As is well established in a previous story of mine where I went toe to toe with the seven foot six hundred pound monster, Apollo Apocalypse, I have been a fan of professional wrestling for some time. Now we’ve come to that oh so magical time of year were WrestleMania is fast approaching. I’ve been to WrestleMania twice. First in Orlando at WrestleMania 24.
Then last year in Atlanta at WrestleMania 27...
Kinda makes you wonder how a staged stunt spectacular like professional wrestling became as big as all this. Hmm… let’s discuss.
A hundred years ago the most popular sport in America was baseball. Baseball was beginning to develop, and basketball & football were not yet on the national scene. Wrestling, at the time, was both more dignified and scientific than boxing. But it is not the as same today. How’d it get that way.
Wrestling is the oldest sport in the world next to running. The Egyptians enjoyed wrestling as did the Greeks and Romans from whom we got Greco-Roman wrestling and the violent no-holds-barred pankration which often ended in death. In Japan sumo wrestling is as old as the culture itself and in India wrestling was called the King of Games. Native Americans staged wrestling contests long before European settlers arrived. Then in the nineteenth century Irish immigrants settling in Vermont brought wrestling with them. It had been a popular way of settling disputes in Ireland for years (seeing as wrestling is a pretty easy style of combat even when you’re hammered). In the next fifty years Vermont cultivated wrestling talent that would spread the world over.
In 1901 a fellow by the name of George Hackenschmidt was the wrestling toast of Europe. People were standing in line three blocks deep when he sold out the London Opera house in 1904. This was one of the first times women began attending sporting events. Hackenschmidt’s series of matches against American champion Frank Gotch marked the high point of professional wrestling as a competitive sport and also the beginning of the end of it’s genuine competition.
After losing to Hackenschmidt, Gotch paid another wrestler to injure George in a training match and as a result Gotch won their second match. The public got wind of the deception and wrestling’s popularity suffered. Not to mention the slow matches went on way too long. People would show up at seven pm expecting to watch an hour of wrestling and would still be waiting for a man’s hand to be raised midnight. Five years later when Gotch retired wrestling as a competitive sport was for all intents and purposes dead.
However it’s entertainment life was just beginning. During the Civil War grappling was a great way for both sides to pass the time. The idea of professional wrestling as an entertainment began post Civil War as a matter of fact. Vets who had learned the sport in the camps took their talents home and wrestled for money in county and traveling fairs that toured America. These shows were operated by showmen and con-artists who had a greater interest in money than in sport. They dressed their wrestlers in colorful costumes and created elaborate back stories to create interest. By the turn of the century the carnies were coming into growing towns and cities setting up offices and carving out territories as wrestling. It was at the hands of these promoters that true competition was choked out of the sport.
The first WrestleMania took place on March 31st, 1985 in Madison Square Garden in New York. The main event pitted the team of Hulk Hogan and Mr. T against the team of Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff. The financial and critical success of the event cemented the then World Wrestling Federation as the top promotion in the US beating out such promotions as the National Wrestling Alliance and the American Wrestling Association. WrestleMania 2 came a year later and took place in three different cities. New York, Illinois, and California. All three venues hosted a number of match ups leading to the main event which saw WWF Champion Hulk Hogan defeat challenger King Kong Bundy in a steel cage match.
Even with all this success the panicle of the 1980s wrestling boom is considered to be WrestleMania 3. The entire state of Michigan was denied pay-per-view access to the event and people flocked to the Silverdome in masses setting a new indoor attendance record of the time at 93,173. Notable matches include the Intercontinental Championship match pitting Randy Savage against Ricky Steamboat as well as the iconic WWF Championship match in which champion Hulk Hogan lifted the 520 lb challenger Andre the Giant over his head and slammed him to the mat.
It was in the 90s that the WrestleMania first ventured out of the US. WrestleMania 6 took place in the Skydome in Toronto, Canada. In the main event The Ultimate Warrior defeated Hulk Hogan to become the new WWF Champion. WrestleMania 7 was moved from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena for security reasons related to the Gulf War. It was here that the Undertaker made is WrestleMania debut defeating Jimmy Snuka to begin an unprecedented undefeated WrestleMania streak. The Daily Mirror, a British national tabloid newspaper, ranked this as the 7th greatest winning streak in sports history.
It wasn’t until WrestleMania 9 that the event was finally held in the outdoor venue. It also marked the first an only time the WWF Championship swapped twice during the event. Yokozuna defeated Bret Hart to become the champion only to turn around and lose it to Hulk Hogan. At WrestleMania X in Madison Square Garden Bret Hart was defeated by his brother Owen only to turn around and win the WWF Championship in the main event becoming the only man to do so. Also Razor Ramon took on Shawn Michaels in and iconic ladder match. The next year at WrestleMania 11 Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart went toe to toe in a 60-minute iron man match considered to be the best match in the history of the event. Shawn Michaels ended an emotional journey to win the WWF Championship title. At WrestleMania 13 Bret Hart and Steve Austin went toe to toe in a submissions match which earned much acclaim by the wrestling world. A year later at WM 14 an interesting situation had come about when Mike Tyson, the man billed as the Special Enforcer in the WM main event where Champion Shawn Michaels would be defending against Steve Austin, had joined with DX. However during the event Tyson revealed his alliances to lie with Austin. Steve Austin became the champion and ushered in the “Attitude Era” in WWF.
WrestleMania 15 marked the first of many epic WrestleMania encounters that took place between Steve Austin and The Rock. WrestleMania 2000 featured the first ever triangle latter match pitting the Hardy Boys against the Dudley Boys against Edge and Christian. This would lead to the very popular TLC matches in months to come as well as TLC 2 with the same teams at WM 17. WrestleMania 17 was the pinnacle of the 1990s Wrestling Boom as well as the pinnacle of the Attitude Era. It was also the first WrestleMania held after the dissolution of the companies largest rival, World Championship Wrestling. WrestleMania 18 was the last event to be produced under the WWF name and also saw The Rock defeating Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin defeating Scott Hall, and The Undertaker defeating Ric Flair all three matches pitting WWF superstars against former WWF stars who had been active in WCW. WrestleMania 19 saw Steve Austin’s last match to date when he faced the Rock for the third time also Shawn Michaels defeated Chris Jericho in his first WM match in five years.
WrestleMania 20 was the first produced under the World Wrestling Entertainment and saw the final match to date (until WM28 that is) of the Rock and the final matches in WWE of Bill Goldberg and Brock Lesnar whose match was officiated by Steve Austin. WrestleMania 21 saw the beginning of the Money in the Bank Ladder match which guaranteed the winner a contract for a WWE title match anytime within the year. It also featured a highly acclaimed match between Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle. WrestleMania 22 and 23 would see the continuance of the Money in the Bank ladder match as well as John Cena’s continued success as WWE Champion.
WrestleMania 24, my first WrestleMania, was the second to be held in an outdoor venue at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. It saw the continued Money in the Bank match as well as the ECW Championship’s first WrestleMania defense where Kane won in a record 8 seconds. It also showcased boxing world champion Floyd Mayweather defeating the Big Show. Not to mention the highly acclaimed and incredibly emotional epic clash of Shawn Michaels against Ric Flair.
It was at WrestleMania 26 that Shawn Michaels career came to an end when he tried for the second year in a row to end the Undertaker’s legendary undefeated WrestleMania streak. Also Bret Hart returned to WWE. Over twelve years removed from the Montreal screw job incident Hart returned to WrestleMania to defeat Vince McMahone in a No-Holds-Barred match.
Last year at WrestleMania 27 where I was again in attendance, The Rock returned after seven years as host of WrestleMania. Trish Stratus returned as well. Triple H attempted to both end the Undertakers streak and avenge Shawn Michaels to no avail, Edge had his last match with WWE, and the Rock Saluted his many fans after laying out the Miz and John Cena in the main event.
This year things get intense with John Cena going against the Rock. The Rock is the epitome of entertainment and an icon in wrestling and Cena is the icon of wrestling for the new generation. It’s one generation versus the next. Meanwhile, while the generations take shots at each other, the last of the true greats are meeting as Triple H attempts for the second year in a row to end the Undertaker’s 19-0 WrestleMania winning streak with Shawn Michaels as special guest referee. There is a lot to look forward to but rather than me repeating the million’s of reviews going on before April 1st I’d rather just refer you to one.
The Adventures of the K
A’ight folks… if it’s your cup of tea I hope you’ll tune in. If not I hope this brief history has been informative and perhaps a little intriguing. April 1st, Miami Florida, WrestleMania 28! I’ll be watching from my father’s house in Alabama!
No comments:
Post a Comment