Don’t ask me how I first got into professional wrestling, I just know that I loved the theatre of it all.
I remember watching as a young child and seeing Hulkamania run wild, Hacksaw Jim Duggan raise the 2X4 above his head and the Ultimate Warrior sprint to the ring like a mad man.
As time wore on, I watched in high school as The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin changed the face of the business forever, Mick Foley revolutionize the sport with hardcore matches and Triple H take charge for a company that desperately needed a go-to bad guy.
So, it was with a heavy heart that I stopped watching when I entered college, namely because chicks don’t talk to a guy wearing a “Wanted Dead” shirt. But alas, the pull of one more Wrestlemania was too much for a man to bear. I ordered the pay-per-view and hosted a gathering where party-goers were asked to dress as their favorite pro wrestler. So here it is, random thoughts and tidbits while watching the Super Bowl ofwrestling:
– First off, you should know that I dressed up as Mick Foley. I wore the tattered shirt and tie and even stretched a sock over my right arm. Except I’m about 100 pounds lighter.
– Ric Flair was in a match. They bill him as a “58 year old man.” If Ric Flair is 58 then I’m “People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive.”
– The Mick Foley/Edge match was the highlight of the night during the first two hours. Anytime you can send a respected multi-million selling author through a flaming table and have him enjoy it, then it’s worth the $50 I shelled out for the PPV.
– The women’s title changed hands. Alert the press.
– Is it just me or is the Boogeyman like the coolest wrestler of the last 10 years?
– The Triple Threat Match for the World Heavyweight Championship was fun to watch. Also, I remember watching Rey Mysterio in high school and always liked that he was the little guy who never quite won the big one, until Sunday night. (That is also the glaring difference between WWE and WCW. In WCW Rey never got a chance to fight the big fights, just the mid-card ones. He seemed to drift aimlessly until WWE gave him a chance to be a main-eventer. Now he is thriving, go figure.)
– The main event for the WWE Championship was a joke. When the company bad guy (Triple H) gets more cheers then the company’s number one good guy (John Cena), you know something is up. Heck, everyone gathered at my house was rooting for Triple H. From what I hear, Cena has been champion for the last year, and the fans were getting sick of his routine. Either way, he miraculously retained his title after Triple H tapped out. Everyone left disappointed.
Will girls talk to me now that I have confessed my love for a fake sport? Nope. Will I pay another $50 to watch it again next year? In a heartbeat.