This Sunday sees the biggest event in the sports entertainment calendar - WrestleMania 30. An event that is the epitome of American pomp and circumstance,razzmatazz or whatever buzz word you want to put in there. It's something that I admittedly would have a passing interest in,I say passing because as I grew up from adolescence,I discovered alcohol and women which in turn,waned my interest from this soap opera for men just a tad. But,I digress.
Like any youngster,when you saw pro wrestling on the tv,you were taken aback by these larger than life characters. I remember the first video tape (remember those) I ever saw of this and the main event was the Ultimate Warrior against the Macho Man Randy Savage. I was transfixed on the Warrior - and when some fella with wacky face paint runs to the ring and shakes the ropes (which usually was the highlight of one of his matches,he wasn't one of the purists let's say) you tend to pay attention. I mean,that's not something you see every day. WrestleMania 6 came along and it was "The Ultimate Challenge" which pitted the Warrior against Hulk Hogan. All the lads in primary were Hulkamaniacs - and to be honest I was sick of seeing Hogan win all the time - a trend that would continue later in his WCW tenure,but that's another story for another day. The Warrior won,which I was thrilled to bits with,and naturally with this being the days of pre-internet spoilers, I found out he won two months after the feckin match took place. One of the other highlights of Warriors career were his "promo" or interview skills....
Fast forward to 1994 - where my brother,Lord have mercy on him,tells me to go out to his car to get an envelope out of the glove box. He tells me to open it. WWF tickets at the Point. I couldn't believe it. I was actually going to see a live show. We went and it was everything I expected. No Warrior,he had long gone. But the Macho Man was,but I was looking out for someone else - as I started to watch more,I started to appreciate the in-ring athleticism these lads had,and one stood out more than any other..Bret the Hitman Hart. Some of his matches were like watching Rembrant at work. He was that good. He wasn't there but I got a pair of his sunglasses that he would give to kids at ringside before his matches in the Point. And I still have them. More on Bret later. My brother was a big Shawn Michaels fan,more than likely for his theme music. Many a night my head would be driven demented by "I'm just a Sexy Boy" sang repeatedly. I still laugh when I hear it. One of my happiest memories of us was being at that wrestling show.
Now,onto 1997. Bret Hart had agreed to sign to a rival company,WCW. They were destroying WWF in the tv ratings every week and with the WWF losing money,they had no choice but to let one of their highest earners go. By this time I was in college and suprisingly in the company of a lot of like-minded individuals. The stage was set. Survivor Series in Montreal. Bret Hart (who was WWF Champion at the time) vs Shawn Michaels. No one could have predicted what happened next. Well,okay maybe a few in the backstage area.
Basically,there was a real-life double cross and Bret Hart left the company under a very dark cloud. I was bulling after it. Shortly after that,things took major turns for him. His brother died in a freak in-ring accident. His own career was ended by a kick to the head in the ring and later suffered a stroke. I was heartbroken to see one of my own personal heroes,someone that I had watched over the years have setback after setback. But he came back from all of that,and even a few years ago was doing a tour of Ireland,and one of those stops was at UL. This I could not miss. I met Bret Hart,got a 1992 WWF magazine signed and thanked him for all the great matches and memories he gave us in the ring. It's funny because a few years after that I was at a live show in the O2 it's called these days and I was sitting in the front row (contacts) and he came over and saw me and shook hands with me again. I felt like one of those kids he'd give his pink sunglasses to at that stage. Delighted.
Now,onto 2006. Yes there is a big gap between then and 1997/98 I know. They hadn't toured Ireland from 1994 to 2004 I believe. And the product in 2002/3 wasn't exactly thriving,probably because they were the only game in town and had done a big turnaround and driven their main competitor out of business. I sat watching previous Wrestlemanias and always thought to myself - "What would it be like. To go to a WrestleMania." Then I saw where WrestleMania 22 was going to be held. Chicago. A place where I have a few relatives. Do you see where this is going? I certainly did! Sure enough,they were aware that it was happening and said it'd be nice to catch up. So there I was,flying to The Windy City for a few days. I even got to see where the Blues Brothers was filmed and got to a Bulls game in the United Center which was great. But being at a WrestleMania was incredible. American (and especially Chicago crowds) are extra amped up. If they don't like certain performers,they will let them know. Doesn't matter if they are "good" or "bad" guys by default,the Chi town crowd doesn't discriminate!
Now,onto today. Todays performers are mostly different. There a few of the old guard still knocking around,the most well-known would be The Undertaker,who has never lost at Wrestlemania and is putting his undefeated streak on the line this Sunday against Brock Lesnar. But the matches I will be looking out for involve this man:
If you watch those three videos one after the other you will get the jist of who Daniel Bryan is. He's not the usual Herculean size fella,he's an underdog, and the crowd absolutely love him,. He has two simple catchphrases "Yes" and "No" and the crowd lap them up. If he doesnt win this Sunday, then I will be pretty much done with WWE and will probably start watching Eastenders. Probably!
Roll on Sunday where I will be avoiding spoilers as much as humanely possible!
I hope some of you enjoy this and maybe it served as a mini trip down memory lane. I enjoyed writing it.
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