March 29, 2024

Barbara Goodish Coming To Brody Cup

Bruiser Brody’s widow will be in attendance for a one-night tournament honoring her legendary husband.

Thirty years after his tragic death, Bruiser Brody is being honored in a city that embraces his hardcore style, rebellious nature, brutal honesty, relentless work ethic and family-first values.

The toughest competitors in the Northeast will collide in Philadelphia this Friday for the inaugural Brody Cup, a tournament presented by Gimmick Tree Entertainment. Company owner Charlie Armstrong had been pushing for the idea after befriending Brody’s widow Barbara Goodish at the 50th Cauliflower Alley Club reunion in 2015. Initially hesitant to attach her late husband’s name to a wrestling event, Armstrong says he earned her trust over the years and now she is fully supportive.

According to Armstrong, Barbara will actually be at the Brody Cup (along with Brody’s friend and tag team partner Stan Hansen) to present the trophy to the winner of the tournament.

“I never got to meet Frank, but he was a guy after my own heart,” Armstrong told The Wrestling Estate. “He was an outlaw who did it his own way, stuck up for the boys and always protected the interests of the business first.”

In addition to organizing wrestler appearances at various conventions and events, Gimmick Tree Entertainment serves as the parent company of Modern Vintage Wrestling, an independent promotion that has been running in North Carolina since 2016. Since Armstrong relocated to the Northeast last year, he has been preparing for a major event to establish his company in the over-saturated market.

“This is a major hub for wrestling,” Armstrong says. “You have CZW, Game Changer, ICW in New York, Warriors of Wrestling, House of Hardcore, Ring of Honor. Philly is the right city for this event because it’s a big fight city.”

Instead of holding the tournament at the iconic 2300 Arena in South Philly, Armstrong looked for a smaller venue that would come across great on TV. (Specifically, Fite TV, which will be live streaming the event.) He chose the Lithuanian Music Hall in the Port Richmond neighborhood, a 110-year-old local institution that hosts weddings, banquets, theater performances and other cultural events. “The first time I went to check it out, I pulled up behind a car to park on the street and when I looked up, there was an ECW fan tag on the car,” Armstrong says. “I thought, man, if this ain’t the place to run this show?”

Fond of its “old Elks Lodge feel,” Armstrong says he has signed an exclusive deal with the hall, preventing any other wrestling promotion from running shows there. With a maximum capacity of 300 people, fans planning on attending the Brody Cup should get their tickets ASAP. As of the second week of January, roughly 60%-70% of tickets were already sold, Armstrong says.

One glance at the lineup will tell you why. Sami Callihan, Matt Tremont, Michael Elgin and indie veteran Beastman will meet in a fatal four-way elimination match. Tommy Dreamer, DJ Hyde, Stockade and Dave Dawson will meet in another. The winners of those two matches will go one on one to determine the champion of Brody Cup.

“How many times have we watched the standard tournament where it feels like it’s drawn out all night,” Armstrong says. “We want to be different. After all, Frank was a different guy. This way we get more bang for our buck. You see some mixing and matching of guys you’ve never seen before.”

The mixing and matching of veterans and newcomers is the foundation of Modern Vintage Wrestling, as evidenced by the company’s Heavyweight Champion Joey Lynch defending against Eddie Edwards of Impact Wrestling. “Joey is a primetime player waiting for the big stage,” Armstrong says. “He has been tearing up the independents and he’ll finally get his opportunity on January 25.”

Also on the card, Mecha Mercenary – a familiar face to CWF Mid-Atlantic fans – will face Impact Wrestling Hall of Famer Abyss in a no disqualification, no count out match. Abyss and Tommy Dreamer have been the main veterans in Modern Vintage’s locker room over the past three years. Armstrong says he and Abyss often talk at 1 o’clock in the morning about angles, TV production and how to make the product better.

As for Dreamer, Armstrong says he belongs on the Mount Rushmore of wrestling. “He travels the world and takes the time to help everybody become better,” he says. “We survive based on guys like Tommy who come into our promotion and help us grow so we can reach the level of House of Hardcore. At the last HOH in Philly, the first thing he said to me is did I bring my fliers for the Brody Cup. DJ Hyde did the same thing at Cage of Death.”

In other action, “Monsta” Mack and Magic (with Felicia Rose) will take on Tommy Moose and Chris Banks. Andrew Pallace goes one-on-one with Xzagon. There will also be a Six Pack Challenge featuring Jaxon Stone, Brandon Scott, Zane Dawson, John Skyler, Colby Corino and a Mystery Opponent.

Plus, there will be numerous stars from yesteryear on hand for meet and greets, such as Abdullah the Butcher, Bobby Fulton, J.J. Dillon, King Kong Bundy and more.

“I always make myself accessible to fans to get their opinion on what we did right and wrong so we can tweak it,” Armstrong says. “The biggest value that we can bring is creating an energy that fans can take home with them, an experience they’ll remember.”

If all goes as planned, Philly wrestling fans will cherish the Brody Cup as they cherish the memory of its legendary namesake.

The Brody Cup takes place Friday, January 25, at the Lithuanian Music Hall in Philadelphia, PA.

Tickets are available at https://www.showclix.com/events/27361.

You can watch The Brody Cup live on Fite TV.

Follow Gimmick Tree Entertainment on Facebook and Twitter.
Follow Charlie Armstrong on Facebook and Twitter. 

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