Sports fans love a comeback story.
Nothing exemplified this more than when more than 70,000 fans flocked to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas just to see the legendary “Iron” Mike Tyson step back into the ring for the first time in more than two decades for an official pro fight. Netflix, the streaming platform that hosted the fight, infamously had issues with the broadcast throughout the night right up until the main event based on the sheer amount of viewers that tuned into the event, despite the company’s expertise within the streaming world.
Yes, there’s no doubt that sport fans love a good comeback story.
The genre of professional wrestling, which other sports often mimic to generate box office, is also very familiar with the concept of the comeback story. Regardless of it’s within the context of a match when the hero rallies from behind to conquer the villain for the three count, or when the audience gets the chance to see a legend lace up the boots for one more run, there’s nothing like a comeback in sports entertainment, a business that originated on the carnival circuit several decades ago.
As thrilling as the iconic Terry Funk’s countless returns were around the globe throughout his nearly 50-year career, not all comeback stories have to have an international flare. Instead, a comeback story can take place much closer to home.
Earlier this month, as a part of my duties as one of the commentators for Ryse Wrestling, a blue collar league based in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, an even more blue collar town just south of Pittsburgh, I arrived early to get the chance to catch up with Gregory Iron, who I originally met more than 16 years previously. Iron, a standout independent performer with a form of Cerebral Palsy that affects the use of one of his hands, was brought into the Stronghold Academy, Ryse Wrestling’s training center, to run a seminar for the students at the school. The academy is anchored by co-head trainers, longtime veterans, Brandon K and Dean Radford. In an effort to bring their students a variety of knowledge and experience, the 18-year veteran Iron was invited to host a seminar to allow the aspiring youngsters to pick his brain with questions that ranged from character development to ring psychology.
Over the course of more than three hours that the rookies asked questions, I was occasionally asked to throw my two cents in on some topics from a broadcast prospective. The school is located in the same mall complex near where live events are hosted, and the training space also features a full weight room to go along with the squared circle. During the course of the seminar, it caught my eye that someone was pumping some major iron for a majority of it.
Emerging from a weight machine, wearing a pair of wireless headphones and drenched in sweat was Pittsburgh independent standout from the late-90s and early-2000s, Axel Law, a wild man that made his reputation as an over-the-top grappler when the rowdy style of hardcore wrestling was en vogue.
I knew of the name and reputation through Pittsburgh indy lore, and had a chance to briefly talk to him at the prior month’s event, but wanted to get the chance to have a conversation after the seminar finished before everyone would be busy with that night’s event.
To my surprise, the 55-year-old former grappler wasn’t just exercising to stay in shape, he was preparing himself for a comeback to the ring.
Ironically, Axel started wrestling long before many of the aspiring rookies in the building were even born, breaking into the business in April of 1996 under the Penn Atlantic Wrestling banner. At a time when the wrestling wars of the 90s were just starting to cook on cable television, Law’s debut bout was slightly less glamorous, as he was defeated by an opponent named “Luscious” Lucas in about five minutes at a tiny venue in Glassport, Pennsylvania.
“My trainers there were Guido and Frankie Corleone, and The Sniper. But, I am and always have been a student of the game. I am always learning with every person I get in the ring with. Working in the 90s was a little bit crazy. ECW was doing their thing, and hardcore wrestling was really on the up rise as far as popularity. The only problem with that was, you were always trying to out crazy the last match,” Axel explained.
Considering that when Law was in elementary school, he and his pals would put broomsticks into the ground and string some rope around them to complete a homemade ring to emulate their favorite stars of the Rock N’ Wrestling era of the 80s, the chance for him to pursue a career inside an actual squared circle years later was considered a dream come true.
However, that career path was a catch-22 in many ways for him, as the popularity of hardcore wrestling in the era had its positives and negatives in terms of its impact on his wrestling journey. As mentioned, wild matches and a unique charisma gained him a following around the Pittsburgh circuit, as he zigzagged around western, Pennsylvania at a time when pro wrestling surged in popularity at all levels so audiences from different organizations anticipated his arrival to the ring.
Unfortunately, the same style that garnered him a cult following would ultimately cut his career drastically short.
Just four and a half years into his stint as a professional wrestler, he suffered a broken neck during a bout in October 2000, The injury was serve enough to require neck fusion surgery in early January of 2001, putting him on the shelf for almost the entire year. But, too dedicated and too passionate toward the sports entertainment game, he became a player on the local scene again after he returned to the ring, winning championships and being involved in memorable feuds throughout the Pittsburgh region in the few years that followed.
“I consider one of my biggest highlights coming back from breaking my neck to become the very first NWA East X champion. My multiple feuds with Bison, always ending in a hardcore match because we battled at a lot of different promotions back in the day,” Law explained.
The injury bug would bite Axel again in 2005 after a series of chair shots, and after dodging a bullet once with the ability to recover from a broken neck to wrestle again, he knew that the injury scare meant that he had a tough decision to make about the pursuit that he brought him joy from the time that he put those broomsticks in his yard to emulate his favorite stars as a kid.
“My last match was at Callaghan’s night club in 2005. I took 3 chair shots that night. My 3-year-old son was in the crowd. After the second chair shot, my left arm went numb, it was the same feeling I had the night I broke my neck. At that point, looking at my son, I had to step away,” Axel explained.
With pro wrestling in the rear view mirror, Axel Law relocated south as a single dad to work in law enforcement as a part of the gang unit. He cites that he could never work a desk job, but enjoyed his career in the law enforcement field. Still, with his son now in his early-20s, the youngster was too young to remember seeing his dad in the ring for that final bout in 2005.
“I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. I needed to step away and be a dad. That being said, my son was too young to remember me wrestling. I think he’d get a kick out of seeing his old man go,” Law commented enthusiastically.
As the cliche goes, nobody really retires from wrestling, and about six months ago, Axel Law found himself at a Ryse event by complete accident, as he and his son thought they were going to see a band play at the former Sears spot at the Uniontown Mall. Axel was surprised to find himself at a wrestling show, but was even more surprised when he found out that Brandon K, one of his former peers from his heyday, was actually the founder of the organization. The old grappling buddies had a nice chat and Brandon invited Axel to check out the previously mentioned training center. Once he was in the environment, he couldn’t resist the chance to hit the canvas again. After an in-ring workout seemed successful, the seed of the idea to return for a comeback match was planted, specifically so that his son could see him transform into the wrestling star at least once, which he hopes for at some point in 2025.
“I have to say that if I am able to do any sort of comeback, it wouldn’t be possible without Brandon K and Glenn Specter. At 55 years old, my biggest hurdle is my cardio, but I am up every day working out. As far as my gym training it’s going great, good gains, trimming down, and feeling a lot younger than my age. The ring work is really just a process of knock a lot of rust off,” Law remarked.
It took Mike Tyson $20 million to step into the ring again. For Axel Law, it’s only the chance to let his son see him inside the ring ropes one more time that would be a truly priceless comeback story.
For more information about Axel Law, you can go to https://www.facebook.com/axel.law.2024
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Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
E mail [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
