DeSoto wrestler Noah Nelms climbs ladder
At 5 feet 2 inches, DeSoto County wrestler Noah Nelms might have been easy to overlook. That’s until he took his high-flying moves to New York City. At a Game Changer Wrestling event, Nelms, who wrestles under the name Marko Stunt, left the crowd cheering.
When he woke up the next morning, he knew something had changed. He had a number of missed messages, including one from Cody Rhodes, the son of WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes inviting him to appear at Chicago’s All In event over Labor Day weekend. The Chicago event had five times the audience as the New York venue.
Nelms entrance to Pat Benatar’s “We Belong,” and his signature move the “Tornado Codebreaker” were once again the talk of the show. The move puts him in the air, going around an opponent’s body before knocking them down, a move not always possible for larger wrestlers.
After Chicago, the offers started rolling in.
Nelms is now booked to appear all over the country through the end of the year and has a few big events scheduled in 2019.
His Twitter followers jumped from 836 to more than 3,500.
“It’s taken some getting used to,” Nelms said. “In Chicago, The Young Bucks knew my name before I’d met them, and now I have Cody Rhodes’ phone number, and I’m still starstruck.”
Jason Wells, a booker for Cape Championship Wrestling, said Stunt’s career is on the rise.
“When I meet Marko about four years ago, he was full of charisma and just starting in the wrestling business,” Wells said. “Through the years of hard work, he has become an elite talent in wrestling.
“His size, mixed with his work ethic
and ability, is setting him apart from everyone. His future is bright and the ownership of CCW and the fans are proud to call Marko our champion.”
Nelms is a 2015 graduate of Lewisburg High School and has wrestled locally for the past few years. His family has lived all over North Mississippi and even spent time in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, but consider Olive Branch home.
“My parents say I was into wrestling when I was 2, but I don’t really remember that. I remember taking some gymnastics classes when I was around four and I have always watched wrestling on TV and tried out the moves,” Nelms said.
It was at the Delta Fair when Stunt was 15 that he first remembers going inside a professional wrestling ring.
“I was running the ropes and trying moves to throw my brother down a few times,” Nelms said. “I talked to a few people there, but they really didn’t take me seriously.”
He signed up for lessons at 18 that gave him ring time and a few fights.
His father, Dwyndl Nelms, remembers being supportive, but cautious about the training costs.
“I never doubted him. I just wanted to make sure no one was taking advantage of him,” Dwyndl Nelms said.
Wrestling gigs were sometimes costing the younger Nelms him as much in travel expenses as he was being paid.
“I would drive with him wherever he would appear when I could, or he would carpool with a few other guys. Now his plane tickets and hotel are covered. He’s going to California. He’s never been to California, I’m just so excited for him,” Dwyndl Nelms said. look at.”
Counselors?
In Oxford, Grace Counseling offers a different kind of help. Tiffany Lewis and her partner, Denease Bishop created a workshop for girls called “Beating the Rush.”
For $125, the girls will meet in a group setting and discuss tips and tools to help them prepare for the rush process, Lewis said. The workshop is offered in a five-session bundle.
“It’s not about helping them get their top house, it’s great if that happens, but it’s about using a positive physiological, strength-based approach,” Lewis said. “We want to help them get to know themselves better.”
Some of the topics addressed may be “What do I have to offer these houses on campus, even beyond rush?’, What do I have to offer the world?, How to use your strength to success and Conflict Management.
The goal, Lewis said, is to help girls “have the best experience and find the right fit for you.”
The workshop meets once a week for four weeks, ending the week before rush. The fifth session will take place in October, as a way to check back with the girls and discuss the process as well as focus on time management.
Lewis said, in her experience, she’s seen college freshman deal with anxiety and depression and they try to balance schoolwork and independence for the first time. Adding sororities and midterms to that mix can be overwhelming, she said, especially the first semester.
While the workshop is titled “Beating the Rush,” Lewis said she hopes it offers the girls an opportunity to discuss some of the life decisions they’re dealing with for the first time.
“It doesn’t just end with rush,” she said. “From a bigger picture, I see it as life skills to help them be successful in life.”