It. Was. Awesome.
A couple of years ago, when the WWE did some other shows in Chicago, which I live close to, my brother and I had the idea that he would fly in for the weekend and go to two shows together. It was lot of fun so when I saw that WWE announced a show last winter for the Spring in Chicago, we talked about it, and we agreed to make it happen.
The day after I told my mom about this, she said to me my dad wanted to come along with my brother and me. We were both a little surprised since my dad never seemed to show interest in professional wrestling. However, I was really excited about the idea of having time with my brother and my father. So we made it happen. This wag on be the same weekend as Ollie and Ethan’s dance recital (I'll write about this later), so we had another reason for them to come out and visit us.
So let’s slow down here and take a second to unpack an important piece of a puzzle: I am a fan of professional wrestling. I’m not into any watching any kind of sport, but I love wrestling. I listen to at least four to five hours of wrestling podcast a week. I follow wrestling news sites and even though I don’t a lot of time to watch right now, I’d love to be watching wrestling regualrly. I usually watch the big PPVs every month.
I remember as a young child being swept up in the popularity of Hulk Hogan and seeing some matches on TV, but I didn’t really follow it closely. I had a Hulk Hogan action figure, and was fascinated by his ability to rip his shirt off, which I tried a couple of times to my mom’s annoyance.
I was aware of professional wrestling as it boomed in the late 90s when I was in high school. No one I knew followed professional wrestling, but it was impossible to ignore it as it permeated pop culture during that time. The then WWF and WCW were deep in their “Monday Night Wars” people like Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock were cultural phenomena.
My first girlfriend in college, to my surprise, was really in professional wrestling. She was a big fan The Rock and also some of the women who were wrestling at that time Chyna and Lita. This was a time in the early 2000s when women in professional wrestling were being to be featured in more interesting matches that told stories about their strength and perseverance.
I really liked how these women wrestlers inspired my girlfriend to work out and be stronger in different ways. The Rock quickly became my favorite. His promos (interviews) were hilarious, and his storytelling in the ring was compelling and engaging. There was something about wanting him to win when he would be losing a match and a glorious feeling when he would make a comeback that was so much fun to watch.
I was also fascinated by superheroes growing up. I didn’t see myself as being physically strong or good at sports, so the idea that I could somehow become stronger was a wonderful fantasy. I dove deep into comic books and loved good vs. evil drama. Professional wrestling was like watching live-action superheroes. The difference was that it was in real-time, and when I went show, I could boo and cheer and be part of the drama.
I don’t mind if people aren’t professional wrestling fans. That’s fine; it’s no big deal, I find it annoying when people who aren’t fans of professional wrestling feel a need to bash it or justify to me why they don’t like it and why I shouldn’t. All the arguments against wrestling don’t hold any merit. Things being “real” aren’t issues regarding films and other art. There are flaws in wrestlers and promoters, but there are many flaws in NFL players and their owners.
Look, I’ve spent my entire being into things that people thought were dumb or that I shouldn’t be into. Let’s see, there is classical music, broadway music, superheroes (I was a fan of superheroes in a time when I was made fun of for liking Marvel heroes), marching band, boybands, and teaching.
This is why when Hell In A Cell started and the show started and I stood up and cheered with the entire crowd it was so special. In that space, in that time, it was all good that I was a professional wrestling fans. I looking over and seeing my brother and I dad sharing this moment with me was an awesome feeling.
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