Yep, I’m a dork. I’m willing to admit it. I’m willing to bet a bunch of you out there are dorks as well.
Why am I a dork? It’s quite simple really. I can’t get enough of the old school wrestling I keep seeing on TV. Tonight, I watched Curt Hennig, who you may know as Mr. Perfect, wrestle in a 1986 match. It’s crazy to think that he’s been dead for almost six years. His father, Larry “The Axe” Hennig was in attendance and spoke about how proud he was to see his son wrestle and can only imagine how he felt when Curt went on to be one of the sport’s top stars.
In the past few weeks, I’ve watched tons of classic matches from Stan Hansen, Shawn Michaels (his first match on a national stage), Nikita Koloff, Scott Norton, Larry Zbyszko and so many more.
It takes me back to those days 20 years ago before wrestling got totally out of hand. Nowadays, wrestling isn’t about the in ring work, it’s about the spectacle. I get that. People need to be entertained constantly and need something crazy happening. But back then, all you got was action when watching a wrestling match. Sure, there was plenty of work on the mic, but the real action happened in the squared circle.
These matches are great because of multiple things. One of those things is the crowd reaction. Today, all the fans want is to be seen on TV with their dumb signs. Back then, you could see the people in the audience get visibly offended and angry with the wrestlers. They would scream at the top of their lungs when the heels would take down their favorite stars. I mean, we all know it's fake, but these people couldn't care less. They wanted to see The Midnight Express (Dennis Condrey/Stan Lane and Bobby Eaton) go DOWN!
And where else can you see such in-ring psychology? The slow, methodical approach to beating your opponent, not just physically, but mentally as well. And watching the masters do it so long ago is a treat for any wrestling fan. Jake Roberts used Damien as an absolute mind F!
How often that you see an arm bar or an abdominal stretch used to end a match and the announcers selling it like it’s the best move in the world?
It’s cool to see those wrestlers before they became big stars too. Shawn Michaels had a mullet and was twice as big when he started in the business. Big Scott Hall looked like a huge redneck with a mullet and porn stash before he became Razor Ramon.
Quick story ... I was backstage at a wrestling event a few years ago while working for a radio station and saw a ton of legends including Triple H, Terry Taylor (the Red Rooster) and Arn Anderson. I didn't want to approach Arn because he probably would have knocked me out. I instead held up four fingers and when Arn looked over, he nodded his head with approval. The effing Enforcer!
Seeing these guys in action reminds me of how badass I thought they were back in the day. Here’s a list of guys who wrestled in the late 80’s and could kick your ass. Hell, these guys could probably kick your ass today if they wanted too.
1. Terry Szopinski AKA the Warlord. This guy is billed at 6’5” and 323 pounds and if you’ve ever seen him, the guy is the size of a horse. How badass is he? Kimbo Slice has used him as a bodyguard.
2. Michael Hegstrand AKA Road Warrior Hawk. Billed at 6’3” and 275 pounds, Hegstrand is a wrestling legend as part of the Road Warriors tag team. Hegstrand was a bouncer and power lifter before getting into wrestling and showed his awesome strength many times over, power lifting opponents over his head with ease. Who in their right mind is messing with a dude who wears spike shoulder pads to the ring?
3. Nelson Simpson AKA Nikita Koloff. Listed at 6’3” and 275 pounds when he began his career, Koloff was known as the “Russian Nightmare” and was an imposing force in the ring. Simpson, one of the sport’s biggest stars in the 80’s, was so devoted to his character that he legally changed his name to Nikita Koloff. At the height of his popularity, Koloff walked away while he cared for his girlfriend Mandy, who was dying from Hodgkin’s disease. Two words: Russian sickle!
4. Brian Adams AKA Crush from Demolition. 6’6” and 315 pounds. Adams burst onto the WWF scene and made a big impact with the tag team Demolition. He went on to be part of many tag teams and was even a bodyguard for the Macho Man before his death in 2007.
5. Ric Flair AKA the guy who’s held world title belts 25 times! To be the man, you’ve gotta beat the man and Flair was and will always be, the man. He could probably still kick your ass today. Seriously, the guy won like 254 world titles and is known the world over. Flair was a state wrestling champion and played football at the University of Minnesota on a scholarship before becoming a pro wrestler. The rest is history.
Others: Tully F’n Blanchard, Arn Anderson, the Barbarian, Road Warrior Animal, Sid Justice, Ravishing Rick Rude.
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