worked his way up through the Grand Rapids radio market until he He finished his college career with 34 games and 25 straight starts. Kev, as he prefers to be called, began his radio career in 1978 at WSRX Oklahoma City, OK 73105 On November 20, 2012 Matthews dropped the title to Matt Hardy. He went on to finish the year during the November 10 taping of Xplosion (aired during the December 23 episode), during which he defeated Kaito Kiyomiya in a singles match. Kevin Matthews II, and his wife Jessica Moore Matthews, are graduates of Hampton University and the parents of Kevin Matthews III and Carver Matthews. Kevin and Cindy Matthews own and operate Matthews Family Farms of North Carolina, Inc., Precision Nutrient Management, Inc., and Deep Creek Grain, Inc. in East Bend and Yadkinville, North Carolina. They advanced in the semi final after eliminating Balls Mahoney & Jazz. On March 6, 2017, it was reported that McDonald had signed with Impact Wrestling. Kevin James Matthews, age 64, of Wolf Creek, Oregon died on Friday April 20, 2018. The radio voice of Kevin Matthews has been heard over airways across On June 30 at ICW Last Stand At The Elk's, Matthews was involved in a Battle Royal to determine the Number One Contender for the ICW North Eastern Championship. present). Florida Fire Frogs activated LHP Kevin Matthews from the 7-day disabled list. His connection to Columbia goes back a long way: He graduated with a degree in political science from Columbia College in 1980 and, from 2009 to 2013 he served as executive director of the Double Discovery Center . On January 30, 2016, Matthews returned at PWS/GFW as part of Team PWS with Fallah Bahh, Mario Bokara and Pat Buck, to defeat Team GFW (Desirable Dustin, Gigolo Justin, Jeff Jarrett & Nick Aldis). It has been some time since I last saw him, but I have known the creative and wildly talented radio personality (and his many on-air alter egos) for more than 30 years. Hickory Crawdads sent LHP Kevin Matthews on a rehab assignment to AZL Rangers. I do love threes.. KM debuted on Monday, October 4, 2021 on an episode of AEW Dark: Elevation in a match against Sonny Kiss. In December 2013, Matthews was one of only 20 legislators chosen to attend a White House briefing in the West Wing of the Obama White House. Matthews signed with Impact Wrestling in 2017. Matthews is the fourth generation on his familys farm. But that began to come to an end on a Tuesday morning in 2008 when, as he writes, I suddenly could not move my right leg, and from my elbow to my fingers, my right arm became numb. In the course of some anxious and frankly terrifying days, he was diagnosed with a rare type of multiple sclerosis, the often-debilitating disease of the brain and spinal cord. [1] Democracy sold more than 1,000 copies, and BigO readers voted for it as the Best Local Album of 1993. [6], On July 2, during the Pre Show of Slammiversary XV, KM teamed with Kongo Kong and Laurel Van Ness losing to Mahabali Shera, Braxton Sutter, and Allie in a six-person tag team match. I first met him on the radio, as a listener of his popular WLUP show, then as an occasional guest on that show and others, and later when we both worked at a station for a short time. 12K 379 1. [5], "Is nepotism working for Kevin Matthews? To sign up for updates or to access your subscriber preferences, please enter your contact information below. A native of Pontiac, Michigan, he became an instant star in a daily lineup that also included Jonathon Brandmeier and Steve Dahl and Garry Meier. Click here to view, 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. Derrick Philips, Other Works Kevin Matthews assigned to Spokane Indians from AZL Rangers. The Broadway League is the national trade association for the Broadway industry. Each year, League members bring Broadway to more than 30 million people in New York and more than 200 cities across the U.S. and Canada. On February 21, 2015 at PWS Refuse 2 Lose, Matthews challenged for the Heavyweight Championship held by Fallah. In 2013, he appeared in 14 games (2 starts), before being lost for the year with a high ankle sprain injury, suffered in the week 15 game against the New York Jets. AfaJohnny RodzPrince Nana On October 27, 2016 at CAP Bound 4 The Floor, Matthews lost a match to wrestling newcomer Maxwell Jacob Feinstein. Daughter Teage is a mother of four children, Trynn, Rhett, Beau and Dane, all living in Michigan. In addition, Mathews is an accomplished film score writer, and has composed music for acclaimed Singapore director Eric Khoo's feature films and has also contributed music to other Singaporean films like Stories About Love, One Leg Kicking, Invisible Children, Lucky 7, Anita's Complaint and The Carrot Cake Conversations as well as TV series such as Drive and Seventh Month. Nine months later on December 6, Matthews returned at PWS Firestorm II in an Ambulance match, defeating Deadpool. Kevin lives with his wife, Deb, and their two children, Trevor and Teage, at their home in Chicago, where he now broadcasts on WCKG 105.9 FM in Chicago. Throughout November and December, he was waived and re-signed on two occasions.[3][4]. None have been as unique, wonderful and loyal as Kevin., Matthews does not expect to ever be back on radio, but of those times he echoes what he once told the Tribune 30 years ago, Theres so much you can do on the radio. As a native of New York, Matthews wrestled in many promotions around New York City and New Jersey early in his career. He is Founder/Chair of the 1921 Race Massacre Centennial Commission, which led to Greenwood Rising; Matthews became Chair of the Oklahoma Legislative Black Caucus in July 2015 and is a 2015 graduate of Leadership Oklahoma, Class XXVIII. Early life and career. He also wrestled for other promotions including Jersey All Pro Wrestling, Liberty All-Star Wrestling, USA Xtreme Wrestling, Game Changer Wrestling, Deep South Wrestling, Top Rope Promotions and many more throughout the 2000s. He returned to CW the following year and wrestled four more times, with his last match held on June 6, 2003 against Pete Mulloy. Kevin Matthews II, and his wife Jessica Moore Matthews, are graduates of Hampton University and the parents of Kevin Matthews III and Carver Matthews. His son, Sterling Matthews, is a spoken word artist. New School Rock III was nominated by 987FM for the Best Local Album of 1993. "KevHeads," a name for his fans originating from Michigan, could now be found throughout the Midwest; in Indiana, Ohio, Missouri and Illinois. He was named to the 2005 All-Greater Houston football team. In Rochester, New York on July 6, he would return as a part of American Top Team with Dan Lambert, for the TNT Championship match between Scorpio Sky and Wardlow. His earliest known match occurred in 2001 when he appeared in Impact Championship Wrestling (ICW). He was managed by Krissy Vaine. [3] On the March 30 episode of Impact Wrestling, he debuted as Sienna's cousin, defeating Braxton Sutter with interference from Sienna, thus establishing himself as a heel. Pro Wrestling is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. [2] He did not make the final roster and was cut on the last day of training camp on August 30. in the West Michigan market, staying there until he left West Michigan Two years later on May 8, 2010, Matthews returned at PWS Vendetta where he defeated Butterbean to win the PWS Heavyweight Championship. A track from the album, "My One and Only", became a radio hit, garnering pole position on the Radio Heart Top Ten and the number three spot on the 987FM Perfect Ten. Matthews wrestled his last FBW match on April 29 at FBW Proving Ground against Darius Carter. Former Chicago deejay Kevin Matthews is pictured on Feb. 23, 2022. His guest appearance on Bay Watch in the early 90s is yet another "dumb moment" of his career. Senator Kevin L. Matthews is the current Chair of the Oklahoma Senate Democratic (Minority) Caucus; Board Member, Lilyfield Foster Care Services; Board Development Chairman of Tulsa Area United Way; Founder and Co-Chair of the newly formed Oklahoma Civil Rights Trail Planning Committee. There, he created a legendary morning show that quickly earned number-one status in the West Michigan market, staying there until he left West Michigan in 1984 for St. Louis. Subsequently he stopped appearing on Impact Wrestling's weekly program. LHP Kevin Matthews assigned to Florida Fire Frogs from Gwinnett Braves. (405)524-0126. He talks of the disease in his lively and intriguing 2016 book, Broken Mary: A Journey of Hope, which has become something of an international success. Matthews made his debut on June 12 as part of the GFW Grand Slam Tour where his debut match was won by Moose. On August 26, he was placed on the injured reserve list with a right shoulder injury, that he suffered during a preseason practice. Mathews denied this and the band broke up soon after, with Mathews announcing that he was going solo. As his former WLUP boss, Larry Wert, once put it, (Kevin) had a circus going on in his head.. A native of Pontiac, Michigan, he became an instant star in a daily lineup that also included Jonathon Brandmeier and Steve Dahl and Garry Meier. On September 12, Matthews challenged Dan Maff for the PWS Heavyweight title. Kevin said yes and that turned into an internship and a friendship and that was that.. He was the eldest of five boys. Matthews reportedly debuted as early as March 18, 2000. LHP Kevin Matthews assigned to Gwinnett Braves from Rome Braves. While a state representative, Matthews was accepted and attended the Darden School of Business Emerging Leaders (Executive Education) Program at the University of Virginia in July 2013. He is currently the promoter for WrestlePro and WrestlePro Alaska. Griffin also performs as part of Ezra Ray Hart with Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray and Emerson Hart of Tonic. The book is also part memoir and tells uncomfortable tales from his childhood, delves into his involvement with Native American spirituality and offers his assessment of the radio world that was his life for so long: Radio was never work for me; it was an escape a theater of the mind., Matthews is no longer working on radio but rather a concoction started at the beginning of the pandemic, an ambitious venture called Elevator a GoGo.. On the January 18, 2018, Impact Wrestling tapings, KM attacked James Storm with a beer bottle, smashing it over his head, after he joined the American Top Team. You just have to let your imagination do the work. There are, as always, other projects on his mind: an autobiography of Jim Shorts and a documentary about his former band Ed Zeppelin are in the works, and hes participating in a Larry Wert-produced documentary about the glory days of WLUP. Not just the station but the times in which we lived, Matthews says. When our son Ben was in high school and expressed an interest in radio, I took a chance and called Kevin, who I knew was back in town, to ask about Ben maybe picking his brain. Two years later, Matthews returned on December 12, 2009 at NWS/WSU The Awesome Challenge in a match against WWE Hall of Famer Tito Santana. We pick one song of theirs and let them go, says Matthews. Hickory Crawdads released LHP Kevin Matthews. Kevin also has a younger brother Mike, who is a center that was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Cleveland Browns. Matthews attended Elkins High School, where he received All-District honors in his last two years. Hickory Crawdads activated LHP Kevin Matthews from the 7-day disabled list. LHP Kevin Matthews assigned to Spokane Indians from AZL Rangers. Matthews first and only known match in WWE was on June 14, 2006 in WWE Velocity, where he and Nick Berk challenged for the WWE Tag Team Championship held by MNM (Joey Mercury & Johnny Nitro), but they did not win the titles in this match. Over the next decades, as the radio business became chaotic, his show would jump around the clock and to various stations until he was no longer part of the soundtrack. the current Chair of the Oklahoma Senate Democratic (Minority) Caucus; Board Member, Lilyfield Foster Care Services; Board Development Chairman of Tulsa Area United Way; and Matthews has mostly been out of the Chicago public eye for some years, but he was recently a guest on shows hosted by old radio pals Steve Cochran, Buzz Kilman and David Plier, and hearing his voice (as well that of Shorts, never my cup of audio tea) was a good sign because for many people Kevin Matthews is but a distant if pleasant memory. He is currently a mentor under the National Arts Council's Noise Music Mentorship Programme, a mentor for the Esplanade Youth Budding Writers Programme and a judge for the 2009 and 2010 editions of the Baybeats Festival, one of the biggest indie rock festivals in the region. I have searched the Internet and looked on E-Bay. Matthews and Neumann have high hopes for attracting a sponsor for their endeavor and, as the pandemic eases, attracting more performers.