Supreme Wrestling’s Headlocks for Henry benefit brought wrestlers, sponsors, local residents and fans together Friday, August 14, at the Jackson Live & Event Center in Seymour, Indiana. The wrestling mattered, but the night belonged to 18-month-old Henry Emily.
As Wrestling Headlines previously reported, Henry, the son of Samantha and Andrew Emily, is battling Grade 3 Type A metastatic ependymoma. Profits from the wrestling event and silent auction were designated for his family.
Support came from event sponsors, Seymour-area residents, attending fans and even some Wrestling Headlines readers. Ticket purchases, silent-auction bids, direct donations and designated portions of wrestler merchandise sales all contributed to the cause.
The final fundraising total will be covered in a separate follow-up article.
Henry Receives The Night’s Biggest Welcome
Musician Zach Thompson opened the evening with a varied set that included “Aerials,” “Mr. Brightside,” “Real American,” “American Pie” and several other selections.
After the audience called for one more song, Thompson began performing Downstait’s “Kingdom.” His microphone was playfully cut before the anticipated “Whoa,” drawing loud boos from a crowd that wanted the performance to continue.
Damon Blade briefly antagonized the audience while previewing the card before ring announcer Roger Pettet took control of the microphone. Pettet recognized the event’s sponsors and read an extensive list of donors before reminding everyone that the night was dedicated to Henry’s fight against cancer.
The audience erupted when Pettet introduced Henry. He then recognized event organizer Mortimer Blankenship III, whose entrance produced applause and a “Morty” chant.
Blankenship stepped outside his usual character presentation to thank the audience, participating wrestlers and everyone who helped make the benefit possible. He also announced that participating wrestlers were selling merchandise with a portion of the proceeds going to Henry.
Complete Headlocks For Henry Results
Mortimer Blankenship III Defeated DJ Bargain
DJ Bargain opened the wrestling portion of the evening by declaring that he had not come to do charity work and had no merchandise to contribute.
Blankenship responded by challenging Bargain to an impromptu match. Bargain found some early comedic offense, but Blankenship overpowered him, reversed the momentum and scored the three-count. Bargain was loudly booed as he returned backstage.
Teagan Thorne Defeated Cherry Valentine
Both women received strong reactions during their entrances, although the audience firmly rallied behind Valentine once Thorne established control.
Valentine mounted a comeback with repeated corner clotheslines and a Bronco Buster. Thorne stopped her momentum, however, and connected with a Flatliner to earn the pinfall victory.
Fans applauded Thorne following the decision and offered Valentine another ovation as she was helped backstage.
Supreme Heavyweight Championship: Luther Stone Retained Against Eric Draven
Draven attempted to frustrate the champion through stalling, hair pulling and other questionable tactics. Stone responded with several hip tosses that sent Draven outside the ring to regroup while fans called the challenger a chicken.
Draven eventually assumed control and landed a high-impact lifting sitout slam. After the competitors traded strikes, Stone caught Draven with his finishing move without warning and secured the successful championship defense.
Stone offered to shake Draven’s hand afterward, but Draven declined and walked away to boos.
Silent Auction Draws Late Support
During intermission, Henry wore a Mortimer hat while attendees took turns visiting with him. The silent auction also received a late surge of attention as fans continued contributing through cash, cards and electronic payments.
Cousin Cooter Defeated Quentin Miller
A rubber chicken became a recurring source of chaos in the match. Cooter chased Miller around the ring with one before Miller responded by performing wrestling moves on the prop.
Cooter later introduced a smaller rubber chicken into the proceedings. After Miller regained control, Cooter caught him with his finishing move and recorded the pinfall victory.
Miller retreated backstage while Cooter celebrated with the audience and his rubber chicken.
Derrik Winter Defeated “Justified” Justin Roberts
Both regional wrestlers received support from the Seymour crowd during one of the evening’s faster-paced matches.
Roberts connected with a 619 and later countered a chokeslam attempt with an Eye of the Hurricane. Winter answered with a suicide dive, springboard crossbody and a cutter from the turnbuckles.
A rapid exchange of pinning combinations ended when Winter trapped Roberts in a sliding roll-up for the three-count. The competitors shook hands after the match.
Johnny Justice And “The Polish God” Chance Charpinski Defeated Wasted Talent
Justice, a hometown wrestler, and Charpinski received two of the strongest entrance reactions of the night. Their opponents, Wasted Talent members John Fisk and Van Martigan, were accompanied by Damon Blade.
Wasted Talent stalled outside the ring before eventually isolating Charpinski in its corner. Blade also landed a cheap shot while the referee was occupied.
Charpinski survived long enough to reach Justice, whose hot tag brought the audience to its feet. Justice delivered a powerful spinebuster before a TKO-style maneuver secured the main-event victory.
Blade became trapped inside the ring following the match. While he pleaded to be released, Thompson returned from the pre-show festivities and laid him out to another large reaction.
The Night Remained About Henry
Supreme Wrestling presented six matches and Stone successfully defended his championship, but the evening’s most meaningful reactions were reserved for Henry.
Sponsors, local residents, attending fans, wrestlers, event staff and Wrestling Headlines readers all contributed to an effort that extended beyond any individual match or promotion.
Wrestling Headlines will publish a separate follow-up covering the final fundraising total and more from the people who helped make Headlocks for Henry possible.
