Memories of watching wrestling with your parents

[kidkris]

i remember watching wcw when i was about 9-10 and just fell in love with wrestling

it was on cartoon network and i just couldn't get enough it was propper wrestling.

then i was flicking through the channels one day and stumbled across wwf heat.

anyways i went to live back with my mum and she hated me watching it as it was too violent

i distinctly remember watching wwf Armageddon with the 6 man hell in the cell and my mum actually turned it off when big kish was getting his head molested against the cage

but when it became wwe mum couldn't get enough of it she took me to loads of events and kinda had weird crushes on the wrestlers. i remember meeting Shane McMahon and she got more exited than me

[Bellenda Carlisle]

When I used to watch WCW in the sitting room on a friday night my mum loved Kevin Nash, I'm pretty sure it's just because she fancied him though, she always said he looked like a big viking or lumberjack, she was also a big fan of Foley and thought he seemed so nice but she didn't like all the hardcore stuff he did, she thought he was too nice for it.

 

My dad always loved monster babyfaces, he loved Goldberg, and Batista, they're his 2 favourites, he also liked Eddie Guererro, Rey Mysterio and The Rock. He still watches it if I'm watching it at his place and he's around, he gets into the storylines sometimes (he loved the Y2J/Michaels feud) and the soppy old bugger even shed a few tears during Shawn Michaels' farewell speech. My old man also thinks Ric Flair is hilarious, another thing is that I told him what "stiff" means and he likes to use the term whenever he sees a match or spot that he deems to be "stiff"

[BurningBeard]

My best one is from a few months back. Me and my dad were sitting and I was watching wrestling and I believe Drew McIntyre was in the ring. He turns to me and says "why do all the wrestlers have such real sounding names these days? Is there no one with a name like The Big Bastard anymore?"

[Kenny McBride]

When I first got into American wrestling, my mum used to rail at it and tell me it was awful and she hated the violence and so on, and told me she wouldn't mind so much if I was watching "real wrestling." I told her it was a totally different sport and was really boring and I wasn't interested. She huffed and puffed and I just had to make use of the video when she wasn't around.

 

Every so often for the next few years, she would catch me watching some WWF (and later some ECW and FMW and other stuff that was even more offensive to her delicate sensibilities) and would again give me the speech about how she didn't like it and thought I ought to try watching more "real wrestling." Eventually I decided to properly argue back and, being somewhat smartened up by this point, I said "mum, real wrestling is awful. It's that really boring stuff in the Olympics. It's never on TV or anything. I couldn't watch it even if I wanted to."

 

"No!" she said. "I mean the real wrestling like the stuff that used to be on ITV, with Mick McManus and Jackie Pallo. That's real wrestling. I used to watch that and it was good, not like this rubbish you watch now."

[ColinBollocks]

I lost interest in wrestling for a few years until stumbling across King of the Ring where a certain bold headed, beer drinking, middle finger giving bad ass came into my life. From his first match me and my dad was hooked. Until the Austin match my dad was saying why are we watching this fake rubbish, but after seeing a true bad ass who did not care about anyone or anything my dad was the one wanting to keep watching. After Austin's 3:16 promo me and my dad were hooked as WWE fans all through the attitude era.

You sure? They only really started pushing Austin, as a legit threat/bad ass in September/October.

 

My Dad actually really liked the Attitude-era stuff. Whenever I'd stay over at his for the weekend we'd always watch Raw together. My little step brother started watching wrestling a couple of years back and my Dad was forced to watch it again, my Dad thinks it's crap now.

My Mum always used to laugh when it was on, although I do remember her once saying "The Rock looks alright with his clothes on" - I guess she doesn't dig men in their underwear, weirdo!

I know my Gran and Grandad liked the ITV stuff back in the day.

[The Maestro]

- My mum used to work in a mental health instituation (nuthouse) when she was younger. They had a wrestling show put on for the residents of the place with the likes of Fit Finlay there and Rollerball Rocco. Anyways, she entered the dressing room area where she found Rocco snorting up lines of coke. She was about to go up to him to tell him that he was due to wrestle, when he turned around and grabbed her boob so mumsy thumped him in the face. Rollerball Rocco grabbed my mother's boob. One day I plan to exact revenge on him by fingering one of his daughters.

 

- Also, once my mum totally ruined a Kurt Angle match once by observing that he had "the bum of a black woman". Thanks for that one mum.

 

- I remember my parents genuinely marking out the time when Austin was in the front of an ambulance and attacked Bret as he got put inside the back of it. Anytime either of them talk about wrstling with me, they always mention that episode of Raw. to be fair, it was a good 'un.

[Sexy Dad]

Yesterday I had Raw on in the living room and my Dad said 'so they're going to use them ladders?', I then discussed the MITB concept and my Dad asked whether it would still be scripted. I don't think he'll ever understand after so many years of explaining. I had Raw on a few years ago and the recently turned face Mark Henry was beating the shit out of Chris Jericho after he had been running his mouth. My Mum didn't understand how it was fair that a man as disgusting and big as Mark Henry could be in the ring at the same time as Y2J. That ladies and gentleman is why the heel should be the ugly one.

[Stylin_and_Profilin]

My dad would fill in with all the usual lines of "This is ridiculous, how can you watch this" and "You do know this if fake Steven, don't you?". Yet looking back he would never leave the room. Perhaps it was a morbid curiosity for him. He did totally change his tune whenever Bulldog or more so Hot Rod was on the TV and would always give it his full attention. Mum didn't say much either way, i think she just took it for what it was as.

 

However i do remember skipping forward to the Attitude Era when it was on SKY and they both were shocked by how much it had changed. Brood were doing a blood bath on someone and the Undertaker was floating around talking about sacrificing people and she commented if it was like that when i was a child then there is no chance i'd have been allowed to watch it.

[bAzTNM#1]

I remember Dadzie (RIP) getting very angry when Jericho debuted in 1999 for some strange reason - "Why do you watch this shit?!?! You gay or something?". He absolutely lost the plot, so I never did watch wrestling again with the folks.

[wolveswrestling]

Never actually sat down to watch wrestling with my parents, but my family as always followed it for years. My dad telling me the time count bartelli was unmasked by nagasaki. Even now into his 60's he still comes out with comments which can only come from watching wrestling.

[spotlightmagnet1]

My mum comes with me from time to time to watch Premier Promotions, and probably will this summer. She enjoys the live stuff, but watching things like WWE nowadays she always say 'I don't know anyone' or 'Hasn't Booker T got huge legs and a short body' (she's obessed with it)

 

My dad was an odd one, he didn't like it at first when I brought home videos and magazines, but I think he got into it gradually. I think the changing period was the Royal Rumble tape I got. He seemed to love that match, and to this day asks who won. He took me to live shows but usually something goes awry, like Phil Powers falling on his bad foot in a match. Dad was not happy. He talks about it mor these days though with people he knows. He always talks about a respect of the atheleticism. He also tells people that when he asked why I liked wrestling I answered back ' Well, why do you like Eastenders?' and Bret Hart from wrestling with the shadows line 'Everyone says you're a phony or you're a fake, no one ever says wow, you're one hell of an actor' Secretly, he loves it. When I watch it with him around he takes a vested interest and is always asking questions. A bit like me when I first got into rugby.

[Slapnut]

My dad has never shown any interest in wrestling whatsoever, except for Big Show vs. Mayweather which he asked me to tape. I don't think he ever ended up watching it mind.

 

My mam used to fancy The Rock too and would comment on it every time he was on TV.

[JV John Vollman]

I remember watching KOTR 99 (I think? Rock v Taker?) with my grandad.

I remember him telling me how the WWF made its money from gate receipts or something, he was probably talking nonsense after smashing a shit load of cider, but I was fascinated as a young buck.

 

My nan and grandad used to watch Raw every week during the Attitude era and me nan fancied the arse off Austin.

[JV John Vollman]

My dad ctually knows a fair bit about it just through me watching it throughout the years.

He picks me up from my mates after every PPV (he works as a taxi driver late) and just says 'I guess Cena won again?'

He's not often wrong.

[ciar]

My Mum hates wrestling full stop. My Dad remembers Austin fondly though. He was 'his favourite' (not that he was an avid fan). He used to Watch World of Sport on UTV in Ireland, too, and can recall certain names.

 

My Grandparents on my Mum's side were the ones that used to talk to me about World of Sport when I was little. The names they threw at me like The Royle Brothers, Mick McManus, Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks, Rollerball Rocco and Jackie Pallo were fascinating back in the day. This was before YouTube, when I thought I'd never see any of the stuff. It was like being read a fairytale or something. My Grandad used to deride the WWF stuff that'd be on on Heat and stuff. He called it 'kidology'. He always lety me watch it though, because it made me happy. Even when I was banned for 2 years solid for putting my sister in the Crippler Crossface (a wise move in hindsight), he'd always let me watch it at his house

 

My favourite parent/wrestling quote comes from my mates Dad. I was at my friends house watching Wrestlemania 25 and the Money in the Bank was on. My mates Dad walked in just as Mark Henry flashed on the screen and remarked: "Bloody hell... Booker T's let himself go". Genius.