You know when I was a kid I was big fan of wrestling. Old school wrestling of course. This was long before it became so corporate. The only way you could see it in the sixties was on Channel 47 which was a Spanish channel on UHF. You could only get two channels on UHF. 41 and 47. So you would maneuver the special antenna you needed to get Lucha Libre Professional on your TV on a Saturday Night.
Then you would see the star wrestlers that Vince McMahon's father controlled in his wrestling company. Pedro Morales. Chief Jay Strongbow. Haystacks Calhoun. Ernie the Cat Ladd. Gorilla Monsoon. The Fabulous Moolah. And of course the living legend, Bruno Sammartino. We didn't have any money to go to the rasslin show in the Garden so that was the only thing you got to see. And bullshit about with your friends when you went to the schoolyard.
Anyway Vince McMahon took it over from his father and really made a big deal out of it. Hulk Hogan and Wrestlemania One put it over the top and rock stars like Cindy Lauper and Madonna got involved and the networks saw an opportunity and it was put all over cable TV and pay per view. And it all got really boring.
You see the same battles and "gags" were repeated over and over again. The villains pounded their chests and spouted nonsense like the Iron Sheik would when he would diss America during the hostage crises. The good guys piled in and started to fight and the crowd went crazy. But it was the same old, same old. Out sized characters fighting epic battles over nonsense. It gets really boring watching the same thing over and over again.
Now don't get me wrong. There is still an audience for this stuff. It just doesn't include me. I guess you can say I out grew it. I recognize that it is slick entertainment and makes a lot of dough for some people. And you should enjoy it if you want to. I have moved on. I am nostalgic about it and might flip the dail and watch for a few minutes. But I like new stuff that amuses me. If you know what I mean.
10 comments:
Wrestling is soap operas for guys. It's scripted events being passed off as real life. Its fans are passionate about those predetermined story lines, on a much deeper plane than they are about the events in their own lives. Crazy.
And watching wrestling on 41 and 47 with the static and the wavy lines and the bands that rose from the bottom to the top and rose from the bottom to the top and rose gave it that yo no say.
Well it is an escape. You can yell and scream and let off steam.
It is paticularly popular with young kids and the less "gifted" if you know what I mean. Reminds of a lot of other stuff that is popular these days.
I know ricpic was checking out Celia Cruz on some of those salsa shows back in the day.
Speaking of the less gifted: the never ending never changing beat of most Afro-Cuban music used to drive me nuts when I was a kid. How do they stand it? It's so boring. It drives me nuts so why doesn't it drive them nuts? In other words I was so young that I hadn't made the leap to the understanding that the less gifted don't have the need for interesting (as opposed to repetitive) stimulation.
It takes a long time to grow up.
41 and 47 were godsends to young masturbators back then.
The thing is you have to find a young latin lady who would interpt that beat as she grinds herself against you on the hot and sweaty dancefloor as you bodies more to the repitive almost hypnotic beat.
You see you just needed a "wise Latina woman" to help you man.
"41 and 47 were godsends to young masturbators back then."
Amen.
I grew up in the wasteland but I could buy Playboy when I was 12 and I did.
Bobo Brazil and Dick the Bruiser.
Best ever.
Out here in the sticks, on the regular network channels (we only had 2 channels).
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