NATCHEZ &045; It has been a long time since professional wrestling has been in Natchez.

How long? Perhaps too long for wrestling fans in the Miss-Lou area.

The last time a major professional wrestling organization was in Natchez was way back in 1986 when the Universal Wrestling Federation superstars grappled in the ring at the old Convention Center on Seargent S. Prentiss Drive.

The last time wrestling was held anywhere in Natchez was in October 1999 when Hank Wiley hosted a wrestling event at the Thompson Gym in memory of the Junkyard Dog, a Mississippi native who died in a car accident in 1998.

Now thanks to Video USA owner Fred Handsman, pro wrestling makes its return to Natchez on Oct. 9 when Video USA, as part of the grand opening of the new store in Vidalia, La., presents &uot;Rumble on the River 2004&uot; at the Natchez City Auditorium starting at 7 p.m.

&uot;It was Fred’s idea,&uot; said Douglas Bruce, who handles promotions for Media South Promotions, an advertising agency and marketing promotion.

&uot;They’re opening up a new store in Vidalia. They wanted to plan a big customer appreciation event. We’re doing a lot of promoting in Brookhaven, McComb and Alexandria, La. There’s not a lot of tickets left. You better get your tickets in a hurry.&uot;

Tickets for this event are $20 for general admission and $25 for VIP seating and are available at Video USA in Vidalia, La., Cathy’s Cowboy Corral in Natchez, Ferriday Farm and Ferriday Market in Ferriday, La. and Cenla Body Shop in Jonesville, La.

&uot;Video USA has been bringing the superstars to the Miss-Lou for over 18 years,&uot; said Sande Cox, who used to work at a radio station in Natchez before going to work at Media South to help businesses in the Miss-Lou market their products or their services.

&uot;I was friends (Handsman). They’re still a client of mine. He wanted to do something for the people of the Miss-Lou that they wanted to remember.&uot;

The last time pro wrestling was held in the City Auditorium was in 1984, when Mid-South Wrestling superstars wrestled there.

At one time Bruce lived in the same town as one of the wrestlers who will be competing on Oct. 9, &uot;Nature Boy&uot; Buddy Landell.

&uot;Buddy’s originally from Knoxville, Tennessee,&uot; Bruce said. &uot;I used to live and work there. He lives in Virginia now. I’ve known him for a long time.&uot;

And Bruce said he’s been a big wrestling fan since he was a kid, watching such superstars as &uot;The American Dream&uot; Dusty Rhodes, 16-time World Heavyweight Champion &uot;Nature Boy&uot; Ric Flair, and The Road Warriors.

Before the wrestling takes place on this side of the river, people can go to the new Video USA store in Vidalia and during the grand opening can meet the superstars of wrestling &045; &uot;N.W.O. Champion&uot; Sting, &uot;The Total Package&uot; Lex Luger, Landell, Buff &uot;The Stuff&uot; Bagwell, Rick Steiner and more.

&uot;They always enjoy meeting the fans,&uot; Bruce said. &uot;For most kids, they think they’re idols. For adults, they’re idols,&uot; Cox said about the wrestlers. &uot;It’s a big responsibility. They see these guys on TV. They have an everyday life.&uot;

&uot;Just the superstars that are on the card,&uot; Bruce said. &uot;This is a WWE-type show. These are the superstars that you see on TV.&uot;

One of the superstars who was scheduled to compete on Oct. 9 was &uot;The Big Bossman&uot; Ray Traylor.

But a heart attack ended Traylor’s life last Wednesday at the age of 41.

The Big Bossman was scheduled to take on Steiner in a no-disqualification match. Bruce said there will be &uot;a major superstar&uot; to take Bossman’s place.

He also said the no-disqualification match will likely still take place. That superstar will be D-Low Brown, who used to wrestle with World Wrestling Entertainment in the latter part of the 1990s.

The main event will be another epic encounter between Sting, a former nine-time World Heavyweight Champion in World Championship Wrestling and two-time World-Wrestling All-Stars World Heavyweight Champion, and Luger, a former two-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion. These two have at times been friends, and at one time in the late 1990s were WCW World Tag Team Champions, and at times been opponents for several years.