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June 2022 Wrestling Discussion


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Occasionally my grandfather briefly sat with me while wrestling was on. Every time he’d point out it was bullshit and talk about the time he made $20 jobbing to Mildred Burke as a plant in an intergender open challenge match, and how he definitely could’ve beaten her if it wasn’t a work. 

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I still don't know exactly how I got into wrestling. My dad took me to WM 3 when I was only 6 years old, but he didn't like wrestling or even watch it, so it was clearly something he did for me. I do remember having a bunch of the LJN figures so maybe I was in a Toys R Us, saw those figures, got one, and got into wrestling that way. Either way, I just remember always trying to stay up until 10 PM to watch Superstars and watching Prime Time every Monday.

I also have a memory of going to my dad's friends house and I was friends with the kids there. They were like, you should watch this instead, and I think it was AWA or maybe it was NWA. Not sure. Hard to remember. But my friend there was saying it was way better than WWF.

Or the other thing that may have gotten me into wrestling was WWF regularly ran the JACC on the Notre Dame campus. My aunt's friend worked the ticket office and so my cousin and I always got tickets to go. So maybe that was the impetus. Got offered to go to a house show at the JACC and from then on I was hooked.

And I was also at the final house show they ran at the JACC where the New Age Outlaws and the Godfather were specifically told not to do all of the suck it or ho train stuff. They did it anyway and the relationship between WWF and Notre Dame ended after that.

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My great-grandma died before I was born but was apparently a regular front-row presence at shows in Laredo and Houston as one of those little old ladies trying to hit the heels with her purse.

I wish I knew what she looked like because I feel like there's a good chance she might show up on some of the older Houston stuff that's on the internet.

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I remember some board member telling how his Grandpa said wrestling was not real, but he actually meant the matches were computer-generated. 

I got told right away that wrestling was "show" by my parents, in a futile attempt to get me away from that "monkey business"... meanwhile a friend told me that the Undertaker had legitimately killed Kerry von Erich.

There was a weird delay (maybe it was a classic?) and he had seen the angle where Taker put Kerry in a bodybag shortly before the German announcers talked about Kerry being dead.

The German shows were a little weird, I saw an episode where it was all WWF TV while NWA/WCW Champions and wrestlers were listed in some sort of Interpromotional rankings. 

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I don't remember how I got into wrestling but I had a lot of wrestling figures even by age 3 or 4. Maybe it was my Dad or a combination of things because back then most people I knew had some understanding of wrestling or watched from time to time. Hulk Hogan was such a cultural icon. 

I was brought to a house show but I don't really remember much about it, I was too young. I think the main event was something like Andre and Rude vs. Warrior and Jake. 

From there I'd get all the figures, magazines etc. I found JCP on TBS and started loving Sting and The GREAT Muta. In WWF Warrior was my guy. 

The first show I have a good memory on attending had to be 1991. I think they were running a SummerSlam spectacular or something at the centrum. My dad took me to it. Hogan fought Slaughter but it was a 4-hour show. The main event was a second Hogan match, he fought The Undertaker. Good times.

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Growing up, my Dad hated me watching American shows - straight up ban on WWF and Ninja Turtles. Only when I got older did he begrudgingly allow it because otherwise I just flat out wouldn't come over.

My grandparents were staying with us for a period in early 2002, and my grandfather would sit with me at times and watch Raw. Immediately a huge Lesnar/Angle mark, and it blew my mind a little that he'd never heard of World of Sport, Big Daddy etc despite how massive they supposedly were in the UK in the 60s and 70s. 

And so whenever my Dad would pull his "stupid fake American bullshit" spiel, my grandfather would tell him to piss off and shut up, and he'd eventually either do one or the other, and usually begrudgingly sat there with us and watched it. I think he got on board with it by the end of it. He'd occasionally ask me what ever happened to Brock Psychopath years later.

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Do you have a bucket list of wrestling venues/arenas you'd love to visit? Or just your favorites that you've already been to?

 

Freeman Coliseum holds a special place in my heart for sentimental reasons. Saw lots of wwf events there in the 80s, last one was when Sherri was managing HBK, around that time frame 

Would love to make it to Japan and Mexico, see some of the historic arenas one day. Ecw fan in me would like to see the "ecw arena" just to say I'd been there once. Ditto MSG for my inner early 80s wwf fan

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5 hours ago, SirSmellingtonofCascadia said:

@cwoy2j's story proves that wrestling is best watched alongside a Southern grandma. The best audience, IMO.

My grandmother used to take me to live local indy wrestling in Bumfuck TN, and she would get dressed like she was going to church, and we would cheer the heroes and boo the assholes. Like a proper Southern woman, her posture was 2x4 straight perfect.  Miss ya Gammy.

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1 hour ago, Niners Fan in CT said:

From there I'd get all the figures, magazines etc. I found JCP on TBS and started loving Sting and The GREAT Muta. In WWF Warrior was my guy. 

Random wrestling fact: Children under 10 love any wrestler who wears a mask or has facepaint. It's bizarre and unusual.

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30 minutes ago, Hayabusa said:

Do you have a bucket list of wrestling venues/arenas you'd love to visit? 

 

I want to announce at Madison Square Garden and at my hometown arena in Cleveland (Gund Arena Quicken Loans Arena Rocket Mortgage Field House)

I have been fortunate to announce at three buildings that the WWE has run (Canton Civic Center, Johnstown (PA) War Memorial and DCU Center in Worcester MA)

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On 6/20/2022 at 1:47 AM, Niners Fan in CT said:

What era of WWF/WWE do you prefer and why?  

Pre-1984

1985-1992

1993-1997

1997-2002 

2002-2007

Against the grain the the initial brand split was really cool when I was a teenager.

The "Smackdown 6" was fucking amazing. Seeing guys like RVD and JBL (my guilty pleasure guy) get a shot on top, watching the evolution of... Evolution. The beginning of the start of the genesis of WWE's homegrown GOAT - John Cena

I know a lot of people hated it at the time but I loved how different RAW and SD felt back then and the variety of matches and stories we got. RAW was this Vince and Co were throwing a lot of shit at the wall and, as bad as some of it was, it was entertaining.

Modern WWE wishes it was that much fun. 

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51 minutes ago, Hayabusa said:

Do you have a bucket list of wrestling venues/arenas you'd love to visit? Or just your favorites that you've already been to?

Not really. in the beginning stages of planning dreaming of a trip to Japan, and on that list is absolutely a NYE Rizin event, hopefully at Saitama Super Arena, and 1/4 NJPW show at the Tokyo Dome. I can only even name a handful of arenas (Cow Palace in San Francisco, for example) but have no real connection with them. I feel like the last 20+ years has really homogenized so many places that very few stand out. did we just talk about this? i'm getting deja vu here.

also, these two, that you already mentioned:

51 minutes ago, Hayabusa said:

Ecw fan in me would like to see the "ecw arena" just to say I'd been there once. Ditto MSG for my inner early 80s wwf fan

 

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When we went to Dallas, I drove by where the Sportatorium used to be. 
 

i would also want to go to the site of the Irish McNeil Boys club and 116 W Breckenridge, Bixby OK to see the Mid South office aka Bills old house. Same for the Crockett office on Briarbend Drive in Charlotte. 

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1 hour ago, odessasteps said:

When we went to Dallas, I drove by where the Sportatorium used to be. 
 

i would also want to go to the site of the Irish McNeil Boys club and 116 W Breckenridge, Bixby OK to see the Mid South office aka Bills old house. Same for the Crockett office on Briarbend Drive in Charlotte. 

Yeah, when I moved to Austin in ‘93, one of the places I wanted to see was the Dallas Sportatorium. First trip to Dallas was fall of ‘93 to see TX-OU at the Cotton Bowl and we drove by it, and passed by it several more times on trips to Dallas, but never inside.

I saw a few things at MSG when I was a teen in NYC in the ‘80s, including many Knicks games, a Rangers game, Sting the singer, and the Ringling Brothers Circus, but never a wrestling show.

I did get to see a live TV taping at Arena Coliseo in Mexico City back in 2005.

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4 hours ago, Hayabusa said:

Do you have a bucket list of wrestling venues/arenas you'd love to visit? Or just your favorites that you've already been to?

 

Freeman Coliseum holds a special place in my heart for sentimental reasons. Saw lots of wwf events there in the 80s, last one was when Sherri was managing HBK, around that time frame 

Would love to make it to Japan and Mexico, see some of the historic arenas one day. Ecw fan in me would like to see the "ecw arena" just to say I'd been there once. Ditto MSG for my inner early 80s wwf fan

I’d love to watch a show at a bull fighting arena in Mexico. I’ve been to all types of venues but certainly not one of those. 
 

Korakuen Hall and Budokan Hall as well. Can’t really think of one in the states but it’s always cool to check out brand new arenas and stadiums. 

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The "which era" question is difficult. I know it's not pre-Rock n Wrestling era, as I never saw it as a kid and later on, I haven't watched much of it, even when it was available for me. Mid 80's to turn of the decade is very important to me, as that was what I grew up with (my fandom begun in the later 80's, but there were some reruns going back to '86ish). If this includes NWA/WCW of the same timeframe, then it's even more important to me, as I got into that somewhat in the mid 90's and was very into what I was able to see.

1993 onwards is probably even more important, as the fandom had become more all consuming than earlier. The era itself is definitely a mixed bag, but I enjoy seeing the TV stuff now that I missed back then. PPV's and Colliseum Videos I pretty much have seen, and owned at one point.

Attitude era was important because I was on the internet when I should have been pursuing my academic career (phew, dodged a bullet, THERE)! I enjoyed the PPV's even at the time, but I practically never get the urge to revisit any of that, especially the TV. 2000 onwards, stuff get really good again and I watch some things every so often. That one guy puts a damper on it, though. Feel free to pick one.

Ruthless Aggression (well, Invasion era, actually) onwards, wrestling was on Finnish TV again, for awhile so that was different. There are still PPV's from that period that I actually haven't seen (I think?), but I did get around to see much of it, eventually.

I even enjoyed much of the PG era, but once NXT (and NXT UK) became an option, the main roster lost much of it's appeal (and point, really) to me. Now that AEW has become the real NXT, I've diverted all of my current viewing there.

This is not to say I won't return to watching older WWE some day, but most likely it will be the 80's, 90-97 or early 00's that I can't stay away from. Or may the workrate Cena-era, idk?

On a different note, there has been talk of grandparents and one of the most unifying things between my grandfather and I was wrestling, back in the day. There would be many anecdotes to tell, but I'll just note that he got heat segments all wrong most of the time, and got pissed of if someone made a comeback and ended up winning in the end, except for Hogan.

 

 

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6 hours ago, Hayabusa said:

Do you have a bucket list of wrestling venues/arenas you'd love to visit? Or just your favorites that you've already been to?

 

I've been meaning to take a trip to Mexico to see Lucha at Arena Mexico since before the pandemic. I live in LA so that's very do-able. Also It would be cool to see a show at the ECW arena for the history. I'd love to go to Japan and Check out Budokan and Tokyo Dome more for the rock 'n' roll history though, but it seems unlikely. And not to many special buildings in the states anymore

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I'd like to see a show at KBS Hall in Kyoto, which is the venue with a big stained glass window opposite the hardcam. It's a very unique look.

Also wish I could have seen a show at Hakata Starlanes in Fukuoka, which could be a really hot fun crowd but sadly that got knocked down.

Obviously Korakuen Hall is a must too.

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On 6/19/2022 at 11:47 AM, Niners Fan in CT said:

What era of WWF/WWE do you prefer and why?  

Pre-1984

1985-1992

1993-1997

1997-2002 

2002-2007

1985 - 1992. 

Got to see The British Bulldogs go 25:00 with The Hart Foundation in Detroit (RIP, Joe Louis Arena) and even then I could tell that all four were just getting warmed up by the time the match was over. 

The Jumping Bomb Angels were amazing. 

Jake Roberts's DDT was a death spot - Ricky Steamboat made it truly look like The End on that one SNME.

Steamboat and Randy Savage being awesome in general, and at WM3 in particular.  

Koko B. Ware's dropkicks and KILLING people with the Ghostbuster.

 

Edited by Marcel
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I don’t think I have an arena bucket list like I do for baseball. I already consider the Allstate Arena the best arena. When I was younger I wanted to go to the ECW Arena. I guess now I’d like to go to a PWG show, but that’s not exactly an arena.

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12 hours ago, Hayabusa said:

Do you have a bucket list of wrestling venues/arenas you'd love to visit? Or just your favorites that you've already been to?

 

Freeman Coliseum holds a special place in my heart for sentimental reasons. Saw lots of wwf events there in the 80s, last one was when Sherri was managing HBK, around that time frame 

Would love to make it to Japan and Mexico, see some of the historic arenas one day. Ecw fan in me would like to see the "ecw arena" just to say I'd been there once. Ditto MSG for my inner early 80s wwf fan

Favorites?  The late, lamented Joe Louis Arena that I just talked about.  Also, Arena Mexico and Arena Coliseo.  A couple of pilgrimages that I was thrilled to make. 

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I'd go 93-97 for my favourite wrestling era, even though I missed half of 96 and all of 97 when my parents went through a no cable period.

Rumble 1991 was the first time I saw wrestling, at my grandparents' flat. My Dad told me The Undertaker was called The Ogre, and I was suitably terrified, but I was fascinated by the amount of epic obesity and tassels on display in the Rumble match. From then on, my grandparents, who had Sky, would tape the PPVs and give them to me the following week. I had a friend at school who also had Sky and would tell me about any significant developments, but when you're eight, hearing someone describe Yokozuna and seeing him win the Rumble are very different things.

Venue wise, I guess MSG would be cool but really I just want to get to a big AEW show. Preferably in London, but I could be tempted back to Chicago, and I should probably go to Vegas once. I've been to the Tokyo Dome, Korakuen (several times), Shinkiba 1st Ring and Shinjuku FACE, when I went to Tokyo on a wrestling pilgrimage in 2018. Think I made it to ten shows in ten days, and even managed to find time to see some culture, stuff my face and get to a cat cafe.

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