Professional Wrestling

      Well tonight was Wrestlemania 32 from Dallas, Texas. Thousands of fans from all over the World gathered at the AT&T Stadium to see an event where athletics and theatrics were combined into a three-hour extravaganza. I was at Wrestlemania 30 in New Orleans two years ago. Professional wrestling has been around since the beginning of the nineteenth century and wrestling itself dates back 15,000 years ago through cave drawings in France. Promoters in the nineteenth century quickly realized that fans had become bored with Olympic-style contests that would often go on for hours and hours. The illusion of violence was created by professional wrestling. During the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, Frank Gotch was a renowned wrestler. Gotch was the first American professional wrestler to win the World Heavyweight free-style championship.  In addition, Gotch is credited for popularizing professional wrestling in the United States.  Pro wrestling matches were displayed all over the country in fairs and carnivals.  Professional Wrestling even became popular in Europe, Japan, Latin America, Canada and Australia.   George Hackenschmidt was a European native who wrestled Frank Gotch and many other in the United States.  In fact, President Theodore Roosevelt praised Hackenschmidt proclaiming "If I wasn't president of the United States, I would like to be George Hackenschmidt." Hackenschmidt even popularized various weight lifting exercises such as the bench press and is even credited for inventing the Hack Squat. In the United States, professional wrestling began to lose popularity after the retirement of Gotch.  In response, three professional wrestlers, Ed "the Strangler" Lewis, Billy Sandow, Toots Mondt joined to form their own promotion in the United States. In 1948, a loose confederation of independent wrestling promotions in America joined together to form the NWA (National Wrestling Alliance).  Lou Thesz was chosen as the World Champion of the organization and is still praised by the wrestling industry to this day.  Female Wrestlers would also become popular such as Mildred Burke and the Fabulous Moolah. They are still popular today with the WWE Divas. Eventually, wrestling promoters began to break away from the NWA.  Verne Gagne was a top Wrestler in the 1950's and had formed his own promotion within the NWA.  However, he eventually broke away and formed the AWA (American Wrestling Association).  The Capitol Wrestling Corporation (later renamed World Wide Wrestling Federation) from New York also broke away. The WWWF would have a champion in that of "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers, another highly respected legend in the business. In the 1950’s, television became a prized possession. Pro Wrestlers such as Gorgeous George began to entertain families in their living rooms.  This was the First 'Golden Era' of Wrestling. In the 1960’s and 70’s, professional wrestling remained a territorial business in the United States. The NWA remained rampant.  Meanwhile, Verne Gagne's AWA was popular in parts of the Midwest where it was based.  Professional wrestling was also prominent in Canada, Mexico, various parts of Europe, Japan, Australia and many other areas across the world. However, in the United States, and many other areas, it had not reached its pinnacle and had decreased in popularity since the 1950s.  The only mainstream professional wrestler in North America during this era was arguably Andre the Giant, known as the Eighth Wonder of the World at the time. Of course, Vince McMahon Sr. WWWF had local stars that were mainstream in New York City such as Bruno Sammartino and Pedro Morales, both appealing to NYC's Italian and Puerto Rican audiences.  Both pulled in sell out crowds at Madison Square Garden that are still talked about today. However, it was not until Vince McMahon Jr. took over and renamed it World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) that Professional Wrestling hit the big time with cable television. McMahon took over his father’s Northeastern territory in the United States and expanded it into a Nationwide and International Phenomenon. Vince kept many of the local talent his father had acquired such as Andre the Giant, ARnold Skaaland , Gorilla Monsoon (whom would become an announcer), Chief Jay Strongbow (future agent), Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, George "the Animal" Steele and many others.  However, he raided the various wrestling territories across North America and internationally pulling in wrestlers and personalities such as Hulk Hogan, Jesse Ventura, Bobby Heenan, Gene Okerlund, Greg "the Hammer" Valentine, Paul Orndorff, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Jake "the Snake" Roberts, the JUnkyard Dog, Hacksaw Jim Duggan and tag teams such as the Demolition and the Hart Foundation.  Later on, other stars would either come into their own or join the organization such as Ravishing Rick Rude, Bret "the Hitman" Hart, Shawn Michaels, the Ultimate Warrior, the Undertaker and many others.  For once, it became acceptable among certain mainstream audiences to watch such a spectacle. Families were going to see wrestling and the crowd was a combination of all ranges of demographics and social statuses. Celebrities from Mr. T to Danny Devito to Liberace began to show up at Wrestling Events and Sports Illustrated even began doing stories about Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant. The first Wrestlemania in 1985 at Madison Square Garden was a success and brought in celebrities from all over. Each annual Wrestlemania grew in terms of celebrity support and appeal. In 1987, World Wrestling Entertainment broke what was then the indoor attendance record bringing in 92,000 people at the Pontiac Silverdome at Wrestlemania 3. Merchandising went through the roof with action figures, apparel, cartoons, video games and even ice cream bars.  It was just announced that WrestleMania 32 broke attendance record bringing in 101, 736 fans!!

Even though World Wrestling Entertainment (the World Wrestling Federation) showcased the second 'Golden Era' of professional wrestling, there is no doubt that the NWA, AWA and various other regional promotions contributed to this as well.  Jerry 'the King' Lawler was a successful wrestler and promoter based out of Memphis, Tennessee.  Coming off the heels of an unsuccessful business relationship between Jerry Jarrett and legendary promoter Nick Gulas, Lawler had become co-owner of the Continental Wrestling Association with Jarrett.  Comedian Andy Kaufman had been wrestling women as part of his comedy act.  Lawler challenged Kaufman to wrestle a real man in the ring such as himself.  This brought about a long standing feud between the two which brought much viewership to Memphis Wrestling and sell out crowds at the now defunct Mid-South Coliseum.  The buzz even reached Late Night TV as David Letterman had Lawler and Kaufman appear on a skit on his show that appeared legitimate to many viewers.  Lawler eventually joined the WWE in the 90's and is still a highly respected name in the business.  Continental Wrestling Association eventually broke away from the NWA, worked with AWA, and eventually merged with World Class as the now defunct USWA.  There are still Wrestling events in Memphis and Jerry Lawler still remains the King of Wrestling there.

The NWA had indeed gained dominance going into the early 1980's.  Affiliate, Georgia Championship WRestling, became extremely popular and became the first nationally broadcast wrestling program in 1979.  In 1981, it became the most watched show on cable television. Broadcast from Atlanta on TBS (station owned by Ted Turner) Georgia Championship Wrestling left its mark on wrestling history with the Armstrongs, the Andersons, Ronnie Garvin, Steve Keirn, and Mr. WRestling II. (Just a historical note: Native Georgian and U.S. President Jimmy Carter's family were fans of Georgia Championship Wrestling. GCW Star MR. Wrestling II was asked to appear at Carter's inauguration but he declined as he would have had to take his mask off due to security reasons and he did not want to reveal his true identity.  A struggle over the purchase and control of Georgia Championship Wrestling involving Vince McMahon Jr., TBS, Jim Crockett Promotions and Mid-South WRestling brought about its eventual demise.  Nonetheless, its stars remained intact within the industry.

With the NWA's territorial system dying, Jim Crockett Promotions, based out of Charlotte, North Carolina remained the center of the NWA.  "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes (NWA Champion whom had also been a star in NWA's Florida Championship Wrestling), Harley Race (NWA Champion; Kansas City) , The Road Warriors, Wahoo McDaniel, Ricky "The Dragon" STeamboat, Jack and Gerald Brisco, and later Ron Simmons and STing were showcased as top stars.  Jim Crockett Jr. had been elected President of the National Wrestling Alliance in 1980, acquiring many of the NWA affiliates.  Jim Crockett Promotions actually hosted Starcade before Vince McMahon did the first Wrestlemania.  Through a business deal, JIm Crockett Promotions secured the TBS slot. In 1988, Ted Turner took full ownership of the company renaming it World Championship Wrestling. However, it would be a while before they could legitimately compete with Vince McMahon.

Former Football player turned wrestler "Cowboy" Bill Watts had wrestled in Leroy McGuirk's Tri-State Wrestling representing Oklahoma, Louisiana and Mississippi.  After wrestling some in Eddie Graham's Championship Wrestling from Florida, Watts returned to Tri-State and bought it out from McGuirk.  Like Verne GAgne and Vince McMahon Sr., Watts withdrew from the NWA after he renamed the circuit Mid-South Wrestling.  Eventually, ARkansas would be included as part of the territory and Watts even ran some shows in Texas.  Watts popularized wrestlers whom would later be acquired by Vince McMahon Jr. such as the Junkyard Dog, Jake "the Snake" Roberts, Ted Dibiase (future Million Dollar Man), Kamala, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan and other wrestlers that remained popular in other areas of the NWA such as the Rock N Roll Express, "Dr. Death" STeve Williams, "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert and Butch Reed. Many of Watt's super shows were held at the New Orleans Superdome, where ironically I attended WrestleMania 30 two years ago. By 1985, Mid South Wrestling was extremely popular and began to expand nationally.  Ted Turner secured a slot for Watts on TBS.  Turner had been angered with Vince McMahon because Vince had reportedly promised him a studio-produced program on TBS.  Instead, he had presented two hours of highlights of other WWE programming.  Mid-South Wrestling became the highest rated programming on TBS almost mirroring the success of Georgia Championship Wrestling. Watts positioned himself to take over the two hour slot occupied by Vince McMahon Jr.  However, Georgia promoter Jim Barnett helped broker a deal that allowed Jim Crockett Jr. to buy the slot and become the only wrestling promotion on TBS.  Watts made another attempt at going nationally even renaming MSW Universal Wrestling Federation.  Even though he was unsuccessful, his promotion prepared future stars such as Sting, the Utimate Warrior, Rick STeiner and announcer Jim Ross for more national success.

Many affiliates of the NWA had gained popularity in Texas.  The famous Funk family (Dory Funk Sr and later Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk (both NWA Champions) had represented Amarillo.  Paul Boesche ran Houston.  Joe Blanchard (father of Four Horseman Tully Blanchard) ran San Antonio and the Guerreros had operated out of El Paso.  However, no organization arguably created as much buzz a as  World Class Championships WRestling, which was based out of Dallas.  Wrestler Fritz Von Erich and Ed Mclemore, owner of the now defunct Dallas Sportatorium, bought out the Dallas/Fort Worth Wrestling office breaking away from Paul Boesch and Houston.  WCCW was very signicant in that it achieved global exposure in the early 80's gaining notoriety as far away as Israel and Japan through syndication.  Fritz Von ERich retired and his sons David, Kevin, Kerry and later Mike and Chris carried on the Von Erich name.  Perhaps the most famous feud was between the Von ERichs and the Fabulous Freebirds (MIchael Hayes, Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts, and later Jimmy Garvin).  Local stars such as Skandar Akbar and GAry Hart remained prominent in the area.  Eventually, Fritz decided to break away from the NWA and although given the chance to do so, did not expand his territory nationally the way Vince would.  People would indeed come from all over the world to the Dallas Sportatorium to see their heroes.  Other local stars such as Gino Hernandez, Iceman King Parsons, Gentleman Chris Adams, Bruiser Brody and others would be established in the Dallas area while other stars such as Kamala, Jake "the Snake" Roberts, Ravishing Rick Rude and later Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin (Stone Cold) and Mick Foley would pass through the Dallas area.  Despite the temporary mainstream success of World Class, tragedy would strike the promotion like no other.  David Von Erich died mysteriously on a wrestling trip to Japan.  Both Chris and Mike Von Erich took their own lives.  Although Kerry was the only Von Erich to also achieve success in the WWF, he too took his life.  Local Star Gino Hernadez died of a supposed overdose while Bruiser Brody and Chris Adams were murdered.  Kevin Von Erich remains the only surviving brother while MIchael Hayes and later member Jimmy Garvin are the only surving Freebirds.  The Dallas Sportatorium was destroyed years ago.  Nontheless, its legacy lives on. Michael Hayes, Jimmy Garvin and Kevin Von Erich were honored last night at WWE's Hall of FAme from Dallas, TX the night before Mania at AT&T Stadium.

I don't want to forget to mention other NWA promotions in the U.S. such as in Portland which brought about stars such as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, and the Los Angeles wrestling scene where "Classy" Freddie Blassie became popular many years before.  Kansas City and St. Louis had Harley race as a local star.  Promotions in Hawaii brought about many Samoan Wrestling stars whose relatives, such as the Rock, would help revolutionize the business.  Other promotions were Ed Farhat (The Original Sheik)'s promotion in Michigan, Continental Championship Wrestling (Roy Welch and Buddy Fuller) in Alabama, the World Wrestling Association in Indiana, the National Wrestling Federation from Buffalo (Pedro Martinez) and of course Championship Wrestling from Florida (Eddie Graham).  Each territory had its own unique style regardless of local popularity.

Verne Gagne's AWA had remained a popular promotion in the Mid-West even during the low points of wrestling popularity in the 1960's.  Although Verne would keep himself in the spotlight as one of its main stars, he eventually put Nick Bockwinkel as champion and pushed his son Greg as a top competitor as well.  Many stars that would come out of the AWA included: Hulk Hogan, Jesse "the Body" Ventura, Bobby Heenan, Gene Okerlund, Jim Brunzell, Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissie, Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty, Sherri Martel, Stan Hansen, Scott Hall, Rick Martel and many others.  Like other promoters, Verne let the nationwide expansion of the wrestling business pass him by and the AWA Would fold.

I couldn't help but mention the importance of Canada, Mexico and Japan to the mainstream acceptance of wrestling.  Calgary Stampede Wrestling was founded by shooter wrestler Stu Hart.  Hart had 12 children.  All boys became associated with the wrestling business in way or another.  In addition, all of his daughters married wrestlers.  His son Bret would become a popular star in WWE as would his youngest son Owen.  Other wrestlers who came out of Calgary such as Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart, The British Bulldogs Davey Boy Smith and Dyname Kid, and later Brian Pillman would become national stars.  Bret would have a successful tag team with Jim Neidhart and then break out on his own as a top singles star.  Although not as big a draw of Hulk Hogan in the United States, he became an icon in Europe and in especially in Canada.  The British Bulldogs (natives of the UK wrestling scence) were a renowned tag team.  The Kiwis (whom would become the Bushwackers) hailed all the way from New Zealand, but established much of their success in Calgary.  US stars like "Superstar" Billy Graham and the Honky Tonk Man also cut their teeth in Stampede Wrestling.  There were various other CAnadian promotions too such as the Tunney's Maple Leaf Wrestling in Toronto, Vancouver's All STar WRestling and the Rougeau's promotion based out of Montreal. 

In Japan, New Japan Pro Wrestling (founded by Antonio Inoki) and All Japan Pro Wrestling (founded by Giant Shohei Baba) emerged as huge promotions.  Many US Wrestling stars would be do tours in Japan as part of an exchange between the promotions.  Many US STars became huge names in Japan most notably Andre the Giant, Stan Hansen, the Dynamite Kid and STeve Williams.  Of course, many Japanese stars such as the Great Muta and Jushin Liger would cross over into the United States wrestling scene.

Lucha Libre wrestling, based out of Mexico, showcases a freestyle form of wrestling full of acrobatic moves and a highflying style.  In addition, many of the wrestlers traditionally wear masks.  Wrestlers such as Mil Mascaras and later Rey Mysterio Jr. would make this style very popular.

Carlos Colon established a successful promotion from Puerto Rico as well.

Since the wrestling explosion of the 1980’s, professional wrestling has gone through various stages of highs and lows in terms of mainstream appeal. However, to some people, it is still something that is very much under the radar and appealing to the lowest common denominator of society. Certain people didn’t believe it when I told them that 75,000 people gathered at the Superdome to watch an annual Professional Wrestling event two years ago and I'm sure certainly wont believe it when I tell them over 101,000 people were in Dallas either even if I show them a picture.  I have watched professional wrestling since I was seven years old. While I am not the biggest fan of the current product (or  Wrestlemania 32 Card for that matter) and don’t watch it as consistently as I used to, I still keep up with wrestling to a degree and have hundreds of dvds of past wrestling events from the 70’s to current day. I am 32 years old today, ironically on the very exact day of the 32nd Wrestlemania. However, I don’t for see ever ‘Completely’ growing out of it. Of course, there are certain aspects about it I’ve grown out of. I don’t necessarily live and breathe it like I did at one point in my life. Sure, I don’t go up and imitate wrestlers in the general public like I did when I was kid nor do I make the effort to discuss it in certain social circles that I assume could care less about it. There will be periods where I may not watch the current product for a while due to my busy life which has currently been the case. However, I feel I will always feel the same sensation of watching my old tapes that I did when I was a kid no matter how old I get. Due to the fact that it is has been a part of my life in one way or another for such a long time, I felt the need to write an article on this spectacle that many people like and that others simply sweep under the rug.

      As aforementioned, I became a Professional Wrestling fan when I was seven years old. It was amazing considering the fact that no one in my immediate family watched it or considered it an appropriate form of entertainment. I was never an athlete as a child. Although I work out a lot today and support athletic endeavors, I found it hard to excel at sports when I was young. I played baseball and watched both baseball and football on television and still do. However, I felt I needed something more to spark my interest. I have always had a theatrical side of my personality. Professional wrestling offered a blend of athletics and theatrics. That’s the appeal it has always had for me. I’m not saying that I consider even the most charismatic of professional wrestlers worthy of an Academy Award for their performances. Message to Wrestlers: DO KNOW That’s certainly NOT an undermining of your abilities either. The Rock has proven he can act in movies as well as many others. It’s just a different kind of acting in the ring. The challenge of any professional wrestler is convincing the audience to temporarily suspend their belief and be convinced that what they are seeing is a legitimate fight. Also, it is important to convince the audience that the character you portray is really you, even if only for a brief period of time. I will be honest in that  ‘many’ of the Wrestlers I see today on WWE programming are not as convincing as they used to be. It’s an art that ‘some’ people think arguably began to become less convincing after the death of the wrestling territories in the 1980’s.

     Of course, there’s the age old criticism that wrestling is fake. While they do not display a legitimate contest in their matches, professional wrestlers are indeed athletes. The training that they endure to master their trade is grueling and the lives that they live in the context of their jobs are very real indeed. Simply put, you cannot fake gravity. It may not be a legitimate contest, but much of the physicality is very valid. The ring that they wrestle on is not a trampoline like some think. It does have some give to it, but it’s dangerous if you don’t know how to fall. Unlike football players, wrestlers who work for WWE do not have an offseason. Wrestlers are injured on a consistent basis and, like any athlete, they work hard to keep their bodies in shape, either for wrestling in the ring or general physical fitness. Even wrestlers whom are not in the most impressive physical shape trained to work hard in the ring. I enjoy football, most particularly college football in Mississippi, as well as Major League Baseball. However, with all the money that is at stake in the NFL, MLB teams, and even College football for that matter, I've often wondered if various outcomes have not been predetermined.  I have no proof but I've just wondered. I’m ‘Certainly’ NOT saying football or baseball are the same as professional wrestling in terms of being a performance. However, I’m just saying that the politics and money play a huge part in all professional sports. That’s ‘My’ opinion. Likewise, politics and money is a main characteristic of the wrestling business. Many people think that the wrestlers whom are enemies on television are great friends when in reality they are all competing for the money that can be paid to them by becoming World Champion. That’s quite a paycheck. In the 1998 Documentary Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows, legendary wrestler Bret Hart is quoted as saying “People talk about wrestling not being real. It’s far more real than people think.” I don’t think that he was trying to say that it was real in the sense that it is a legitimate contest. In the context of that documentary, I think he was trying to say that in addition to the physicality, the politics, business struggles and artistry of professional wrestling is as real as it gets.

     Like I said, 75,000 people were at Wrestlemania 30 in New Orleans at the Superdome which I attended. There were people from all over the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. I even met a guy that flew all the way from India. That’s how popular it really is. I have already told you the number in Dallas. Many people, however, still think of professional wrestling as being under the radar to mainstream society. This is either because of the fact that they know it’s not a legitimate contest or because they don’t want to be associated with such an entity. They were probably told by their parents growing up that professional wrestling was stupid or immaterial to the realities of life. Some people also think that the only people that go to professional wrestling events are lower-class uneducated people AND that wrestling matches still only take place in county fairs and stingy arenas . Certainly, that element still does exist within the wrestling world. That’s certainly NOT an insult to people of that social class or small shows. After all, it takes all kinds to make the world go round. At the end of the day, We're all the same inside. In addition, wrestlers have to start somewhere and I enjoy going to see Independent Wrestling shows just as much as I do big ones. However, what is many times overlooked is the people that are educated and actually watch it. Some people are closet wrestling fans and would never admit it to people. In addition, many of the wrestlers themselves are more educated than people think. Many have proven to have good business smarts like Hulk Hogan while others like Jesse Ventura have proven they can excel in politics. Others like Bob Backlund have proven themselves to be well-read individuals while others even hold Masters Degrees from major Universities. As I previously stated, Professional Wrestling has gone through various stages of mainstream appeal since its explosion in the 1980’s. In the mid 90’s it faded out as the product seemed to have grown stale to many. In the late 1990’s, however, it became even more mainstream than ever with the competition of two heavily funded companies, Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Entertainment and Ted Turner’s World Championships Wrestling. There was also a renegade promotion, Extreme Championship Wrestling, that got mainstream attention. In addition to die-hard and casual wrestling fans, The Monday Night Wars, as they were called, brought in people whom were not considered the ‘typical’ wrestling fan. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, The Rock, Mick Foley, Sting, Goldberg, Scott STeiner, The Big Show, Eddie Guerrero, The N.W.O. and DX entertained millions every week. I remember being in Junior High and High School and everyone from Cheerleaders to Nerds to Jocks to Rockers were watching Wrestling. While that’s not seen so much today, this time period between 1997 and 2001 exhibited a period in which wrestling was accepted by a huge range of people. The adult themes of some of the wrestling programming at the time arguably contributed to this trend in terms of the teenagers and male adults watching it on a consistent basis. This was an aspect of wrestling at the time that I was not a huge fan of personally. In some ways, John Cena brought back the little kid element in professional wrestling that had not been seen as rampantl since the Hulkamania era of the eighties and early nineties. After World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling went under, there was no competition for WWE and the viewership began to decline. With John Cena eventually becoming the face of the company, masses of children began making it popular again to a certain degree. However, professional wrestling has, for the most part, not seen the boom and mainstream appeal it did during the years of 1985-1992 and 1997-2002.  Sure, the WrestleManias are jam packed to the rafters as seen in Dallas.  However, the overall acceptance of wrestling has not been seen to really constitute another 'Golden Era' of Wrestling. There have been attempts at rival promotions to mirror the competition that was seen during the 'Monday Night Wars'.  NWA TNA, later renamed TNA Impact Wrestling, created a temporary buzz.  Founded by Wrestler Jeff Jarrett, son of Jerry Jarrett, the promotion eventually acquired the services of Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair.  However, they could never establish themselves as a rival promotion.  Nonetheless, they established stars such as A.J. Styles, Austin Aries and Brooke Tessmacher.  Jeff Jarrett has also started the Global Force Wrestling.

      The mainstream media has often taken the time to pick on professional wrestling whenever the opportunity presents itself. It is unfair in my opinion. Various criticisms have been thrown at the industry. I will not mention any specific incidents but wanted to state my personal opinions on the matter. These criticisms, in my opinion and the opinion of many others, were blown out of proportion and the voices among the wrestling industry were not allowed their fair share of media time to explain their side of the business. There is an underbelly to everything in this world whether it be politics, religion, pro wrestling, football, ballet or the music industry. That’s just a part of life. However, I felt that the media should do more research on wrestling before pointing the finger about it in the manner that they do. It is obvious to me from the details of the reports that the journalists are both reporting on and criticizing a subject they obviously know nothing about. Let me get one thing straight. I respect the media and journalists. I just think that the majority of the criticisms they throw at the wrestling industry are not well-founded. I assume that many of those that reported on it had the preconceived notion that professional wrestling was not worthy of being treated with respect. I’m certainly not saying that that’s what all people in the media think, but it certainly has seemed like a lot do. In my opinion, Larry King has actually done a decent job of covering wrestling stories as have a handful of others. Use some dignity and respect!!! I may not like ballet, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to point the finger and criticize a ballet contestant that gets into trouble just because it’s not my cup of tea.
   

   Many wrestlers have come from mainstream sports such as football and baseball.  "Macho Man" Randy Savage had played minor league baseball while Bill Goldberg and Ernie Ladd had been in the NFL.  Many mainstream sports stars have been brought in to wrestle or participate in events such as William "the Refrigerator" Perry, the late Walter Payton, Bob Uecker, Pete Rose, Lawrence Taylor, Kevin Green, Dennis Rodman, Karl Malone, Floyd Mayweather, Mike Tyson and Shaquille O'Neal.  Ken Shamrock and Dan Severn were involved in UFC fighting before crossing over into wrestling.  CM Punk attempted to make a name for himself in UFC after wrestling as did Brock Lesnar.  Lesnar also took a stab at Pro Football with the Minnesota Vikings.  Neither panned out and Lesnar is back wrestling.  Even Olympic-Style Wrestlers like Kurt Angle made a name for themselves in Sports Entertainment.  Many wrestlers have been involved in bodybuilding either before or after their wrestling careers.  This includes people such as: Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat, Tony Atlas, "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka, Sid Vicious and John Cena.

   Celebrities who have been involved in the WRestlemanias have even made it to the WWE's Celebrity Wing of the Hall of Fame including Arnold Schwarzenneger, Mr. T, Drew Carey, and even PResidential CAndidate and businessman Donald Trump.  The WWE even honors those who have overcome the odds in life through their Warrior Award at the Hall of Fame, also out of respect of WWE Hall of FAmer the Ultimate Warrior whom passed just several days after his induction. 

    Professional wrestling, believe it or not, has also been intertwined into historical events.  During World War II, many Nazi-like characters were created as 'heels' or bad guys.  Similarly, Russian characters were created during the Cold War even if some weren't legitimately Russian.  In some cases, the foreign relation was real.  Wrestler The Iron Sheik was from Iran and had been a bodyguard of the Shaw of Iran whose admittance into the U.S. had brought about the Iranian Hostage Crisis.  The Iron Sheik's popularity as a heel emerged after the Hostage Crisis had just ended and American hostility towards Iran was at an all-time high.  Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissie was from Baghdad, Iraq and reportedly went to school with Saddam Hussein.  In the early nineties, Vince brought the Iron Sheik and Al-Kaissie back into the WWF to team with Sgt. Slaughter.  Slaughter had previously portrayed an American hero.  However, he was now playing an American turncoat who sided with the Iraqis during Desert STorm.  This brought out a lot of criticism for the WWE in that they were exploiting an actual real life situation.  Supposedly, Sgt. Slaughter even had death threats.  Eventually, the angle was dropped after the war ended and Sgt. Slaughter apologized to the fans and went back to being an American favorite.

    I’ve surveyed my peer’s view of professional wrestling since I became a fan of it. Some people were fans of it when they were little and Hulk Hogan was running wild, but after that they never watched it again. Some of those young fans quit watching, but then started watching again during the Monday Night Wars. After that faded, they never watched it again. Some of my peers didn’t watch it when they were little but then watched it during the second boom in the late 90’s/early 2000’s. My older friendssay they only watched it when it was territorial and Mid South Wrestling was popular in Mississippi.  Some older friends from the Gulf Coast watched Gulf Coast Wrestling back when the late "Cowboy" Bob Kelly was a local star.  In other cases, North Mississippians liked Memphis Wrestling even before Jerry Lawler established himself as the 'King'. I have even talked to some senior citizens who say they actually liked it when Gorgeous George performed on television and even admit they sometimes watch it now. Some people claim they don’t watch it but I bet they do on occasion. Certain peers have watched it all their life while others have never watched it and have no idea, nor do they seem to care, about what professional wrestling is all about.

    Why do people like myself and, many others enjoy professional wrestling? It’s something that you either get it or you don’t. The combination of athletics and theatrics that is displayed by wrestling can either connect with your senses or not. It’s been around longer than some mainstream sports. That’s not a knock on sports that are legitimate contests. It’s just a fact. Whether you like it or not, professional wrestling is going to be around for a long, long time!!!  After all, how did 101, 763 people pack WrestleMania 32??  Just Saying!!!