My Wrestling Fandom

The Early Years

The one question that I get asked all the time is, why do I watch wrestling? And most of the time I answer by saying, why do you watch Soap Operas, and in some cases, god awful, eye pain inducing. Reality TV. These were the replies that I would give to my Dad, and. Brother, way back in 1994, when I discovered WCW on ITV here in the UK, when it aired on a Saturday afternoon. I would get taunted for hours, because my brother thought that the A Team was a better show, and my dad would agree, but as for me, at the age of 7 years old, and my brother who was 11 at the time, how we preceived things was pretty simple, we looked at the things we liked with differant eyes, his hero was Mr T, and mine was an Icon. Sting. I loved his flamboyantcy, and his charisma, he had a nack for telling simple stories, at a time when the industry was in semi decent state. Vince Mcmahon had just won his battle against the U.S. WCW were one year away, from going head to head with the evil empire. And the mighty red and yellow tights were being worn again, to a positive start, that turned into a closing fad, as the industry changed. Even though we didn't have Sky TV, I'd like to think that I never missed out, because I had friends, who would lend me the videotapes of the previous weeks tv shows, and PPV's, as a kid, and even now as an adult. One of my all time favourite wrestlers is Bret The Hit Man Hart, his athletic ability, and wholesome nature, was just so endearing as a kid, and on the otherside, their was Hulk Hogan, even though nowadays I think that he's a reprohensible human being, but back then he was an idol to me, until one fateful Monday evening in 1996. I was at my friend Chris's house after school, and were watching The Great American Bash, and then it happened. Hogan turned heel, he betrayed his friends in WCW, by joining. Kevin Nash, and. Scott Hall forming the rebellious faction. The Nwo. Chris's mum couldn't stop the tears, and neither could my Mum and Dad, my brother taunted me mercifully about this, because some kid in his class stayed up to watch as the events unfolded, my Mum had to try and console a pissed off 9 year old, and all my Dad could say was. Get real Patrick, none of what you're watching is real, and as a 36 year old man, he's still saying this to me all these years later.

My Teen Years

As the years went on, my interests would evolve, my love for tv, and film, would become more prevelent, whilst heavy music played on a continuous rotation, bands like Linkin Park. Korn. Metallica, and. Slipknot, would always be playing at my house, to the point that it would piss off those around me. Wrestling was still a huge part of my life. The then WWF would go down in history, as the attitude era, would enlighten fans whilst causing controversy. WCW was starting to see a downward trajectory, that would last until the company eventually closed its doors on March 26th 2001. I found a love for the harder side of the business, when I discovered Terry Funk, to me Funk was a hardcore God, and to my mum, he was a sick, and unwell person, who would leather people with 2 by 4's of barbwire set on fire, his work in ECW is looked at as legendary, as his influence can still be felt today, he gave a company legitimacy at a time when it was needed, because the story of Mas Transit still lingered in the air, as the controversy refused to go away. The WWF would emmulate this style, showcasing more violent matches into their tv programming. By the time 1998 rolled around, this would become the normal state of affairs, as. Vince Mcmahon would battle with television networks, and the. FCC, over what wasn't acceptable on his shows. As a fan nowadays. I have mixed feelings about the attitude era, but I will never forget the memories. This was also a golden time for catchphrases, two of my favourite wrestlers all time are. The Rock, and. Stone Cold Steve Austin, and the phrases they coined, would go on to make the WWF millions, then, now, and forever. Their merch sales still put them in the ten top earners in the company, even till this day, and to say that as a 12 year old, that I loved it was an understatement.

Adult Me

Well as you can tell, not a lot has changed. I'm still a big Science Fiction and   comics fan, and my love for the wrestling industry has gone from, strength to strength, even if it has had to undergo some well needed changes, due to entitled men thinking it's ok to act like dirt bags. It hasn't killed my interest in what I love, because if you have a vision in life, then, no matter what happens you owe it to yourself to see it through, my big dream is to take this blog to Wrestlemania, akin to the likes of Whatculture. I want to be the guy who meets fans, at fan events, and hear your stories, because to me. That's what it's all about. We love anything fight related, It's in our dna, and you can't change that.