The People's Elbow

It was just the other day that I was trying to write a story about how I learned to write or use some kind of writing technology. Obviously when I was learning to write I was a wee lad. So, thinking back to a certain practice that I used to enhance my ability to write brought back floods of memories of all kinds of nostalgic things that evolved alongside my writing education. The one that brought back the greatest and most intriguing stories were those of our modern day superheroes. The fantastic characters that I am referring to are those that make up the world of professional wrestling.

Immediately when I thought of this I mentioned to my housemates how great some of these old characters were. I (actually) thought that all 6 of them in the room would immediately start exchanging favorites. But to my dismay most had never even watched an episode of Raw/Smackdown/Nitro or any of the other primetime series associated with the WWE (stricken of its infamous WWF title be the World Wildlife Fund) or WCW. Thank the heavens for one of my cohorts, Zach, who blasted the shoulder shrugging silence with Ric Flair's trademark "Whoooooo!" It was then that the greatest superstars of sports entertainment were thrusted out of my memory's retirement home. The dos of us exchanged our favorite matches, our favorite pay-per-view specials, and even the routines and parties we had while watching these physical dramas. It was all for naught though when we realized that these were just memories and decided to move onto more important things. Like, what were we going to watch while we sat and recalled small anecdotes as they popped up.

A few days went by, the wrestling bug had passed and we had all but forgotten about our conversation a few days ago. Then like a savior sent from above, under the subscriptions category, there it was, glowing brighter than Sabel's blond flowing hair, was WWE 24/7. It was true. For a mere 8 dollars a month, four if the two of us split it, was a feature that allowed us to watch all our favorites, again!

The section was filled with, get this, Ric Flair's greatest speeches, three tag team championship matches featuring superstars from the mid 90s, and 1 episode each of the premier titles of the same years. The OnDemand feature also keeps viewers addicted by continuing the dramas that occur each week by adding the following weeks episode in succession. Monday Night Raw and WCW Nitro are my clear cut favorites of the era.

Suddenly the total joy, anxiety, nervousness, and all around hysteria that existed on each and every shows initiation rammed itself back into my heart. I found myself suddenly rooting for the likes of The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Triple H, Mankind, Cactus Jack, Dude Love, Jerry "The King" Lawler and a slew of all other amazing characters. Not only were the characters back from the dead but along with them came the notorious factions, a team of characters wrestling/fighting along side of each other.

Last weeks episode of "Raw" was originally aired on Sept. 22nd, 1997 and included the factions like The Nation of Domination whose members went on to become stars and even one became a legend. Farooq and Ahmed Johnson split and were mediocre individual stars. D-lo Brown went on to become a superstar and at one point held the Intercontinental Title Belt and European Champion Title Belt simultaneously. Kama Mustafa became one of the most comedic performers and enticed the ladies and fans with his signature slogan, "Pimpin' ain't easy!" and paraded around with a posse of sexy, barely dressed women while being referred to as The Godfather. And Rocky Maivia shot to superstardom in less than few years. Quickly he dropped his last name and performed as The Rock. The People's Champ (as he soon referred to himself) gained so much popularity that he could be listed as a legend in the sport because of his ability to instigate fans and opponents with his signature eye brow raise and finishing moves. Many other factions such as Degeneration X and The Hart Foundation made fans split their loyalties and created friendly rivalries within fanatics.

The characters and factions, although hilarious in their own right, are actually a stroke of marketing genius. Where most television shows appeal to certain demographic groups and others appeal to as many as possible, it is extremely difficult to have a character or plot that interests every group in the country. What the world of professional wrestling does is create characters that fit to almost any specific demographic that you could possibly think of. Hispanics (Rey Mysterio and co.), Southern bad boys (Stone Cold), hippies (Dude Love), Goths (The undertaker) preppy jocks (Shawn Michaels), Alabamans, Canadians, Brits, Muslims, anything and everything. I would guarantee that any viewer could find a character that fits them, appealing to nearly the entire world.

Though it is universally known that the action is staged, prearranged, and outcomes already determined before the ringing of the bell I cannot get over the awesome athleticism that these characters possess. The abuse these guys and gals take is tremendous even with the safety precautions taken. Teeth knocked out, implants bursted, bones broken and more common injuries of strains and pulls must be pronounced in the background of the shows. I used to watch the shows as if they were real and all characters really existed in the real world. Watching these shows now in my early adulthood has given me an even greater appreciation for the showmanship by character and the incredible, outrageous plots that these characters must play out to the last ear flick and pose from the moment they enter the arena until they resign for the night. No wonder many of these performers can make the transition from acting (The Rock and Hulk Hogan and others) so easily.

Because of this I resolve that there is no greater entertainment than fighting
to determine different championship titles with players that live on for ever, all while encased in a never-ending plot that with larger than life villains and heroins.


the squared circle