What or who got you into wrestling?

[Mikeymike83]

For me, It was some time during spring 1991, so I'd have been 7. My Aunt and Uncle lived a good distance away. So when we would visit, it'd tend to be stopping over for a few nights. We'd been there a couple of hours at this point, my cousins were out playing with school friends. To keep me occupied, my uncle put on a video which was part of a collection. Was intrigued by the Roman numerals on the sleeves. Settled on the third 'volume' , by the time we got to the Bundy/Jim/midgets match. I was hooked. People can recount Hogan, Warrior or Savage getting them sold on wrestling, but for me I was mesmerized by those individuals. Shortly after watching WrestleMania III, my auntie brought down the Hasbro's and ring. I was hooked on giving the figures a '360' outta the ring (cheers Gorilla, for ages I thought that was the name for that move and not a clothesline!). 

As the months went on, I had no way to expand on this phenomenon until another auntie recorded several episodes of All American Wrestling for me. Now, I truly was hooked on Warrior, Savage and Perfect. My first Hasbro was Greg the twatting Hammer Valentine and jumping Ultimate Warrior. For that years birthday I was bought the ring (which came with bearhug Hogan), Randy Savage and Texas Tornado. With birthday money, I went out and bought Perfect, LOD, Nasty Boys, Bushwhackers, followed those up with my first VHS, called something like Grudges, Grunts and Gripes.

A couple of months later, I was heading to Sheffield with my Dad to watch WWF live and a main event of Ric Flair and Randy Savage. 

Fondest of memories...

[IANdrewDiceClay]

11 hours ago, King Pitcos said:

My best mate had Sky and collected the WWF cards, that was what got me into it.

The WWF cards are exactly why I got into wrestling. I used to watch Rock n Wrestling on CITV, but that was as appealing as wanting to see Fred Flintstone in the town centre. It wasnt until my mate had all them cards that it looked so tempting. Our video shop had loads in, but since Hulk Hogan was the only one I knew (didnt even know it was called WWF really), I asked him if he had any "Hulk Hogan films." And he gave me No Holds Barred. I remember my Dad saying he'd get me the proper one the day after sitting through that shite for 90 minutes. The first video we rented was SummerSlam 89. Which had Zeus in it as well, so I must have thought he was like Ric Flair or something.

I remember there was about a fortnight period where my Dad and brother rented a video every night of the WWF stuff. All the SummerSlams, the Royal Rumbles, Survivor Series. Never gave much of a toss about WrestleMania in all honesty. They werent half as entertaining. My brother bought me loads of figures as well. People used to sell them in the paper. Mad to think now, but he got Andre and Akeem along with Demolition, one Nasty Boy and 5 or 6 others for about a fiver. Andre and Akeem were impossible to find in the town.

Everything was WWF for me back then. I was into Turtles, Batman and Ghostbusters, but the WWF had everything. Cards, stickers, figures, computer games, magazines, comics, an arcade, a cartoon, films and you could see them live. Real people, not blokes with foam heads on. Everything a kid that you could possibly be into, the WWF had you covered.

[ReturnOfTheMack]

It was the late 80s or early 90s. I had seen WOS on my grand TV, but at my aunties house I saw a WCW event where a tag team with golden pistols on their trunks had a match. I have no idea who won, but I remember it being WCW very clearly (or at least my cousin said it was as their uncle had taped and labelled it)

 

Consciously my  first memory of being a fan was watching a Bulldogs match. I dont remember who against, but I remember loving Dynamite Kid jumping from the top turn buckle.

Edited December 2, 2019 by ReturnOfTheMack

[Callum1993]

I got into wrestling when I was maybe 4 or 5? I had two uncles one of which being our very own @Silky Kisser who were huge fans. I started off by seeing the odd match on video tape(First match I distinctly remember was The Undertaker and Kama in a Casket match on an In Your House VHS). There were also a load of Hasbro figures around in my Nan’s from the late 80’s which got me into wrestling even more. The first show I can remember watching regularly was the WCW show on Channel 5(I think) on a Friday evening. 

[The Dart]

My memory plays tricks with me because I have a very strong memory of walking into the living room and both my older brothers were watching Wrestlemania 7 and I had no idea what wrestling was and I sat down and watched it with them.

But I also have a memory of kids trading the cards and stickers at school and me not knowing what they were.  I specifically remember someone having an Ultimate Warrior card and being amazed by it.

I think both those things probably happened at around the same time, probably the cards first, not giving it much thought afterwards and then walking in on my brothers, putting it together that this was what those cards were for and going from there.  Specifically the match I walked in on was Nasty Boys vs Hart Foundation, but I do seem to remember The Undertaker's match really being the one that caught by attention.

[BomberPat]

I have a very clear memory of buying a Legion of Doom pin badge at a jumble sale at the village hall in maybe '92/'93?, and I'm pretty sure I wasn't anything more than notionally aware of the WWF before that. Not long after, we got Sky, and I must have just caught bits and pieces here and there, and was watching reasonably regularly by '94/'95, with early favourites being Duke Droese and Bret Hart. I had a vivid memory of Bull Nakano's look, and of "The Undertaker" being managed by Ted DiBiase rather than Paul Bearer, so that would put those vague early memories around the build to Summerslam '94. I probably never saw a PPV, and probably not even RAW or Superstars, just highlight shows. My obsession with wrestling as an idea was completely unrelated to the probably very small amount of content I actually watched - I think for me it fell in line with Power Rangers and seeing the "real" Mortal Kombat characters showing up on Gamesmaster as a sort of real life superhero thing.

I don't ever really remember seeing Hogan wrestle as a kid, as I never watched WCW back then, and by the time I was properly following the WWF, Hogan had jumped ship. But he was still enough of a pop culture figure for me to know who he was. Because my old hand-me-down Beano annuals referenced Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks quite often, I sort of assumed that other wrestling outside of the WWF existed, and that Hogan, Daddy and Haystacks all wrestled there.

My older brother and my dad hated wrestling, and while I remember playing wrestling with my twin brother - basically making up characters and then fighting on top of a bunkbed - I don't really recall him having had as much interest in it as me at the time. I don't think I ever owned any wrestling action figures or videos.

 

I fell out of watching it probably around mid-'97 at the latest - I remember seeing replays of Shawn Michaels superkicking Bret Hart in his wheel chair, and remember being really freaked out by early Goldust promos. I gave up on it when my brother constantly telling me it was fake properly sank in, and didn't start watching again until mid-2000.

[HarmonicGenerator]

First memories are Hasbros. Ultimate Warrior, Hulk Hogan, Bushwhackers. I don't think they got me into wrestling, because I don't recall watching it at all, but I did have the ring with the "Bbbbreak it up!" soundbox so I must have known they were wrestlers rather than Mighty Max characters or something. Side-note: greatest disappointment in wrestling is finding out refs don't say "bbbbbreak it up" loud enough for the audience to hear all the time.

The Ultimate Warrior Colouring Book will have been the central thing at that time. Saw it in Toys R Us, recognised the guy from the Hasbro on the cover, became obsessed with the images inside of this real life superhero (sorry Ricochet). It was mostly Warrior but a section at the back also had pictures of British Bulldog, Macho Man, Big Boss Man and The Undertaker (who became the new favourite). I still don't recall watching anything in particular but I must have seen clips or highlights or something because I knew and liked these characters and it can't have just been from a colouring book...

Wrestling then dropped out of my consciousness completely until around 1998 when kids at school start talking about Stone Cold, Ken Shamrock and how "it's real now". They also mention The Undertaker, who I have heard of. Interest is piqued a little bit.

1999, we get On Digital, which has Sky One, which has The Simpsons. But also WWF Livewire and Metal, and I occasionally watch a bit. I'll be honest, the first person who comes to mind is jobber Julio Fantastico who I believe went on to team with CM Punk in TNA.

2000 is the key year. The Official PlayStation Magazine has on its monthly demo disc a demo of WWF SmackDown, where you can play a singles match as The Rock, Stone Cold Triple H or The Undertaker (or was it Mankind). I play that demo for hours, and hours, and hours, and play it so much I just have to get the full game to play all the other matches and find out who all the other characters are. I do, and I get to know X-Pac, Kane, Al Snow, Road Dogg, Steve Blackman, Jeff and Matt Hardy, and the rest of the 32-strong roster.

By the summer holidays of that year, I've decided I'm going to start watching SmackDown on Sky One on Saturday mornings. And while the people on TV were not the late-1999 roster I was used to from the game, I was hooked.

Summary:

Hasbros

Colouring Book

School chat

Julio Fantastico

SmackDown demo 

SmackDown game

SmackDown TV show.

Edited December 2, 2019 by HarmonicGenerator

[hallicks]

The first Smackdown game on PS1, thesz pressing everyone in sight playing as Austin. Amazing to think that without that, I'd never have experienced the joy of 2 vs 2 relay race around the ring on WWF attitude on the N64. 

[BomberPat]

2 minutes ago, HarmonicGenerator said:

2000 is the key year. The Official PlayStation Magazine has on its monthly demo disc a demo of WWF SmackDown, where you can play a singles match as The Rock, Stone Cold Triple H or The Undertaker (or was it Mankind). I play that demo for hours, and hours, and hours, and play it so much I just have to get the full game to play all the other matches and find out who all the other characters are. I do, and I get to know X-Pac, Kane, Al Snow, Road Dogg, Steve Blackman, Jeff and Matt Hardy, and the rest of the 32-strong roster.

That's exactly what did it for me. Endless playing of that demo.

[Jazzy G]

Around Summerslam '92 I started asking my Mum to video Worldwide on a Monday night/Tuesday morning on ITV. I had a video filled with it. The first match on there was Scotty Flamingo Vs JohnnyB. Badd, it had the  Computer Contender's challenge on, a couple of matches between the Blondes & Scorpio/Bagwell and if I remember there were a couple of "Lost in Cleveland" segments on there. I loved Sting (still do), Dustin Rhodes, hated the Blondes at the time, but love them now I've "smartened up", was in awe of Vader. I got a UK Rampage video a few christmases later as well (The one from the week after Mania 9) which was in heavy rotation.

[cobra_gordo]

It was a combination of things but the absolute start of it was seeing a picture of Hulk Hogan at the local summer fair. It was in a blue frame and was a hook-a-duck prize. I had no idea who it was but I had to have it. This would have been 1990 so old Terry was in his pomp, midway through tearing his shirt off. From then I discovered my mate Lee was massively into it and we'd play with the figures at his house.

I think I'd seen a grand total of two matches before the Great Christmas Of 1992 when I got that years Summerslam on VHS and a boatload of figures. That tape was worn beyond recognition in the end. I'd spend hours looking at the inside cover which showed all the other available videos and fell in love with the image of Liz from Summerslam 1988 based on a thumbnail sized picture.

Edited December 2, 2019 by cobra_gordo

[BrodyGraham]

Watching WOS with my Gran on a Saturday afternoon in the late 80's initially and then around 90/91 everyone went mad for WWF but I didn't have Sky so it was out of bounds for me. 

So my first memory of watching American wrestling was on my mates 9th birthday and we went round his Nan's house on a Saturday afternoon to play on his new NES, and WCW Worldwide was on telly. I think Doom, The Nasty Boys and Junkyard Dog were on. I loved it and I'd just got my own (fucking massive) 21 inch telly in my room, with a VCR, a so when it almost immediately moved to ITV's Night Time (sorry, Neeeiight Teeeeiime), block in the week, I was set.

From there it was the Galoob WCW ring, Wrestlemania 7 and various other Silver Vision tapes and a shit load of Galoobs and Hasbro's at Christmas.

My local News agents also used to get the WWF, WCW and some kind of Apter mags in and I'd get them all. That's where I first saw Jushin Liger and I remember thinking how cool he looked but I wouldn't actually see him wrestle until I moved to Manchester in 99 and found Extreme Central, which is when I went properly down the rabbit hole.

[Kaz Hayashi]

I’ve discussed this on our show quite recently, it was my Gran who got me in to it. I found it accidentally when my dad had a sketchy satellite dish in 89/90. I watch it, mesmerised by what I was seeing. My Gran found out and fed the addiction by joining me to watch it and bought me stickers, cards, VHS and Hasbros.

She continued to watch it with me and my bro during the attitude era and via DSF. She was hilarious when the x-rated adverts came on, “Close your eyes, don’t look at the filthy buggers” in a thick Scottish accent. She would always comment that she wanted Rick Rude & Ahmed Johnson in her Christmas stocking. Some girl.

Turns out her dad was a doorman and ticket man for promotions in Aberdeen in the 40’s & 50’s. 

 

[wandshogun09]

4 hours ago, jazzygeofferz said:

Around Summerslam '92 I started asking my Mum to video Worldwide on a Monday night/Tuesday morning on ITV. I had a video filled with it. 

Same here. Although it was on Saturday afternoons when I used to watch it/get my old man to tape it. Think it was on about 2pm. I have vivid memories of my Dad sitting watching the horse racing and I’d be just waiting for it to finish and for John McCririck to piss off so WCW could start. I had a bunch of VHS tapes rammed with Worldwide from 1992 right up to 1995 when ITV stopped airing it. Also had a few tapes full of NJPW (or WSW - World Superstars Of Wrestling as they called it) on Eurosport with the English commentary by Oliver Humperdink and someone else. It was Gordon Solie for a bit but someone I’m forgetting replaced him. I remember seeing Vader and the Steiners on there and thinking they must be the hardest bastards in the world for kicking arse in WCW and this ‘WSW’ fed. 

Is early 90s Worldwide on the Network yet? I’d love to relive some of it. Even the Van Hammer squash matches. 

Edited for bonus Gordon Solie commentary in ‘WSW’;

I forgot about the dodgy pronunciation of names on the Eurosport show. That Dave ‘Fit’ Fendi was something else. He loved to fight. 

Edited December 2, 2019 by wandshogun09

[Arn Anderson's Darb]

I reckon this was the match that made it an obsession for me. Proper cartoon come to life stuff. I was six when I saw it. Couldn't believe he was going to have to spend a night in a horrible cold jail cell with some scary guy (all I figured he was when I was six). Cattle prods and nightsticks and the red and blue shirts. Mountie is vastly under rated for his selling and comedy bumps in this run.