Wrestling

I was searching for garage sale items one day in my storage room and found a box of colourful wrestler action figures my son had collected when he was a kid. We had put them in a box and forgot about them obviously, since he’s 38 years old now. We had a laugh looking at those guys!

How many of you remember Ed Whalen on TV? “In the meantime, and in between time, that’s it for another edition of Stampede wrestling”! When we were growing up, Stampede Wrestling had the ‘stars’ who were puffed up, boastful wrestlers strutting around like banty roosters. To mention a few; The Great Gama, Tor Kamata, Stu Hart, Bret the Hitman Hart, Chris Benoit, Davey Boy Smith, and Andre the Giant. Then came the WWE stars. My personal favourite back then was not as popular as some of the others, but he was talented. ‘The Birdman’ came to the ring with a blue and yellow macaw named Frankie, both flapping and dancing before and after his matches. I think Koko B. Ware was his real name! Others were Sweet Daddy Zeke, Brutus Beefcake, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Jake the Snake Roberts, the colourful Macho Man Randy Savage, and a few years later came the famous Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin, John Cena and my #1 personal favourite, The Rock! “Can you smell what the Rock is cooking”?! The Rock will always be a star; his character is so multitalented (have you seen his movies?)

I’m sure there’s many more wrestlers you can think of too. We loved the drama, and the costumes. Just my opinion, but most of the wrestlers couldn’t act worth a hoot but it was a fun addition to our entertainment. However, they often made their body slams, elbow smashes, drop kicks, airplane spins, clothes lines, pile drivers, sleeper holds, and the judo chops look almost real. I’m sure they warned viewers “do not try this at home”

Behind the characters they created for themselves, are real working men, businessmen, educated men, and ordinary family men. I enjoyed the TV interviews with many of them, especially hearing the story of the Hart family from Calgary.

As kids we were inspired by Stampede Wrestling, and made our own wrestling ring. The loft in our barn had two steel cables which supported the high roof, and we used them as two sides of our wrestling ring! We imitated the best of the Stampede wrestlers. We even had tag team matches. We all took turns winning. Sometimes our friends joined in our fun. We mastered the lingo with “intestinal fortitude” and learned to boast and bellow like the wrestlers did. “No chancee, Mistah Whalen” (Tor Komata). There was no “jumping off the top rope” so nobody ever got hurt, and we had lots of fun. (My brothers may remember a different version).

I love Ray Stevens music video called “The Blue Cyclone”. In this very humorous video, he’s tired of being at home and needs to have a night out and blow off a little steam. His friend convinces him to go to a wrestling match with him. The star wrestler is The Blue Cyclone. Somewhere during the match, Ray Stevens friend throws his chair in the ring and it lands on The Blue Cyclone’s head and then the trouble starts. It’s a part 1 and part 2 video, make sure you google it all.

Today’s wrestlers (men and women) still strut their stuff, loudly and boasting “I’m the greatest” and to their opponents “you’re nobody and you’re going to lose” stirred up with dynamic loud music and lights and brilliant costumes. It’s all staged for entertainment, but wrestling has lost its charm for me and I haven’t watched for years. However, I sure enjoyed seeing the wrestling action figures again. To quote Macho Man Randy Savage “Oooh Yeah”!!