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I’ve been to a bunch of rasslin’ shows. It is almost always a good time, and sometimes it is transcendent, educational and/or visionary. I wanted to pick five really fun cards I attended, with a few comments on each. I noticed that a major part of my good memories was whom I went with - makes sense. (in no particular order) CWF, Miami or Ft. Lauderdale, 1983/84 - I went with Mama RAF and “Uncle” Pepe. It was a gymnasium with bleachers and folding chairs, and a mixed FLA crowd of Hispanics, trailer trash, old folks, screaming kids & inner city youth - true believers, all of us, not a single hipster or smark to be seen. Memorable match: Kevin Sullivan & Buzz Sawyer vs. Blackjack Mulligan & Dusty Rhodes, Lights Out Bar Room Brawl - The ring ropes were removed and sweet chaos reigned o’er all. The Prince of Darkness and The Mad Dog were defeated by thee cowboy heroes but afterwards Mulligan’s hair was set aflame by a fireball and Sullivan stabbed Rhodes with the Golden Spike right in the teat, and our heels had to dash through an enraged crowd. Youthful RAF stood on his chair and applauded and got to pat KS’s sweaty Bostonian shoulder as he scuttled by. Right after that life-changing event, a 9 year old Black Dusty fan jumped on Mr. Sullivan’s back and began to pummel him. Sullivan bleated out “SECURITY! SECURITY!!”, body slammed the child, onto the hardwood floor, hopped over his inert form and dashed the rest of the way to the lockerroom. I decided to try to get into the business tight then. WWF, Madison Square Garden, NYC, 03/25/84 - My chum Arthur A. and I would go all the time and his mom was neighbors with a MSG family member who had access to great tickets but never used them so we did - always within the first 10 rows. Our pimply faces can be seen on several Coliseum Videos and MSG Network broadcasts. Memorable match: Roddy Piper & “Dr. D” David Schultz vs. Jimmy Snuka & Andre the Giant - As usual, Arthur and I were taunted by our neighboring fans for cheering the heels, but that worm turned right fast when Andre was carried out after being tied up in the ropes and bloodied by Piper and Schultz. Snuka continued on in a handicap match and was going down when The Giant did a lurch in, Spirit of 1776-style in bloody head bandages causing the DQ for his team and a win for “our” team. SWEET VINDICATION, YOU PENCILNECKS. WCW, Superbrawl II, Milwaukee, 02/29/92 - A crew of us made the road trip from Chicago for this; I remember Mama Trauma, Tony T and 5 or 6 other miscreants that worked the nightclubs. We did a tour of Jeffery Dahmer’s favorite gay bars and had some cocktails. We had great seats for the PPV (remember waiting in line at Ticketmaster?) and many beers. Afterwards we went back to Chicago and frequented more water-holes w/libations. I almost picked Spring Stampede ‘94 instead (with a similar posse) which was a better card but the pre-game on SB2 was more festive. Memorable Match: Jushin ”Thunder” Liger vs. Flyin’ Brian Pillman - The choice was obvious. My Meltzered-up self was super psyched for this. The cheeseheads in attendance were barely enthusiastic - well, it was the opener (after the dark match). Ignorant heathens, then and now. It was a great match, but seems almost quaint now upon rewatch. Sic transit gloria mundi. AAA/ECW combo show, International Amphitheatre, Chicago, 10/21/95 - I promise to finish my write-up of this event, umm… soon? This was fun. Lance and John and Margaret and me at this unique undocumented show at a pivotal period for U.S. pro wrestling. One of two wrestling-related riots I have been in occurred at this card: thank you, Terry Funk. Come for the rasslin’, stay for the great concessions, and we had great seats for this as well. Memorable match: 2 Cold Scorpio & The Eliminators vs. Tommy Dreamer & Public Enemy - This was the very first time I ever saw someone go through a flaming table live and in person, as did every damn other person in the place as they were dumbfounded. ¡Ay, caramba! SFLL, San Francisco, 03/11/01 - Blurring the rules a bit here, as this was a card I worked. I only knew the promoter, but I got to smoke cigars at a jazz club with El Hijo Del Santo and Tinieblas Jr. (sadly, no Alushe). I also got to hang out with Rey Misterio (Sr., the uncle), watching the openers and dishing in spanglish, so this was a big deal to me. Plus, I got paid. Memorable match: It goes without saying my match was not the best on the card, but it was memorable for me. I worked Chango Loco (for the third time, three different promotions). My promos for the radio spots were good and we did a pull-apart at a press event. Hijo later showed me how to rip a mask and gave me more respect and attention than he had to - a real class act. Color all around and I was shorn of my locks, and shaved my head completely to honor tradition the next day. Well, there you have it. These were the ones that came to mind but there are many more. Of course I tripped down memory lane and added much florid word-stuff, so thank you for indulging me. I trust it was worth reading. Please add your own personal bests with stories! Your loving RAF