gg-woodyI bumped an item from the 2017 PopCult Gift Guide so that I could work in this note about Woody Numbers. Woody (Sherwood Spencer to his family) passed away last week after a grueling health crisis that saw him spend most of the last two months at Duke University in North Carolina.

Many people know Woody from his local wrestling appearances. Whether it was in IWA East Coast or All Star Wrestling or one of the other local feds, Woody was a character who left a real impression and always entertained the crowds. That’s how I met Woody and I have to be honest, we were not close buddies, but Woody always made Melanie and me feel welcome and the few times that we got to just hang out and talk were just loads of fun. Woody played the heel in and around the ring, but he was really just a sweet lovable guy who was passionate about wrestling, his favorite music and movies and loved traveling and eating well. I’m really going to miss seeing him around, and I know he will leave a huge void in the lives of his family and his friends.

Woody knew his time was almost up, and wanted to be back in West Virginia when the end came. His brothers in the 108 Dragons and IWA East Coast Wrestling moved Heaven and Earth to make that happen, and they did manage to bring Woody home a couple of days before he passed. To help with this they created a T-Shirt with the design you see to the right, which can be pre-ordered now at this link. All proceeds will go to help pay off Woody’s expenses. I’m not sure if it will be printed in time for Christmas, but that’s not really what this is about. It’s about helping out with Woody’s medical bills and final expenses while paying tribute to a guy who will be greatly missed. You can also make a donation in Woody’s memory to his GoFundMe page, to help his family.

I was in Chicago when Woody passed away and did not get a chance to say my farewell to him. I do know that he loved Chicago, and whenever I mentioned going there he’d shoot me a list of great places to eat. We bring the 2017 PopCult Gift Guide to a close with this suggestion that you do something in memory of Woody Numbers. Even if it’s just buying that cool shirt in his honor.

Tomorrow we will present the master list of every recommendation in the 2017 PopCult Gift Guide.