Mother Nature executed a flawless takedown, forcing the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum into the equivalent of a near-fall.
The museum in Waterloo sustained severe damage from flood waters this month, but it will be repaired and is moving forward with a hall of fame induction ceremony and fundraiser Friday and Saturday.
Two weeks ago, the Cedar River, accompanied by water backing up from an overtaxed sewer system, flooded the basement. Water crept as high as three feet on the main floor. Many pieces of memorabilia, merchandise, books and furniture were damaged or destroyed.
"Like any good wrestler, we're scrambling, we're not going to quit. We will scratch and claw to get back on top," said Gable, who will see the damage for the first time this weekend. "What was destroyed is history, you can't replace that."
The non-profit museum, which has hosted almost 10,000 visitors since opening in January 2007, does not have flood insurance and has been told it will not receive any form of insurance protection. The process of identifying what items have been lost or damaged is ongoing.
"We're confident in saying we can overcome this tragedy and will come back stronger than ever," said Mike Chapman, the museum's executive director, who had resigned effective July 31, but has since decided to stay on indefinitely.
Chapman said two immediate needs for the museum are office furniture and display cases. Cabinets, display cases and carpet had to be ripped out along with the bottom third of the walls on the main floor. He is optimistic rebuilding will begin in two or three months.
"It's mind-numbing," he said. "People who come here and see the damage are in shock. You look at your dream, 11 years of hard work by so many people, and it's gone. But when you think about what happened in Parkersburg, or the flooding in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, it puts it all in perspective."
Chapman said Dan Gable as well as former pro wrestlers Bret "The Hitman" Hart, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and "Handsome" Harley Race will attend this weekend's event.
The six-member hall of fame class consists of Stu Hart (Bret Hart's father), Masa Saito, Abe Jacobs, Ray Gunkel, Leo Nomellini and Piper.
They, along with past hall of fame inductees, are helping to raise the estimated $500,000 needed to rebuild the museum.
Chapman said he has been encouraged by support from the wrestling community, including the WWE, which donated items for a silent auction. Local volunteers helped when the flooding was at its worst.
One volunteer was Waterloo East wrestling coach Willie Gadson, a two-time all-American at Iowa State. Gadson and members of his team joined other volunteers to help with the initial stages of cleanup.
Chapman said the museum lost a number of irreplaceable items, including wrestling cards dating to 1887, a wrestling technique book from 1727, thousands of books valued as high as $500, and some Cael Sanderson and Gable memorabilia.
Chapman hopes a 12-foot-high, 20-foot-wide mural by Jack Bender depicting the classic scene of Abraham Lincoln wrestling Jack Armstrong in 1832 in New Salem, Ill., is salvageable
"We had a setback, some real adversity," Gable said, "but we're not going to roll over and play dead."
Waterloo's Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum sustained severe damage from floodwaters this month.
