Ray McAvay Talks MVW, Adam Ellis, and Joe Bergman

Blaire Moise caught up with Missouri Valley Wrestling owner (and former HOW World Champion) Ray McAvay this week and here’s what she found out.

What’s up with MVW?
“We’re doing good.  Attendance is up a tick.  We just had our big Spring Fling show a couple weeks ago and it was a very successful show.   We changed it up a bit and I basically booked the show based on feuds versus the way we usually do it which is solely based on the rankings. High Octane Television has also been great to work with.  Thanks to HOTv and to Laura Bergman, we now have two one hour shows on HOTv- Wrestling Night in the Heartland and Lock and Loaded.  Laura also worked out a deal with HOTv that gave us the okay to do a bi-weekly online thing we call Six-O-Five.  Six-O-Five gives us a little more leeway to do non-ranking related storylines.  It’s all good.”

Thoughts on Adam Ellis
“No surprise that he’s doing as well as he’s doing.  At twenty-one he’s accomplished a lot already- winning the tag belts with John Sektor.  But it’s one thing to get to the level he’s reached, it’s another to maintain.  For Adam, the hardest part of this has just begun.  He’s a tag team champion which means there’s a big target on him and you can bet that JJR and Arthur Pleasant are going to see him as the weak link to the Sektor/Ellis tag team.”

Thoughts on the Adam Ellis-Victoria McGill Affair
“Adam experienced the cold, hard slap of reality across his face.  I don’t think he was ready for Jason Whatley to dig up dirt on him and the potential romance between Adam and Tori.  On the other hand, Adam shouldn’t have given Whatley the satisfaction that he’d gotten under his skin so bad that he jumped the table and attacked him.  Again, Adam’s only twenty-one years old and this will be a valuable learning experience for him.  Adam and Tori are both young… both are on the upswing of their young wrestling careers… and both got caught up in a whirlwind of a situation that spiraled out of their control.  Sometimes you need the cold, hard slap of reality to keep you grounded.  Hopefully Adam learns much from this experience.”

Joe Bergman returning to the ring.
“Well… on one hand I totally understand Joe’s desire to resume his wrestling career if it is safe for him medically to do so.  On the other hand, I also completely understand Laura Bergman’s concerns about Joe’s health given the seriousness of the surgery he had back in 2020.  I had a ringside seat for the big fight Joe and Laura had over the match he wrestled at ICONIC in late 2020.  Personally, I hoped that the one match would have satisfied Joe’s itch for getting back in the ring and he could focus on what he does really well- training and preparing the next crop of wrestlers for MVW.  Obviously that didn’t happen.  I see it from Joe’s perspective and I see it from Laura’s too.  It’s a shame that their marriage blew up because of this.”

Joe Bergman as a trainer
“Oh, Joe’s great.  He laid the foundation down for Adam Ellis that John Sektor took and built even more to it.  Our men’s champion John O’Reilly came in with nothing more than a lethal right hand.  Joe coached him up and now John’s the Men’s champion.  The list goes on and on of the wrestlers Joe has worked with and helped earn a spot on our roster: Cory Beckett, Tori McGill, The Georgia-Florida State Boundary, Madison Miller, among others.

Will Ray McAvay ever return to the ring?
“Oh hell no.”

Really?
“No.  Not a chance.  We’re doing some good things down here at MVW and that’s my one and only focus.  Returning for War Games last year and getting to work with Conor Fuse, Lindsay Troy, Teddy Palmer, and Zeb Martin was a great experience for me but I’ve moved on to the next phase of my wrestling life.  I’m very happy with what I’m doing here.”