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 Professional
wrestling has been a major part of my life for the past seventeen years.
As a youngster, my uncle used to take me to matches twice a month in Philadelphia.
The WWF came to the Spectrum, an 18,000 seat arena known then as the home
of the Flyers and 76ers. They used to fill the house. This was the relative
beginning of the Hulk Hogan era. In contrast, the NWA used to come to the
Philadelphia Convention Center, which probably held about 8,000. While they
would get decent crowds, they rarely sold out. The main draws for the NWA
were Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, Magnum T.A., and Tully Blanchard. The NWA
had a definite "edge" to it that the WWF lacked. Even as a twelve-year-old, I was a bit put off by the cartoonish feeling that WWF storylines were beginning to take. Somehow, we were lucky enough to consistently get near front row seats for the NWA. I immediately became a fan of some of the "bad guys." I always thought chanting USA and rooting for the "superhero" type was a bit hokie. I liked the guys who would make their opponent bleed and curse at the crowd-NOW THAT'S FUN!! |
Pretty soon, my uncle and I had had enough of Hulk Hogan preaching at me to "Say my prayers and eat my vitamins!" so we stopped going to the WWF. I wouldn't find my way back to that fed for about 5 years. Anyway, we concentrated our "fan" efforts on the NWA. Ric Flair and the newly formed "Four Horsemen" were my favorite wrestlers. As we began meeting the other ringside regulars, we learned where the wrestlers stayed after the matches. WOW! SO...now it was protocol to head to the Marriot by Philly's airport to see who we could meet and who I could charm into taking a picture with me. Our numerous ventures proved quite successful and I was lucky to have some interaction and pictures taken with stars such as The Road Warriors, Lex Luger, Sid Vicious, Mark Calloway (now known as the Undertaker), the Freebirds, Bam Bam Bigelow, and yes...the Nature Boy Ric Flair, as well as many others. I was also approached by a New York radio station to be a Philly correspondent and call in match results for them. Not bad for a twelve-year-old. |
 
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| I sometimes feel uncomfortable admitting it, but pro wrestling likely played a real influence in my future directions in life. While I was always attracted to Syracuse University (after all, I was to be the next Bob Costas) it was not until wrestler Mike Rotundo began incorporating his Syracuse background into his wrestling angle that I went all out for the school. I began to wear Syracuse clothes to the matches every month...and to school nearly every day. So, while it was not the deciding factor, it certainly played a part in my blossoming. One other interesting Syracuse/wrestling-related story. Fan favorite Sting had failed in his attempt to take the World TV title from Rotundo one evening. So wearing my orange, I went up to Sting in the hotel and boldly and eloquently explained to him that he "couldn't get it done tonight, could ya?". At that point the "fan friendly" Sting told me...a mere tike...to go fuck myself. "Oh, the hypocrisy!" I thought. |
 In
the early-mid nineties, the NWA dissolved and was effectively replaced by
Ted Turner's WCW. This was a down period for them, as the complicated change
of guard caused an upheaval in the fed and many of the top starts jumped
ship. It became a pretty bland product. At this same time, the WWF was at
the height of it's marketing to ten-year-olds (and I was now 16 or so).
No wrestlers had real name. They went from a cartoon environment with superheros
who couldn't lose to a comic book atmosphere where nobody had a real name
(eg. Adam Bomb, Doink the Clown, and the Mountie). This was not for me.
I was done with wrestling. As people had always told me I would do-I grew
out if it. |
 I
love marketing folks. I never realized it until I pretty much became one,
but these are the people who tell companies who wants a certain product
the most and the best way to deliver it to
them. The product of wrestling is no different. In the mid-nineties, some
backroom genius figured out that there was a lot of money to be made marketing
to ADULTS, by bringing back the "edge" that the old NWA had and
combining it with the over the top "edge" of the then-new ECW,
which had been packing small houses with absolutely raucous adult fans.
Their product was highlighted by BLOOD, PRETTY WOMEN, AMAZING STUNTS AND
FEATS OF PAIN ENDURANCE, FIRE, JUMPING THROUGH TABLES, etc. So the WWF and
WCW both began to incorporate this (to a lesser extent) into their matches.
Well, the excitement came back for me. I've been back on board since about
late 1995. Since then, a ton has happened. The WWF has become the dominant
player in the business. They even had an IPO (incidentally, I am a part
owner!). Long story short, they drove everybody else out of the business.
They acquired WCW and ECW went bankrupt. This is a new era. Nobody's quite
sure what will happen next. Will WWF's situation translate into more interesting
storylines and a better product? Will leftover talent from the WCW/ECW shakeout
start a new fed? It's all up in the air right now. I promise I'll be watching
closely, though! |
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