A Beautiful Love Story: How I got into Pro Wrestling
My origin of how I got into watching pro wrestling
For every story, there has to be a beginning. For every superhero, there was a origin. Before Batman, there was Bruce Wayne. Before Spider-Man, there was Peter Parker. Before Hulk Hogan, there was Terry Bollea. You get the point. Before, I became a BJJ practitioner and a huge wrestling fiend, I was just a kid with no social life, looking for a hobby. So where do I begin with loving pro wrestling?
At a young age, I was a little kid who had no friends and no social life, went to school, and played Nintendo 64 after hours like a typical 1990s boy. I used to be obsessed with playing Super Mario 64, Mario Kart, Banjo-Kazooie, Super Smash Bros and most of all WWF No Mercy, which is still regarded as the greatest pro wrestling game for the 64 ever. I used to play these games on routine, putting in hours and hours of playtime and hard effort. One day, my older brother caught me playing No Mercy and said pro wrestling is on, wanna watch it? Confused as I was, I thought he was yanking my chain because the 7-8 year old me thought it would be fictional but at the same time, sparked my curiosity. What would happen next?
I saw pro wrestling live on tv witnessing wrestlers like Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock and The Undertaker in real life, not a video game. I was completely shocked! I saw blood, women being beaten up, occasional swearing and my mother being absolutely horrified what me and my brother were watching, made us change the channel. Being upset at her and tried to cut a promo just like Dwayne Johnson did on tv. Let me just say, it landed me on timeout for a good while. I was so determined to watch pro wrestling live again and needed to find a way, to get back on it again.
One day, I saw a disc of all the WrestleManias from 1985 to 2000 in highlights. Everybody was doing something outdoors and of course, I was the only one indoors, I had the opportunity to watch pro wrestling after a while of no watching it. 8 year old me saw the likes of Andre the Giant, Roddy Piper, Hulk Hogan, Macho Man Randy Savage, The Ultimate Warrior, Bam Bam Bigelow, Shawn Michaels and of course, my favorite pro wrestler to study- Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart. The match that cemented my love pro wrestling was from WrestleMania 13 in 1997: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Bret Hart in a Submission match with UFC legend Ken Shamrock as the ref. It was in highlights but I was in complete awe by the imagery, the performances by both men, and the shot of Austin bleeding from his forehead, screaming in pain, refusing to submit has been imprinted in my head and made me go: HOLY SHIT!
In my estimation, this is a perfect wrestling match. I think fans often times lose sight about what workrate actually is and forget that, at its core, pro wrestling is theatrical storytelling in a sport. This match is the culmination of a heated issue between the grizzled vet Bret Hart who feels disrespected and disgusted at the direction the World Wrestling Federation has taken, and Steve Austin, the brash, foul mouthed rising star who'll fight anyone and embodies the new attitude in professional wrestling. The story of this match is beautiful violence that's at once messy and perfectly executed. Everyone knows the finish, but how we get there is masterclass storytelling from two of the best to ever do it. It has the most important double turn in pro wrestling history. 5 stars. 10 out of 10. Which ever metric you choose, this match stands as one of the finest in the history of the medium. This is what pro wrestling is all about and is still stands today- my favorite wrestling match of all time
That match made me a pro wrestling savant. It lead to me to so many things for me. It’s been my escape from troubles like depression, anxiety, seizures, and plenty of horrible shit I’ve seen in my life for many years. It holds a special place in my heart. It’s a love story to me. Its a romantic relationship to me. It has its agreements, disagreements, fights, tragedies, highlights, the good and the bad but at the end, its still with me at my side since the age of 5 when I started playing pro wrestling games. It’s the longest relationship I have been in, longer than few ex girlfriends combined at 25 years!
Now i’m at 30 years, I understand a lot more now, I appreciated the athletes for putting their time in to help us, get amazed by their passion, commitment and sacrificing their bodies for entertainment. I love learning about promotions, facts, stories, learning about pro wrestlers because its fun to learn. I have met over 65 pro wrestlers and still counting including my favorite Bret Hart, spread my story to them and help understand autism awareness. I still find it amazing to witness pro wrestlers in person and I, go holy shit they are actually human, to praise talent or say what’s up.
That’s why I call pro wrestling a wonderful masterpiece of art and a beautiful love story.