WWE/WWF: '98-'00 - Part 1.

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(Disclaimer: The next few blogs might be very boring to alot of people, this is going to be a 3-part series on wrestling so for those of you who have no interest in it, have no fear, I'll blog about other things in the coming weeks)

Part 1.

Today, I thought it would be a good idea to have a blog about wrestling, more specifically WWE. I had forgot to put in my Autism blog that this is actually one of my obsessions, I never really thought of it as an obsession though until I noticed the ever-growing collection of VHS tapes and DVDs that I had and thought "Ok, you're a LITTLE obsessed." It's a big topic to cover, so I shall do it in 3 blog posts.

It's hard to say where it all began for me, I've always known about wrestling, I've always known of wrestlers like Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, but it never became an interest of mine until mid-1999. I don't think there's a particular reason that I started watching it, I just liked it.
At the time it was called WWF (World Wrestling Federation), but due to alot of legal hassle with the World Wildlife Fund, in 2002 they had to change their name to WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment). Personally, I'm all for charity, but the World Wildlife Fund are dicks. Just sayin'.

In 1999, I was 10 years old, alot of people (especially my teachers) said that I was too young to be watching such violent things, my mum never minded so I guess it was cool. At the time, no-one in my class (of 5 people, 9 tops) were into wrestling, so I was on my own with my obsession, unless you count my brother (which I don't, nor ever will).
I can count on one hand how many people that I have met in the last 11 years who have liked wrestling, it's a sad truth but not all that surprising. Here's why...

The Truth.

Professional Wrestling, to me, is like a soap opera. People have said it's "FAKE AND GAY!!" a bunch of times, it's understandable though. Sweaty men in tight pants getting hurt in the ring. Heh, it's almost laughable in a sense, but have you ever thought that perhaps it's not as "Fake" or "Gay" as most would believe?

Let's start with "Gay". To my recollection there have been only 3 people in the WWE that have come out as being attracted to men. One is bisexual (Orlando Jordan), one is very old (Pat Patterson) and the other is dead (Chris Kanyon). If it's not the actual homosexuality of the wrestlers themselves that puts you off, then perhaps it's the close contact...though if that's an issue, then that says something about you rather than wrestling.

"Fake". To address this, I have to start by saying that YES...the matches are predetermined and...YES they're choreographed. Call it acting if you will, it's like going to the theatre, the actors know their lines and they know the ending. Does that make it "Fake"? You can debate it 'till the cows come home, I personally couldn't care less.
The wrestlers DO get hurt, you try falling flat on your back onto what is essentially plywood. It hurts like hell, but they do it anyway. It's all about entertainment, pleasing the crowd...If it gives them and the audience an adrenaline rush then fuck it, go for it.

So yeah, wrestling for me is probrably the most exciting sport there is! There are so many gimmicks, tag teams, personalities, match types, it's endless. I've never took a break from wrestling, I personally don't "wrestle" - I used to, but it was just playfighting really, just two guys trying out moves like chokeslams and hitting each other with as many objects as possible. it was fun, but watching is more fun.

I used to collect all the toys, even had a ring with an entrance way, but I threw it all out at one point...I kinda regret that now. Lisa made me throw away my WWF Championship belt out once...We were cleaning out my room, here's how it went...

"Are you going to use it? If not then it's going!"

"Well, i'm not going to USE it, but..."

"Fine, then it's going in the bin!"

Yeah, she can be evil.

I didn't let her get to my videos though...oh no, she'll never throw those away, even when there isn't one VCR left in the world, I'll still keep hold of them. Believe it or not, I'm more proud of my video collection than I am of my guitar and that's saying something!!

The reason I called this blog "WWE/WWF: '98-'00" is because that is the era which I am most fond of..it's what we WWE fans like to call the "Attitude Era". It is largely what my video collection comprises of, which I shall talk more about in part 2.

I will always love wrestling. The product these days is slipping, but nevertheless, I have my videos to look back on and the future to look forward to. This blog is a great place to talk about hobbies and interests... that's what I made it for, heck, non-wrestling fans can still read this...it's still a big part of my life.

I know this was short, but as I said before, the next blog will contain information about my collection and some other interesting things that I think will appeal more to wrestling fans. I'm doing this so that in 10 years time, I can look back on it and be proud of the fact that I'm a complete geek. Anyway, as the one and only Michael Davies said: "Roll on Part 2"....well, it might be a couple of days but it'll be up, no worries.

'Till next time...