WATCH OUT tap or sleep midwest is still on the riseBy
Ted Czech
on January 27, 2009 10:32 PM
Tap or Sleep'sfirst midwest expedition was with Tap or Sleep fighter Tonya Evinger and her younger twin brothersOwen (3-0 Pro) Chris (6-1 Am). They were all scheduled to fight at the June 6,2008 TrueFight Fan event at Whiskey Tango's in Grain Valley Missouri.
Jerod Phillips (Tap or Sleep owner) flew out from PA to support and slept on Josh Helm's couch while in town. Josh Helm started Team Evinger which transformed Tonya's sponsors into Team Evinger sponsors. So, Tap or Sleep sponsored all three Evingers June 6th.
Tonya and Owen dominated the night with support of coach KenShamrock and the huge fan base Team Evinger brings with them. Chris' opponentdidn't get his blood tests in time after flying in from California.
The first fighter to compete as a Tap or Sleep fighter in the midwest and wasn't a Team Evinger member was Josh Bernal (4-0), an ex-Missouri Western football player. On June 28, Josh won with a reverse triangle in the first round. Josh got to 6-0 before taking his first loss toIFL star LC Davis who is now signed with Affliction. The next Tap or Sleep fighter to compete was Chris Evinger. Chris (6-1 AM) was the AM. State TitleHolder at 170 this was Chris' pro debut and he won in 52 second on july 11th.
A couple weeks later Tap or Sleep Midwest was formed by Josh Helm.With Tonya living in Nevada, Tap or Sleep Midwest technically only had 3 fighters - Owen and Chris Evinger with Josh Bernal.
Helm had been around the midwest fight game long enough to know which fighters to support. For the Sept. 5th True Fight Fan show, Tap or Sleep Midwest had new blood competing: fan favorite "KC Bad Boy" Dominic Brown and CaseySmith, who was another Odessa wrestler like Team Evinger. Escorted out by theTap or Sleep Midwest banner, Dominic and Casey scored victories in the first round. This was the first time Tap or Sleep was really being admired by midwest fans. Since then Tap or Sleep Midwest has dominated, adding at least one fighter every month to the stable.
Tap or Sleep Midwest now has 4 sets of brothers,the Evingers, the Bernals Josh and younger brother Bubba, the Tapusoas Gary andAfa and the Sveums Travis and younger brother Jeff. Joining them is Brown, Smith,Brian Davidson, Tony Matzke, Bo Cash, Mitch Harris, Matt Cox, and MonteGarrett. Every day Tap or Sleep Midwest grows, gaining more and more fans.
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