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September 23rd, 2020, 6:57 PM
#1
Your WWE history?
So, I've lurked on this forum for years, only really motivating my arse to post every so often - notwithstanding somehow winning the debate thing this year. . I've been re-watching the OSW review vids from the start, having a bit of a nostalgic trip and got me thinking about an idea for a thread to hear more about the posters I've read for years on here.
Tell me your WWE history. 3 questions.
- Why did you start watching?
- What are you into now?
- Has wrestling ever got you into trouble?
I'll go first
Why did I start?
Back in late 91/early 92, I think I'm right in saying that WWF was starting to take off in the UK, mainly due to Sky Sports covering it. As a Christmas present to the family, we got Sky TV in the winter of 91. I was 10 at the time and instantly hooked. First big event was Rumble 92 and who was I to know that would go down as an all-time classic. I fucking loved people like Jake the Snake, Macho Man, Ric Flair etc. Completely fell in love with the whole thing and became obsessed with it. Back then, some of the PPVs were on Sky Sports (which we had) and some on Sky Movies (which we didn't). My uncle, who was in his 70s, used to tape the big events and give them to me. I was absolutely fucking wired for Wrestlemania 8 and remember the agony of waiting for him to arrive with the VHS the next day. He was a bit senile and a total mark for the business, kayfabe was real to him, so we had mental fun watching and talking about stuff together. I started getting VHS's of old events for birthdays/Christmas and it was cool watching some of the stuff in and out of chronological order. I was a huge fan for the next 15 years or so.
What am I into now?
Pretty much nothing at the moment. I don't have the network. I'm really busy (like, unpleasantly busy) with work and don't have time to watch. I read the rajah reviews, watch YouTube highlights, follow stuff on Twitter and read the forum but I haven't watched anything since WM. To be honest, I can't get into the empty arena stuff all that much. A huge part of wrestling for me is the theatre, fan chants, pops etc.
Has WWE ever got me into trouble?
A few times. For the last few years up until recently I've fucked stuff up at work due to staying up all night to watch the big events. I love WM and the Rumble live and I've messed up presentations due to being shattered the next day.
The biggest one though was back in 2012. I was going through a divorce at the time and had my two boys part time. I was only just getting back into wrestling after not watching since 2005 or so and started watching it again on my own (bliss) and then getting my two young lads into it with me. Until this one time when my ex-wife called me to say my youngest son had been injured. She asked me if I knew why my eldest would have jumped off the couch and hit his brother whilst shouting "Money in the Bank" at the top of his voice? Erm…..No idea love, sorry.
So, that's me. How about you?
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September 23rd, 2020, 7:09 PM
#2
Wilfred’s ain’t all about the current, you clearly know your past. Be a man and defend the title!
On-topic, for me, started getting into it roughly 1991. Sky Sports Survivor Series 1991 when we first got Sky and it was halfway-decent. Remember watching that show back on VHS. Big brother was a fan but I ended up taking it further waaay beyond he did to the point of going to John Menzies for magazines and video tapes. He was a big fan of the Rock doing the eyebrow but he dropped off being a fan and I kept it on because I’m really a big kid. Still a fan to this day even if the product is shitter now lol.
Last edited by Badger; September 23rd, 2020 at 7:12 PM.
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September 23rd, 2020, 11:32 PM
#3
I have pretty regularly watched the WWWF, and later the WWE, since easily the mid 70's. My late father had a side job / hobby as a TV repairman. He had a workshop in the basement and at one point I recall counting the total number of TV's there at 74. Many were in various stages of disrepair - I recall having two on at the same time, watching one that didn't have sound, and getting sound out of the other but it had no picture. My dad used to tell my mom that he'd put rasslin' on because it helped him adjust the color / tint on the sets - a common problem back then with TV's was that the color would get out of adjustment - and people looked green. If you could fix the color to get flesh tone right, it was balanced properly. So watching rasslin' was a good test, because they showed guys in short trunks and/or no shirt, it was easy to adjust the color.
I recall by the time I got to jr high when he brought home an expensive device to repair - it was a video cassette recorder - and it cost over $2500 - a LOT of money back then for any electronic equipment, but it was broken and he had a reputation for being able to fix anything electronic. It was the size of a suitcase, and it was precious. The customer brought it to him in the beginning of the spring, and told him if he could fix it and get it back when he returned from vacation at the end of the summer it'd be great. My dad read all the schematics, replaced a small part and it was working within a day or two. So my dad hooked it up to a signal booster switch box and we soon had the output playing to 4 TVs down there. Of course, we recorded rasslin, to test the equipment, and I got to watch and re-watch Chief Jay Strongbow and Chief Peter Maivia battle the barefoot evil Jap Tag Champs - Prof Toru Tanaka and Mr. Fuji for the WWWF tag titles - but the match went off the air, and viewers never learned the outcome. I recall a fan in a tie hated Fuji /Tanaka so much, he jumped up to the apron to try to help Strongbow, and got pummeled just off camera, so that may have been why it ran long. A few weeks later we learned it was a time-limit draw so the evil champs retained)
Rasslin is a diversion, entertainment and storytelling. It hasn't gotten me in trouble nor would I expect it to.
Now, I regularly record SD and RAW, and occasionally if I remember, NXT. There's plenty to love about the WWE now, and I'd say Bayley's heel work has been remarkable must-see almost all year. On the men's side, Randy Orton has been killing it, and Keith Lee's past few months have been something the WWE has needed for a while. I do miss the fans in person but there's plenty I miss about today's world.
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September 24th, 2020, 9:21 AM
#4
The 'me' in 'team'
- Rep Power
- 1622493