I don't know what it was yesterday, but wrestling, and particularly those famous wrestlers from not that long ago that are now dead, came up as a topic two different times, in very different circumstances, and with different people.
The first was at home, with my family. The next was at work, with coworkers. I swear I did not initiate either conversation, and I was surprised that wrestling, of all things, would find it's way to being the topic of conversation more than once in one day, without some kind of provocation. In fact, those conversations were just hours from each other - maybe four or five hours, tops.
So, it got me to reminiscing about wrestling, and I did some exploring on the subject. I knew that quite a few prominent wrestlers that I could remember had died, but it was surprising to learn just how many. Some of the names were almost shocking, because they had seemed so young. You just do not expect these guys (mostly, it's guys, although not exclusively) who are in the prime of their life to die so young. But it happens, I guess.
We all know about Chris Benoit. That, I believe, is in a category all it's own.
But the others are very surprising, as well.
Some, of course, were not really shocking. Andre the Giants, for example. A man that big, with that many health problems,it's just not that surprising, although sad. I remember the day that he died very well. It was January, 1993, and I was just starting college for the first time, and the Cowboys and the Bills were in the Super Bowl. And Gorilla Monsoon was not surprising, due to old age. Ditto with Captain Lou Albano, and "Classy" Freddie Blassie.
There is a list of the wrestlers below, towards the end of this blog entry.
When I was a child growing up, my family used to watch wrestling. There are names and faces that I remember far more than others. But wrestling was definitely a part of my Sunday mornings growing up. Many of the wrestlers from back then are still alive, and others, obviously, are now dead. I was stunned the first time that I heard that "Ravishing" Rick Rude was gone, and the same with Mr. Perfect. Just learned that Junkyard Dog is dead, as well as SD Jones. Those were guys that were prominent pretty much every Sunday morning, as was "The Macho Man" Randy Savage (although i did not know that "The Lovely Miss Elizabeth" had died, as well. Big John Studd is gone, and, of course, Andre. I still can remember that rivalry, with each promising to slam the other. Andre seemed to get the better of those matches.
There were others who are still around. Among everyone's favorites, there is always "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, and the Piper's Pit that he regularly hosted for a few years. Hulk Hogan was more of a specialty to see, perhaps on the occasional broadcasts of Saturday Night's Main Event (remember those?). There were other giants, such as King Kong Bundy, Kamala, and perhaps a few others that I am not remembering. Bob Backlund had been champion for a long time, but lost it to the Iran Sheik, who would later remain a bad guy, but change his identity to an Iraqi (the name escapes me, though). There was the Superfly Jimmy Snuka, and Don "The Magnificent" Moroco, who was one of my father's favorites, since he was amazing to hear talk. I can appreciate that better now since I am older, looking back on some of those old videos. Wrestling has exploded since, but it was a bit better back then, I think. We had everything back then. Andre the Giant was my favorite, but seeing him was a rare treat. We also hardly ever saw Hulk Hogan. But we had The Missing Link, The Ultimate Warrior, Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, and his big rivalry with Tito Santana ("Ariba!"). There was "The Model" Rick Martel, who would "splash a little arrogance (with his French-Canadian accent, he pronounced it harr-o-gunz)" on himself - the French-speaking guys all ended up as bad guys in the end. There was also Mr Wonderful, Paul Orndorff, and the Cowboy Bob Orton. Tony Atlas and Rocky Johnson, who is actually the father of "The Rock". Demolition and the Road Warriors. Nature Boy Rick Flair, and the King, Harley Race. Ken Patera, who had actually won a gold medal with the US Olympic team in real life, if memory serves me correctly. "Polish Power" Ivan Putsky, who was a mass of muscle. Nikolai Volkoff, the evil Soviet wrestler (who's real name is the very American sounding Nelson Scott Simpson). There was Irwin R. Scheister (IRS) who would claim everyone owed him money. Jake "The Snake" Roberts. Big Boss Man. The Honkey Tonk Man. Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake. Hacksaw Jim Duggan, who I always found quite annoying, actually. Hillbilly Jim, who I always liked. George "The Animal" Steele. Iron Mike Sharp. The Undertaker. "The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase, and his bodyguard, Virgil. And who could forget Jesse "The Body" Ventura, who would eventually become Governor of Minnesota, and then the host of the program "Conspiracy Theory" (I have seen a few episodes online), and renamed himself "The Mind". I actually think he is a pretty intelligent guy. Don't agree with everything that he has to say, but he clearly thinks about things more than many of those big, muscular guys tend to do.
One time, WWF Wrestling came to our town. It featured the Iran Sheik, and the big draw of the night was a match between Koko B. Ware and King Kong Bundy. Seemed like the whole town came out for that one, and when it was all over, everyone left home happy. It was what everyone on my homeroom class was talking about, and it seemed everyone had turned out to see it.
Ah, yes! Those were the days. Back then, wrestling was a big part of my life. I think that I had heard that wrestling was fake, but the drama every week felt real. There was excitement and anticipation when wrestling would offer the "feature match" at the end of each hour of programming. It was all very fascinating, and everyone (well, every male, anyway) seemed to like it and watch it. That included my entire family, father and grandfather included.
I can't say when I lost interest, but it definitely happened. Perhaps it was bit by bit. Not entirely sure. But there were story lines and supposedly huge matches already from the very late eighties that I don't remember, which means it must have happened right around then. There came a point when it all seemed rather ridiculous, and the fake quality not something I could get past any longer. Vince McMahon began to seem more and more creepy to me.
Within a few years, after no longer following wrestling, it would seem preposterous after a while. The manufactured nature of the drama seemed a lot more obvious, even as a teenager, than it had when I was just a kid, and could really get into the story lines. What made it even more difficult, of course, was no longer knowing some of the characters. There reached a point, I think around late 1988 or 1989, when I stopped cold turkey, and from that point onward, wrestling seemed foreign to me. I see it now, and if it seemed a bit over the top back in the eighties, it looks preposterous now. It seems almost like a joke.
My interest in wrestling pretty much died with the eighties. But, there are times when I reminisce about those characters and times, and find myself revisiting it by watching old videos on Youtube, and looking up some information online. It really does seem to me that it was better back then- a little more over the top and entertaining than it had been in the seventies, but not as ridiculously over the top as it has become since.
Many wrestlers died, yes. But many are, of course, still around.
I found this interesting website that tells the story of where many of them are now. Here is the link:
http://www.wwe.com/classics/wherearetheynow/where-are-they-now-hillbilly-jim
And here are some of the prominent names from wrestling in the eighties that have died (with the link for the information that I got this from down below):
Paul Bearer "Paul Bearer" (April 10, 1954 - March 5, 2013)
Jay Strongbow (October 4, 1928 - April 3, 2012)
Randy Savage (November 15, 1952 - May 20, 2011)
Giant Gonzalez (January 31, 1966 - September 22, 2010)
Lou Albano (July 29, 1933 - October 14, 2009)
S.D. Jones (March 30, 1945 - October 26, 2008)
Chris Benoit (May 21, 1967 - June 24, 2007) *Murdered his family before killing himself)
Bam Bam Bigelow (September 1, 1961 - January 19, 2007)
"Eathquake" John Tenta (June 22, 1963 - June 7, 2006)
Alfred Hayes (August 8, 1928 - July 21, 2005)
Road Warrior Hawk (September 12, 1957 - October 19, 2003)
"Classy" Freddie Blassie (February 8, 1918 - June 2, 2003)
Miss Elizabeth (November 19, 1960 - May 1, 2003)
"Mr Perfect" Curt Hennig (March 28, 1958 - February 10, 2003)
Davey Boy Smith (November 27, 1962 - May 18, 2002)
Yokozuna (October 2, 1966 - October 22, 2000)
Gorilla Monsoon (June 4, 1937 - October 6, 1999)
Owen Hart (May 7, 1965 - May 23, 1999)
"Ravishing" Rick Rude (December 7, 1958 - April 20, 1999)
The Junkyard Dog (December 13, 1952 - June 2, 1998)
Big John Studd (February 19, 1948 - March 20, 1995)
Andre the Giant (May 19, 1946 - January 27, 1993)
http://www.deadwrestlers.net/2000s.html
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