Turnbuckle tales: Service member honors fallen comrades in pro wrestling ring
The term “American hero” has been used to describe many in professional wrestling, including Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle, Sgt. Slaughter and even Hulk Hogan. Generally labeling grapplers with the hero tag is for show purposes only and rarely describes a performer accurately.
That’s not the case for Tech Sgt. Andrew Belet, said Colorado Springs Wrestling promoter Christopher Chavez Sr. “He’s a true American hero. There’s no price you can put on your own life, but this guy signed up not once, not twice, but three times to serve our country.”
Belet, a Fountain resident, is an armament technician with 140th Fighter Wing, Colorado Air National Guard, and has served in two other military branches – the Army and Marine Corps. But the noncommissioned officer isn’t content to just protect Americans, he wants to entertain them in the squared-circle.
The national guardsman moonlights as a professional wrestler performing under the name “Big Guns” Justin Andrews in clubs, gyms and community centers across Colorado.
“I get a lot more people who believe that I am a wrestler than believe that I served in three branches of the military,” Belet said. “When I tell people I’m a pro wrestler, people just kind of look at me and see that I got some size, got some tattoos and they’re like ‘Oh yea, that makes sense.’ But when I tell them I served in the Marines, the Army and the Air National Guard, they find it hard to believe.”
Like many grapplers, Belet has dreams of making it big and performing on the grandest stage in pro wrestling, but at 34, the service member has started to shift his aspirations.
“My goal in wrestling has changed over the years,” the 5 foot, 9 inch grappler said. “Every wrestler should want to be on the biggest stage – WrestleMania. But that ship has mostly sailed for me. My goal now, especially in Colorado, is to bring storytelling back to wrestling.”
Belet does this by working a more realistic style in the ring and helping younger grapplers understand how to make performances as believable as possible.
“He’s very no nonsense,” Chavez said. “I’ve seen him take younger guys aside and say, ‘Hey, this is what you did in the match and here’s how we can make it better.’”
Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame president and industry mainstay Johnny Mantell agreed with Chavez and said the time he spent working with him, Belet left a good impression.
“We loved having him upstairs to work out with the young guys, because he would really help teach and continue to pass on his knowledge. It was really cool because here’s a kid who is not only making a career out of the military, but he’s also doing right by the business,” the former World Class Championship Wrestling and National Wrestling Alliance champion said.
The drive to help less experienced grapplers is one of the traits Belet learned in the military and brings to the wrestling ring.
“The military has given me confidence, definitely projecting myself, and just taking control of situations,” Belet said. “A lot of times in pro wrestling, stuff happens to go wrong and if you don’t have the ability to make decisions on the fly, you can run into trouble. Thankfully — knock on wood — I’ve been able to push through any situations like that.”
Pro wrestling, however, is not a one-way street. Sports entertainment has given Belet a way to connect with other service members. “It helped me relate to and build relationships with my younger Marines, soldiers and airmen,” he said.
Two such bonds were formed during Belet’s second of three deployments two Afghanistan—the first with the Marine Corps and the subsequent two with the Army.
“9-12-09”
“I always wear two armbands. I wear them for my friends, Staff Sgt. Nekl Allen and Cpl. Dan Cox who were killed,” the Operation Enduring Freedom veteran said.
Anyone who has followed Belet’s wrestling career knows that since early 2010, he started wearing armbands—either black or red.
Allen, Cox and Belet served together in 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division and often talked about their shared interest in sports entertainment.
“Wrestling was always one of the things we were talking about and they never got to see me do that,” Belet said.
Belet’s friends died in an IED blast that was followed by a secondary explosion which injured the grappler.
“We were coming back from patrol in Afghanistan, and I was in the vehicle in front of them. Their vehicle got hit by an IED, they died instantly,” Belet said, adding that he and the other soldiers on patrol didn’t know Allen and Cox’s condition as the vehicle started burning.
“I was the first one to the vehicle to get them out. … In the chaos, we knew Nick (Nekl) and Danny were in there, but we didn’t know their conditions. Then a second one hit underneath the truck; it threw me off the truck, threw me through a wall, cut my face up and messed up my neck and back real good.”
Belet received a purple heart for his actions, but the scars of war and the memories of comrades lost lingered. Pro wrestling has helped Belet cope with his loss and now he honors the memory of his friends every match.
“People often ask me about how I slide in the ring, I get down and then point up,” he said. “Most people think I’m praying, but I’m not – I’m talking to them, asking Nick (Nekl) and Danny to help get me through the match.”
When asked what he thinks Allen and Cox would say if they could see him now, Belet paused before smiling and answering: “Dan was always real quiet so he probably wouldn’t say much, but Nick (Nekl), who was my squad leader, I think he’d be really happy and he’d bring his kids to all the shows.”
Belet will compete in CSW’s Bar Fights 2 on Dec. 9 at the Playing Field Sports Bar. For more on Belet follow him on Facebook at @justinandrews43.
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IF YOU GO
WHAT: Bar Fights 2
WHEN: 6 p.m. Dec. 9
WHERE: The Playing Field Sports Bar, 3958 N Academy Blvd.
INFO: Visit www.coloradospringswrestling.com
Colorado Air National Guard Tech Sgt. Andrew Belet holds up his purple heart on Nov. 11 before a Colorado Springs Wrestling show at the Playing Field Sports Bar. Belet was wounded in an IED attack while deployed to Afghanistan with the Army’s 10th Mountain Division in 2009. “It (the blast) threw me off the truck, threw me through a wall, cut my face up and messed up my neck and back real good.â
Tech Sgt. Andrew Belet, who performs as Justin Andrews, poses before a March show at the Hillside Community Center in Colorado Springs.
Tech Sgt. Andrew Belet, who performs as Justin Andrews, manhandles Danger Dean during a March show at the Hillside Community Center in Colorado Springs.
Then Army Staff Sgt. Andrew Belet, far right, poses with Sgt. Joshua Toon, Staff Sgt. Nekl Allen and Cpl. Dan Cox while deployed with the 10 Mountain Division to Afghanistan in 2009. Allen and Cox were killed in an IED attack that wounded Belet.
Then Marine Corps Cpl. Andrew Belet, middle, poses with two other Marines in Korengal Valley while deployed to Afghanistan in 2005. Belet has served in the Marines, Army and the Colorado Air National Guard.
Colorado Air National Guard Tech Sgt. Andrew Belet showâs off a tattoo Nov. 11 before a Colorado Springs Wrestling show at the Playing Field Sports Bar. The tattoo memorializes the date two of his friends, Staff Sgt. Nik Allen and Cpl. Dan Cox, died in an IED blast while deployed with the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division. Belet, who is a pro wrestler, was injured in the same attack and received a purple heart for his injuries. âWe were coming back from patrol in Afghanistan, and I was in the vehicle in front of them. Their vehicle got hit by an IED, they died instantly,â Belet said, adding that he and the other soldiers on patrol didnât know Allen and Coxâs condition as the vehicle started burning.
Colorado Air National Guard Tech Sgt. Andrew Belet showâs off one of two armbands Nov. 11 before a Colorado Springs Wrestling show at the Playing Field Sports Bar. The armbands memorialize his friends, Staff Sgt. Nik Allen and Cpl. Dan Cox, who died in an IED blast while deploy with in 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division. Belet, who is a pro wrestler, was injured in the same attack and received a purple heart for his injuries. âWe were coming back from patrol in Afghanistan, and I was in the vehicle in front of them. Their vehicle got hit by an IED, they died instantly,â Belet said, adding that he and the other soldiers on patrol didnât know Allen and Coxâs condition as the vehicle started burning.