Your first memory of Pro Wrestling

[King Pitcos]

The first wrestling I watched was WrestleMania VII, my mate down the road had taped it and showed it to me. I don't really remember it, but I think I didn't particularly get it. But as Spring went on, I started collecting the cards with the blue borders and Hulk Hogan on the packet. Then we got cable in the summer and I started watching. My first specific show memory is of SummerSlam 1991, and the WWF magazine with Bulldog on the cover. I got it from Asda Small Heath, also the site of one of my most vivid wrestling memories. In early 1992, a games magazine had screenshots of Super WrestleMania on the SNES... AND THE WRESTLER SELECTION SCREEN HAD PHOTOS OF THE WRESTLERS!!!!!!!!!

 

I had never been more excited for anything ever.

[Alex Wright Mark]

The year was 1993, and I was at this older dudes who I had become friends with's house. He was a huge wrestling fan, but I didn't really get into it until 97.

 

He was watching the main event of WrestleMania IX between Bret Hart and Yokozuna. I had no idea who either were, so my first impressions of Bret Hart were that "He wore pink and had the last name Hart. That's well girly" and "Oooh he's a bit of a plumper" for Yokozuna.

 

So Mr Fuji threw salt in Hart's eyes while he had Yoko in the Sharpshooter, and Yoko would then proceeded to win the WWF Championship, which disappointed my mate and his mate (we didn't get on). Then, to my joy, Hulk Hogan had entered the ring to call shenanigans on what had just happened.

 

I knew of Hulk Hogan thanks to Suburban Commando and playing WWF Superstars on some girl's Game Boy in the park, and I was marking out. Mr Fuji challenged Hogan impromptu match for the WWF Title, and I knew he had it in the bag. He was a big movie star!

 

Then Hogan won the title, and my 7 year old self was over the moon. "Yes! Hulk Hogan won the belt! Woooooo!" I must have said. I don't remember. What I do remember was my mate and his mate saying "WHO CARES!?! WHO CARES IF HULK HOGAN WON THE TITLE!?" to me. I was flabbergasted. "But he was in Suburban Commando!" I replied, before they cut me off with another "Who cares!?". Years later, I would understand where they were coming from.

 

I fell out with that lad days later.

[pitseleh]

My older brother was already into it and I remember first getting familiar with the WWF when I used to play WWF Attitude with him. I thought Kane, Undertaker and Goldust looked like the coolest things ever. Real life superheros. I had no idea what a porn star was, but the ladies loved Val Venis, so he must of been cool too. Looking back, that game is fucking awful, but it certainly captured the characters that featured within the company at the time.
 

The first show I remember sitting through was No Way Out 2000. I remember watching it around my grandparent's house. My nan, who mistakenly thought I was the grandson who followed pro wrestling, put on the VHS of the show that was recorded the night before on. Being the timid kid I was, I just sat there and watched it. I remember thinking the Dudley Boys were the biggest dickheads going after injuring my beloved Mr. Ass with a lead pipe and I felt quite emotional over Cactus Jack's retirement, even if it was the first match I saw of Mick Foley. Not a bad event to start off with.

[Mr. Levity 84]

I was 10 years old, and my Mum used to take me along to her cleaning jobs during the school holidays.  Thankfully, the family she cleaned for had Sky TV, and I accidentally switched on to Sky Sports.  The channel was showing a replay of Wrestlemania X, and the match that was on when I changed the channel was the Razor vs. Shawn Ladder Match.  I'd never seen anything like it, and I was hooked from there on in.  I used to save my money to buy VHS tapes and finally managed to get Sky in 1996, just in time for WM12.

 

I'd never even heard of Wrestling before I saw that bout... but I've never looked back since.

[Surf Digby]

For me it was World of Sport. As a general rule, the TV didn't go on during the day, especially on a Saturday. For whatever reason (probably poor weather) one week I walked into the living room and wrestling was on the TV.

 

It was confusing at first, because they were in a boxing ring, but were doing pretty much the opposite of boxing. I distinctly remember one match were there was a big weight difference between the two, and I had an idea that if the mat was replaced with a mesh of ropes, then the lighter guy could hold on to them and it would stop him being thrown off when he was trying to pin the larger guy.

[herbie747]

Adrian Street on World of Sport - there was a music video. Not sure what age I was; 7 or 8, I think. The video was intriguing and awesome, and then he was a badass when his match started. Only saw a few mins.

I think this was it - what year was this?

 

The next time was my Dad tuning in to watch one of the Big Daddy vs Giant Haystacks matches, so I watched it too. Wasn't a fan.

 

First taste of WWF was actually WM3 - Adonis vs Piper. Must have been a re-run because Wrestlemania 4 was on a few months later and I was hooked from then on. For nostalgia reasons, it's still my favourite WM - I know every line of commentary I watched the recording so much & Savage was my favourite wrestler coming out of it.

[moofasa]

I think was 87 or 88, my parents were staying in a nice hotel and left me and my sister to watch TV. Just turned the channel to see the Big Bossman. It scared the shit out of me. I remember him pulling the guy up seemingly by his ears, had me wincing, [ mainly because my ears stuck out and one particular "friend" would pull on mine so I could relate) then after the match Bossman started beating him with the nightstick had never seen such brutal violence and turned it over quickly.

 

Bit off point but when I first started watching I'm sure I thought wrestling was invented in 1985 and started at Wrestlemania 1.

[Gordon_The_Gopher]

When I was 5-6 years old my brother came home from school with two colourful lumps of Spring loaded plastic. One adorned in yellow and red, the other orange with white stars. Those Hasbro figures of Hulk Hogan and Macho Man Randy Savage started it all for me. I didn't know what they were but I knew they were the greatest thing ever!!!

[air_raid]

My actual first memory is a crap story because I barely remember anything, so its not really a story. I was round a mate's house after karate waiting to be picked up and he had it on. I remember hardly anything except my old man picking me up and when I mentioned that Gareth had put the wrestling on, Raid Sr (a boxing fan) went off on a bit of a "that fake rubbish" tangent.

 

My first REAL memory was being round a different mate's house, and he had loads of the trading cards and a couple of Hasbros. I asked "Why do you watch that? Isn't it fake?" He passed me a cassette in a generic box, borrowed from his sister's video shop (Remember those? Dating myself) and simply said "Just watch it" showing remarkable restraint for an eight year old. I got the tape home, and it was WrestleMania VI.

 

I was engrossed almost immediately from Vince's "ULTIMATE CHALLENGE" spiel - listen to what he's saying! How could a small child NOT immediately think "This is a big deal" upon hearing that? By the time Demolition were making their entrance in the jam-packed SkyDome, I was hooked. The characters, the music, the way Gorilla and Jesse talked about every match like it really mattered. Earthquake's been sending people to hospital! That cunt Bad News Brown pulled Roddy Piper out of the Royal Rumble even though he was already out! The Harts have already challenged the winners of the tag title match! Speaking of the Harts, Bret counting along with the pin as he looked into the camera after him and Anvil splattered the Bolsheviks in 40 seconds instantly made him the coolest fucker on the face of the planet. I was livid that mother called me down for tea before the main event had started because I just didnt want to stop watching and next morning I was scart-to-scart copying that tape as soon as I was up. Or asking Papa Raid to do it for me at least.

 

Next time I was round Simon's I told him I had loved the wrestling. The next tape he lent me was Survivors 90, and I really could do you a small essay on how Bret's match on that tape made him my hero and solidified him as my favourite wrestler for most of the next ten years, but that's besides the point. So yeah, my earliest real memory of wrestling is a lad putting WrestleMania VI in my hand and saying "Just watch it." I'm glad I did.

[RIDDUM_N_STYLE]

My first memory was sitting on the living room floor, late in 1989 and flicking through the cable channels for something to watch to keep me occupied while my mum was attending to my then baby sister and came across something called WWF on a Sky channel and seeing this huge looking guy in yellow talking about saying prayers and taking vitamins and what he was going to do to his opponent at an upcoming show and instantly I was hooked. 27 years later I'm still a big wrestling fan and that Hulk-ing guy is still one of my heroes 

[Bellenda Carlisle]

A friend of my parents' told me there was a wrestling Spider-Man called Arachnaman, I'd never watched wrestling but I had to see him so I tuned in after American Gladiators. Arachnaman was cool and everything but as soon as I saw Sting I knew he was obviously the guy and I got behind him straight away.

 

[tiger_rick]

Mine was watching World of Sport with my Grandad in the mid 80s. I remember our routine more than the wrestling if I'm honest. We had a big train set that we'd build, then we'd go to the model shop and buy something to add to it (and get fish and chips on the way back). Then we'd add the new bit to our railway village, send the trains around the track about twice and my Grandad would say "Right, get it put away, the wrestling's on".

 

I wasn't in to Big Daddy much, I preferred the faster and smaller guys. When I discovered the WWF in 1988/89 just through a friend telling me about it and bringing his WM3 tape round, I loved Savage over Hogan. Guess I've always been a bit of a workrate pervert.

[andrew "the ref" coyne]

I had just moved house with my family, and whilst my Dad was sorting out a light fitting, I setup the TV and our brand new cable box.

 

The thing that flickered to life the minute I connected the cable box and flicked through a few channels, was coming across a WCW show in which Lex Luger was taking on some villain. 

 

I sat there transfixed as the righteous Luger was about to win his match courtesy of a massive flying forearm. Then due to some blatant heel cheating, Luger was pinned and lost the match.

 

Utterly devastated I turned to my father and said "they are going to check the replay? Arn't they?!"

I've now been involved in wrestling in some capacity for 15 years, and frankly, I miss that complete innocence I once had. 

[stevieg1980]

I was at first struggling to trace the dates and the shows as ITV's footage of WCW looking back seems disjointed and about 6 months behind but I remember recording Granada Soccer Night as Liverpool had beaten someone in the Football League in midweek. I keep thinking Forest 2-0 at home but that seems way too early.

 

Anyhow the tape kept going and after Soccer Night was the Hitman and Her (mmmm Michaela Strachan) and after that was WCW. Never seeing such a thing I was wowed seeing Flyin' Brian Pillman fly about and Brad Armstrong do his wonderful Russian Leg Sweep into a pin. The main event was Moondog Rex cheating against Terry Taylor through Barry Horowitz interfering and them double clothes lining Taylor with Rex's bone. Tommy Rich came out and a tag match was made for next week and I remember hoping Terry got his own back on that cheating Moondog.

 

I had to search for this footage. My memory had Taylor being Tommy Angel and Rich being Taylor. It was from WCW Pro October 20th 1990. Thank you Monsoon Classic.

 

 

Tag match from Main Event Nov 4th 1990

 

 

I was hooked. Every week after I recorded WCW. I only wished I had kept the videos. Forever WCW will be my first love I won't stop into I have every crappy bit of TV footage they ever did. I still miss it to this day.

[Project Nim]

My earliest memory would have been watching World of Sport on ITV as a nipper. I couldn't understand why the main good guy Big Daddy never seemed to wrestle chief villain Giant Haystacks.

 

One Saturday when I was about 10, ITV screened a tag match from the then WWF. This was my first watch of American wrestling and the contrast between it and English wrestling couldn't have been starker. This wasn't emanating from a dark town hall in Dewsbury, it was a well lit arena.

 

The lights, the colours, who's the man outside of the ring with the megaphone? I was mesmerised by what I saw, it was like a chimp from the deepest Borneo jungle being taken on the Waltzers, I'm amazed I didn't soil myself.

 

I always believed the match in question to have been between Hart Foundation and the Rockers, however Google informs me it was Strike Force winning the match rather than the latter duo. I didn't get to see any more WWF until a family friend started recording it for me off Sky for me shortly before Summerslam 91, from that point on, I've always been a fan.