it would be for the last time.

The arena, which is the gym of the old Mud Creek Elementary School, fell into disrepair shortly after and caused future wrestling events to be canceled after a quarter-century of fisticuffs, family and fun.

Known to some previously as “The Church of Southern Wrestling,” the arena hosted its first wrestling show on Nov. 7, 1998.

“It was as bare bones as you could get, but we had 400 people crammed in here like sardines,” promoter Rick Michaels said.

That started a tradition in Cornelia that lasted a generation and made memories to last a lifetime.

“For anything like this to last 25 years in one town, a lot of relationships are forged,” Michaels said. “Between the fans and the talent, and the talent with each other. We had a lot of talent meet each other here for the first time and go on to get married. We have at least four weddings in that building and who knows how many birthday parties.”

The end of the professional wrestling era in Cornelia came at the beginning this year when the 100-year-old facility was no longer insurable, Michaels said.

“The landlords had not done enough upkeep on the building,” Michaels said. “We had to fix up the doors, the wiring, a lot of other things. There were trees growing through the gutters. We had some of our trainees going up ladders and trying to fix things. We did all we could to make it as safe as we could, but it got to where the insurance company would not renew the policy.”

The arena helped spawn the careers of many well-known wrestlers of today, including Xavier Woods, Jay and Mark Briscoe, Austin Theory, Christopher Daniels and Kenny Omega, among others.

“It’s crazy the who’s who of people who have come through those doors who have gone on to bigger stages,” Michaels said.

And one of the biggest stars in professional wrestling today had his debut match at the Landmark Arena in 1998. A young man named Alan Jones from Gainesville was delivering water one day when he expressed an interest in wrestling. No one knew then that kid would become The Phenomenal A.J. Styles, now a former TNA and WWE Champion, a multi-millionaire and a worldwide star.

Michaels asked him what he knew about the business.

“He told me he liked ‘The Wolfpac,’” Michaels recalled. “I was like, ‘Oh, boy,’ he had a lot to learn.”

But learn he did. “When I took my first bump, I knew I was made to wrestle,” Styles said. “I knew that’s what God put me on this Earth to do.”

Jones wrestled his first match with a mask on as Mr. Olympia.

“I trained there to get into professional wrestling,” Styles said. “You never forget your first place. Looking back, it is hard to believe how small it was, but back then it seemed huge.”

Styles said he wrestled under the mask that night because “We weren’t sure who I was going to be yet.”

“My mask had Olympic rings on it and I had my wrestling singlet and shoes from Anderson College,” Styles said. “It was nothing spectacular, but for me to have my first match there was something special.”

Styles said those early times were tough, but support from family and the fans got him where he was going.

“My wife was always there as much as she hated it, especially at the beginning,” Styles said. “I’m dragging her to all these shows that didn’t look that promising from the outside looking in compared to the WWE, but she was always there. Sometimes I had friends and family come over, but when I started, they weren’t always showing up. It wasn’t because they weren’t special to me, I just didn’t think I was good enough to invite them.”

Like many performers who have succeeded in the business, Styles subscribes to the theory that you wrestle the same way in front of 25 people as you do in front of 25,000.

“That is 100 percent my mentality that I have,” Styles said. “I have always been that way. When you first start, you have no choice, because you are wrestling in front of 20 people sometimes. The only thing that has changed is the psychology and the way I do stuff in the ring. I am sure if I watched old matches from then, I am sure I would hate them now. But back then, I thought they were great.”

Styles said the lessons he learned from Michaels and others he worked with in the early days in Cornelia stay with him today.

“You’re only as good as the man you’re in the ring with,” Styles said. “If they can’t do certain things, then don’t push them to do moves they can’t, and you’re both going to look bad. You have to work toward their strengths and make the match the best it can be based on who you’re in the ring with.”

Michaels said Styles is not only a great performer, but a better man.

“In 32 years in this business, I don’t think I ever knew a better family man,” Michaels said. “Through it all, he is about family first.”

Michaels said none of that magic would have happened here without the community’s support.

“What made it so special is that the boys wanted experience and the fans wanted entertainment,” Michaels said. “Whether we had 30 people in here on a bad night, or whether it was 500, everyone brought the energy at the highest level.”

Longtime fan David Garrison said the arena was a magical place.

“You could feel it when you walked in the doors,” Garrison said. “My sons and I attended regularly since 2000, and we always had the same seats. My kids were raised there and we saw some of the greats come through. And later on, I was fortunate enough to run a show there. It was a special feeling. I am proud to have been a small part of the history of that place, and was blessed to be on both sides of the guard rail. It will always hold a special place in my heart and life.”

Michaels said Anarchy Wrestling would be back soon at a new location to be announced in White County. He said the annual Hardcore Hell event – celebrating its 25th anniversary this year – will take place in September at the new venue.

“I am grateful for the positive impact it had on people’s lives over the years,” Michaels said. “No matter what promotion it was or who was competing, it gave us a chance to give people memories.”