Rock 'n' Wrestling: Where It All Began

I do not remember when exactly I started watching wrestling; that is one of those childhood memories lost in time. There is only a vague memory of my friend Kevin’s older brother Andrew telling me about a guy named Hulk Hogan one day. Andrew described Hulk as a real-life superhero to kids everywhere, destroying foes like the Iron Sheik and Big John Studd. He was the champion of the world in a fighting sport that sounded like it was a lot more fun to watch than boxing was—it was professional wrestling and it aired on TV every weekend in between Saturday morning cartoons. Cyndi Lauper was even involved, managing the career of women’s world champion Wendi Richter! I HAD to see this myself, so I figured out what time it was on and became a fan immediately. I tuned in every weekend hoping to see Hulk Hogan or his archenemy Rowdy Roddy Piper and while they usually did not appear, I saw a host of other wrestlers who represented different degrees of good and bad instead. Each of them entered the ring and punished their opponents with complicated holds and maneuvers that could be quite painful when applied. They would also grant interviews, in which they would talk to a balding announcer named Mean Gene Okerlund about what they would do against a more formidable foe in an upcoming event at a nearby arena. Mean Gene would say “DON’T YOU DARE MISS IT!” regarding this battle of the titans and go to commercial as any one of a number of current pop favorites played.

My parents had no issue with my wrestling fandom; they had watched Bruno Sammartino as the perennial world champion on Pittsburgh’s Studio Wrestling as children themselves. They probably thought it was a passing phase as many things are in a kid’s life. Wrestling was a big deal in popular culture in the mid ‘80s. Hulk Hogan was a mainstream celebrity, appearing in Rocky III, The A-Team, and on Saturday Night Live. He rubbed elbows with Cyndi Lauper, Mr. T, and even Joan Rivers! His appeal to kids was obvious, so it was natural that I would eventually hear about him and get on the bandwagon. However, my mom raised the stakes when she brought home an actual book about professional wrestling—The Pictorial History of Wrestling.

Mom was simply encouraging me

to read, but The Pictorial History of Wrestling quickly became my bible for all things concerning the True Sport of Kings. Boxing writer Bert Sugar summed up each wrestler’s career in brief but informative fashion while George Napolitano provided effective visual aid with excellent photography. Professional wrestling was indeed a sport of kings and gladiators, where men (and some women) fought for glory and fame, championships, money, respect, and right and wrong. They battled through the blood, sweat, and tears as if their lives were on the line. Sugar and Napolitano’s book made wrestling matter to me. I learned something new every time I flipped through its pages. Although the World Wrestling Federation was “what the world is watching,” there was an entire world of professional wrestling that existed outside of the WWF! Pro wrestling had leagues just like baseball with their own champions. Hulk Hogan was only the WWF’s world champion; there were also guys named Ric Flair and Nick Bockwinkel who held those titles in the NWA and the AWA. I learned about other wrestlers who did not appear on WWF television, as well as some of the legends who built the sport like Lou Thesz, Bruno Sammartino, and Buddy Rogers. Japan made everything else, so of course they made wrestlers too—Antonio Inoki was the top dog who had beaten Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, and even tussled with Muhammad Ali! This was all very intriguing stuff for a kid who was all of eight years old.

Soon, I saw that both the NWA and AWA had weekend timeslots on our local affiliate stations and was able to see what they offered for pro wrestling. My Saturday morning cartoon schedule now centered itself around what time the Big Three’s shows were on the air. We did not have a cable TV subscription, so I was unable to see promotions like World Class and the UWF. I wanted to know what was going on with them, so I pestered adults I knew to buy me magazines like Pro Wrestling Illustrated, Inside Wrestling, Wrestling World, and Wrestling Power to supplement my subscription to WWF Magazine. What was supposed to be a passing phase had become a legitimate fandom, if not an obsession of sorts.

The Pictorial History of Wrestling continued to be my primary reference source for history regarding the squared circle for a long time, until I finally got online and started learning about an entirely different side of “the business” altogether. Those who practiced the fine art of professional wrestling now exposed the industry’s secrets far beyond anyone simply expecting me to take them at face value when they told me the sport "wasn't real.” Although I was unhappy about some of these revelations (“What do you mean, Ivan Koloff’s not really Russian?”), other factoids and anecdotes I read about only compounded my fandom.

Nothing had diminished my love of watching televised pro wrestling and I think it all goes back to that hardcover book my mom brought home after work one night in 1986. 

I still have The Pictorial History of Wrestling too, although I admittedly did not take very good care of it throughout my childhood. However, I actually found another copy in much better condition in a bookstore window at random one day. This copy now sits on my bookshelf, with its dust jacket intact and no little kid crayon scribblings colorizing George Napolitano’s amazing black and white photos. I was very happy for the upgrade; my parents were right when they told me I would regret basically destroying the book when I was a little kid. Finding this new copy finally corrects that error over thirty years later. I only wish that my mom and dad were still here to share in that joy with me. Today would have been my mother's 69th birthday.

Stan Hansen Meets Verne Gagne

This photo of Stan Hansen and Verne Gagne is pretty funny when you think about the stories from behind the scenes about the big cowboy’s reign as AWA world champion. Hansen made most of his money wrestling for All Japan, where he was one of their top American wrestlers up until his retirement in 2001. Wrestling insiders were well aware of that fact and probably wondered what Verne was thinking having his promotion’s world title around the waist of a man whose loyalty was to a Japanese company. You might guess that this arrangement did not end well. Hansen refused to lose the belt to Nick Bockwinkel and was subsequently stripped of the title. Bockwinkel was awarded the championship by default, but Hansen had walked out of the AWA and began defending the title in Japan. He finally sent the belt back after the AWA threatened legal action, but included a final “fuck you” to Verne by running it over with his truck! Nick Bockwinkel said on WWE’s Spectacular Legacy of the AWA DVD that the mud tracks were still embedded in the belt and that the front plate had been crushed under the truck’s weight!

20 Years Ago Today at Mission Records

Look at that lineup! Imagine those three bands on a hot summer afternoon in a tiny room like Mission Records! I don't think I need to tell you that this show was amazing! This was one of LUDICRA's earliest shows.

20 Years Ago Today at 924 Gilman Street

This is quite a solid lineup on paper. Unfortunately, every band canceled except for DAMAD and BRAINBLOODVOLUME. GOOD CLEAN FUN was the most infuriating cancellation. They dropped off the show at the last minute, opting to play in San Francisco with CAVE IN and the NERVE AGENTS that night instead. Of course, this took place after they had made a big deal out of begging Gilman Street and Ken Sanderson to be included on the show. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? and CRISPUS ATTUCKS wound up filling in and that was fine, but how great would this show have been had everyone come through?

Full Circle With The Born Uglys

Greg Valencia had certainly left his mark on the East Bay punk scene as the guitarist for GRIMPLE, ELDOPA, and WATCH THEM DIE. His time here was ending around 2009, as he was due to move back to his hometown of Santa Fe. However, Greg had one more record for the East Bay—the BORN UGLYS 7-inch. WORD SALAD bassist Dutch Worthington and drummer Jason Willer of ALARIC pitched in to give Greg a proper send-off. This record is a nice return to the catchy, melodic punk sounds that made GRIMPLE’s Up Your Ass album an East Bay classic. Three originals and an obscure LOGICAL NONSENSE cover that leave you wanting more, especially during Greg’s finest “throat full of glass” moments.

SEE ALSO: Grimple, Eldopa, Watch Them Die, Word Salad, the Enemies, Cross Stitched Eyes, Alaric, Charger.

Movie Review: Red Heat (1988)

DIRECTOR: Walter Hill. CAST: Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Belushi, Peter Boyle, Ed O’Ross, Larry Fishburne, Gina Gershon, Richard Bright, Michael Hagerty, Oleg Vidov, Savely Kramarov, Gabor Koncz, Sven-Ole Thorsen.

Underrated Arnold fare; I wish people gave Red Heat more props when remembering Schwarzenegger’s ‘80s action output. I suppose the mismatched cop story had become a cliché by 1988, but it still works in director Walter Hill’s hands. Arnie is the Russian cop sent to the US to extradite a drug dealer on the lam from killing his partner. James Belushi is the smartass Chicago cop assigned to drive him around, but gets involved when the drug dealer kills his partner too. They tear through the streets of Chicago, comparing proper policing methods and getting in trouble with their superiors before concluding by playing a game of “chicken” with two Greyhound buses. Schwarzenegger & Belushi end the Cold War when they develop a mutual respect and realize that they can work together despite their cultural differences. Although it is not as over the top action-packed as one might want it to be, Hill’s direction keeps Red Heat at a fast ‘n’ fun pace much like his earlier 48 HRS.

Movie Review: The Driller Killer (1979)

DIRECTOR: Abel Ferrara. CAST: Abel Ferrara, Carolyn Marz, Baybi Day, Harry Schultz, Alan Wynroth.
The Driller Killer was Abel Ferrara’s “mainstream” directorial debut; it is like the punk rock answer to both Taxi Driver and Repulsion. Reno Miller’s life is rapidly falling apart. He is broke and unable to finish a commissioned painting that will keep the phone connected and pay the rent on his East Village apartment. His girlfriend has taken more of an interest in their junkie punk girl roommate than him lately. There is also the punk band living in the apartment directly below Reno’s who practice their abysmal racket at all hours of the day and night. His peace of mind finally explodes after the ROOSTERS subject him to a particularly shambolic live set at Max’s Kansas City. He has been having violent recurring dreams about murdering people with a power drill, which becomes a reality when he acquires a portable battery and runs through the streets of New York attacking and killing random homeless people. Reno’s drill works its gory magic on people more significant in his life before long. The Driller Killer is a raw, seedy depiction of a mind going horribly wrong in an urban hell; I recommend watching it as a double feature with William Lustig’s Maniac. English authorities banned it for fifteen years after moral puritan groups labeled it a “video nasty,” inspiring punk bands like the DAMNED, DISORDER, and the NEKROMANTIX to reference it in song.

Movie Review: Repulsion (1965)

DIRECTOR: Roman Polanski. CAST: Catherine Deneuve, Ian Hendry, John Fraser, Yvonne Furneaux, Patrick Wymark, Renee Houston, Valerie Taylor.
Roman Polanski’s first English-language film remains an effective look at a young woman’s descent into madness. Carol LeDoux is an attractive young lady with some deep-seated psychological issues related to men. When left to her own devices, Carol becomes isolated and sinks deeper and deeper into her paranoia until it suffocates her. Her walls begin to crumble in her imagination, leading to multiple hallucinations of a shadowy rapist breaking into her bedroom. Fantasy and reality bleeds together, in which nothing good can come of invading Carol’s space. Repulsion is not a film that you watch casually with your drunken friends; it demands your undivided attention so you can become fully wrapped up in Carol’s mental decay and feeling her claustrophobia. Onetime Chanel No. 5 model Catherine Deneuve owns this film as the doomed Carol LeDoux, making us go through the ordeal with her and understand why she has bludgeoned a would-be suitor to death with a candleholder. Most importantly, she understands something that most loudmouths often forget: that silence can often be the most frightening sound imaginable.

Jerry Lawler: Wimp Buster

Who you gonna call? WIMP BUSTERS! Jerry "The King" Lawler sings "Wimp Busters" over the instrumental track to Ray Parker Jr's Ghostbusters theme song! Lawler had been waging war with Jimmy Hart's First Family faction, in which he frequently busted Jimmy right in the Mouth of the South. This video featured some of the King's best busts of the onetime GENTRYS vocalist turned wrestling manager, showing that Lawler ain't afraid of no wimps!

Movie Review: Gremlins (1984)

DIRECTOR: Joe Dante. CAST: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Frances Lee McCain, Corey Feldman, Keye Luke, John Louie, Dick Miller, Jackie Joseph, Polly Holliday, Judge Reinhold, Edward Andrews, Glynn Turman, Belinda Balaski, Scott Brady, Jonathan Banks, Harry Carey, Jr., Kenny Davis, Steven Spielberg, Jim McKrell, Jerry Goldsmith, William Schallert, Chuck Jones, Kenneth Tobey.
Many kids of the ‘80s can point to Gremlins as their first “scary” movie; it is quintessential suburban horror that helped introduce the PG-13 rating for movies that were too violent or intense for children, but not enough to justify an R rating. Gremlins is full of homages and sendups of old movies and Christmas consumerism; it still works as a funny parody of ‘50s horror/sci-fi directed with a B-movie sensibility and written with a sick sense of humor a la MAD magazine. Dad wants to bring something unique home to his son for Christmas and finds an exotic new pet that will do the trick. This cute little critter comes with some responsibility though—no exposure to sunlight or water and definitely no food after midnight. What happens next is a result of two of those guidelines being broken and dozens of tiny mean-spirited monsters lay siege to a picturesque upstate New York town on Christmas Eve. Gremlins inspired a number of imitators—Critters, Ghoulies, and Munchies to name a few—and while some of them are good, none has had the impact on pop culture like this one. Although it is not actually a Christmas movie—it was inexplicably released in the summer—Gremlins will continue to be holiday viewing for years to come.

The Original Sheik

Today would have been The Sheik's 94th birthday! I'd like to see my friends at the Goblinko Megamall reproduce this for their next line of wrestling buttons! You would wear a Sheik button, wouldn't you?

Movie Review: Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

DIRECTOR: Sergio Leone. CAST: Robert De Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern, Treat Williams, Tuesday Weld, Burt Young, Joe Pesci, William Forsythe, James Hayden, Danny Aiello, Larry Rapp.
Sergio Leone’s tribute to the classic American gangster epic meanders at times, but is ultimately a unique film for those who can endure its near four-hour length. Once Upon a Time in America is one of those movies that require your attention; it is not something you put on in the background while updating your social media status. This story ostensibly covers a group of street urchins rising to the top of the Jewish mafia food chain in the Prohibition era, but is more about one man and the complicated choices that he makes during his long life. His being a gangster is simply the backdrop here. Once Upon a Time in America could have been about any elderly man reflecting on a life of mistakes and potential wasted in his pursuit of the American Dream. Although it is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, I recommend sitting down and getting lost in this tale. Leone’s final cinematic offering may not be perfect, but the photography and art direction makes it a positively gorgeous film for film lovers.