When I was about 10-11 years old, my bishop Paul Pasquini, and my dad, took Casey and I to the Oakland Coliseum to watch professional wrestling. I still remember the first night we attended a live wrestling event: November 26, 1984. The first match even: The Spoiler vs Bret Hart. The main event featured an 18-man battle royale for $25,000. Blackjack Mulligan ousted Big John Studd to win the match and the "prize".
Casey and I were hooked. We began a massive collection of wrestling action figures. We launched our very own wrestling league with these action figures, giving them nicknames and signature moves. We not only organized a wrestling league that we added to with each new purchase of the latest wrestling figure, but we made a wrestling magazine to go along with it. Of course, I should also mention that we avidly followed wrestling on TV every Saturday morning.
The wrestlers coming to Oakland the following month would be interviewed by "Mean" Gene Okerlund and they'd yell and scream about what they planned on doing to their opponent. Of course, Bishop Pasquini and my dad would get the tickets and we would faithfully attend the matches. We picked up a few friends along the way in those smoke-filled arenas. There were our buddies who ended up in fistfights that wound up spilling throughout an entire section of the arena when the matches ended that night. Guess they wanted to re-enact their favorite match or something. Or perhaps it was the drunk guy who's catchphrase for every wrestler he hated (particularly Frenchman, Rene Goulet) was, "Your heart pumps piss!" I still chuckle about that one every now and then. Wonder if he's still around.
Isn't it kind of odd that the bishop was just as big of a wrestling fan as Casey and me? I still laugh when I think about that. Not too many bishops were down with wrestling. Or probably will ever be. Bishop Pasquini was definitely one-of-a-kind!
I think Mary even joined us once or twice at the matches. We did this for about 2-3 years. Then it sort of petered out for us, I guess. I went once or twice in '90 and '91, but Casey was on a mission by then. He ended up going to more matches with his friend Kevin before he left for his mission to Costa Rica.
I lost interest when I headed to Ricks in '92, but stumbled upon wrestling when I got back from Philadelphia in '95. Wrestling was no longer on Saturday morning, but it was showing on Monday nights. It has gone on to become the most watched, regularly-scheduled program on cable TV in the United States for the past 13 years. I check it out on Mondays at 6pm on USA Network. It's my guilty pleasure. I know. I'm a nerd.
Pro wrestling hasn't been around the Bay Area for the past five years. I haven't been to a match longer than that. But tonight, for the first time in ages, I had a ticket to see the WWE. They lost a lawsuit with the World Wildlife Fund and long ago switched their name from the WWF (World Wrestling Federation) to World Wrestling Entertainment.
The champion is Triple H.
Sure, the wrestlers have had their share of concerns with drugs, just like every other major sport. You might have caught the horrible story about Chris Benoit in the news last summer when he snapped and killed his family. I suppose wrestling has been stained with its share of tragedies over the years.
But wrestling still provides a unique form of entertainment, and I'll have to say, inspiration. The WWE has partnered with the Make-a-Wish Foundation for more than 20 years. One superstar John Cena has granted 100 wishes up to date.
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) distinguished itself by exceptional public service in support of deployed service members in Iraq and Afghanistan. WWE Superstars regularly visit military bases and hospitals, including Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda Naval Hospital, to bolster the morale of our troops. Since 2003, the WWE has produced WWE’s Holiday Tribute to the Troops with WWE Superstars performing before troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2004, the USO of Metropolitan Washington presented WWE with the first ever “Legacy of Hope” award for its extensive support of our troops and the USO’s Operation Care Package program.
WWE is also a proud supporter of the National Guard’s ChalleNGe program which assists underprivileged youth obtain their GED or other technical trades.
So, there you have it. While it wasn't the most thrilling thing I've ever done in my life, it was like revisiting some fun times from days gone by. I doubt I'd be interested to go again, but this one last hurrah was worth it.
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