06/03/2019
I am absolutely devastated that Lyle C. Williams just passed. You may have seen Lyle in the south NJ and Philly wrestling scene. Hell, he's even on the back cover of the movie, The Wrestler DVD. I first talked with him after he got hit with a piece of cinder block while photographing ring side action.
I showed him the exact moment he was clipped because we both thought it was funny and he shared some of his ringside philosophy with me and asked I shoot a picture of him with his own camera holding the piece that hit him. Afterwards we talked a lot more often.
I was told that if I wanted to shoot at CZW, I needed his permission. Lyle balked at the idea that he had any say over that but he did offer helpful guidelines. Though he could tell you about matches he watched in his youth, he was supportive to rookies and cheered on new ideas. He was a feminist. He supported women in wrestling and was frustrated with how they weren't given as much credit as men in wrestling.
He was a good man. He was supportive to newer photographers. He didn't gate keep. We'd talk comic books, since we're both nerds. His views on justice were admirable. He was incredibly humble, I'd say to a fault. In this he was a great mentor. I'm going to really fu***ng miss him.
No one in wrestling taught me as much as this man.
