Yer Mam & Dads favourite grapplers

[Lorne Malvo]

Feeling quite dismayed at the amount of people (2) who had Alex Shane as a favourite. But I suppose there's only two things I can do about that! 

[BomberPat]

I don't think my Mam ever watched a minute of wrestling on TV, even when I was watching it. She came to one show, with my older brother and two of his kids, because I was refereeing, and it turned out that she didn't actually understand that I was refereeing and just assumed that I was involved behind the scenes somehow, so she was shocked to see me in the ring. She didn't understand a single thing that happened.

Dad watched a little bit more - when I was first getting mad on wrestling in 2000, he'd always rattle off the usual names of British wrestlers that he remembered; Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks, Mick McManus, Jackie Pallo, Kendo Nagasaki, in that order. My grandad had been the big wrestling fan in the family, but any time he was around while I was watching WWF stuff, he just complained that they talked too much and never wrestled. He died not long after that, and I regret that I never had the chance to properly talk to him about it - he'd have got a real kick out of hearing that I'd met and worked with some of the guys he watched on TV, though he would probably be very disappointed that I got a photo with Rollerball Rocco, given he was such a notorious baddy. 

Saturday mornings, I would usually watch Smackdown while my Dad did the housework and Mam was at work. So he'd be in and out, and go from being dismissive of it, to eventually picking up bits and pieces. He knew who Stone Cold Steve Austin was, but only to the extent that every time he saw a bald wrestler, he asked, "is that Stone Cold?". He's been to a couple of MegaSlam shows with me and my nephews, and he never really gets invested in any individual wrestler, he always just wants to know why things are done a certain why, and how it all works - the first show he ever went to, the first bit of feedback from him was that he was impressed that they ran exactly to time. In terms of favourites, his was William Regal - I doubt he'd even remember who he is now, but he was the only wrestler that Dad would stop and watch. He's always been very anti-American, and when he realised that Regal was in on the joke, and that the joke was at the expense of American audiences who really thought that all British people were posh snobs, he was completely on-board. He quite liked Rob Van Dam, too.

[garynysmon]

My dad tried every single method of trying to dissuade me from getting into wrestling as a kid, even sitting down with me to explain fake looking things on the show and how they choreographed some of the moves etc.

“They all turn fat once they get off the steroids”, was a particular favourite.

So no joy there, although my mum seemed to take a liking to Hacksaw Jim Duggan.

[Lion_of_the_Midlands]

1 hour ago, Lorne Malvo said:

Feeling quite dismayed at the amount of people (2) who had Alex Shane as a favourite. But I suppose there's only two things I can do about that! 

I think the thing with Alex is that on the FWA he stood out. He was big and he stood out compared to pretty much everyone else other than Ulf. He also got a lot of microphone time, so I can at least surmise my mum likes a whiny voiced chap. 

[air_raid]

Apart from buying me shit with the likenesses of the wrestlers they knew I liked, I never got anything out of my parents. I only ever recall two reactions from the late Papa raid from the first time he took me to see it ;

To Diesel : “How tall is he???”

to Luna Vachon : “What the hell is that?”

[Chico Torres]

My mum always hated it and was dismayed that her otherwise intelligent son would waste his time on such rubbish, especially given the expenditure on magazines and tapes.

My dad wasn’t a fan but his interest would always be piqued by the big lads (roids, height, fat) so the likes of The Warlord, Sid Vicious, Giant Gonzalez and King Mabel. And my own tastes are very much aligned to my dads.

[Vegeta]

My dad always watched with me and he used to religiously watch world of sport back in the day. My dad enjoys AEW at the minute probably just because of how absurd everything is on there. His ultimate favourite wrestling thing of all time is the stone cold and Booker t supermarket fight. He's had a few strokes and it's affected his memory and brain but I managed to very basically teach him how to use YouTube on a tablet, bless him almost once a month he's watching that supermarket on there laughing like it's the first time he's seen it.

My mam sorta watched along when I was younger too and during the Monday night wars, she always loved her soap operas and always thought that stephanie mcmahon "played a good part" and that she could make it one of her soaps so there's that.

My nan to my knowledge never ever watched it at all. One day a 16 year old me came running beaming up as I had my first match in a local promotion on vhs (I feel old) and she watched it and really enjoyed it to my shock, the show was in the format of a survivor series, so when I was eliminated i was like that's all I'm on it and went to turn it off and she said leave it on I'm enjoying this, always one of my favourite memories sharing my first match with my nan before she passed.

[Arch Stanton]

My mum told me that my Grandad was a big fan of the wrestling on World of Sport back in the day. He died over twenty years ago, long before my own fandom had developed to the point that I was watching WoS matches on the Wrestling Channel and gaining a real appreciation for that stuff. I would have loved to have had a chat with him about who he used to like, or not like. He had a Big Daddy belly himself, so he was probably a fan of Shirley's.

As I mentioned previously, I have no nice memories of watching any wrestling with my parents, but I do have one of watching with my Grandad. I remember watching Battle Royal at the Albert Hall on VHS with him and he popped HUGE for Davey Boy hitting a standing dropkick. Even at about 11 years old I didn't think a dropkick was all that impressive, so it amused me that he thought it was something incredible. I remember him saying, in his thick Irish accent, that it was unbelievable that a fella that big could get his legs up that high. Have to agree with him on that one, in hindsight.

[The Reverend]

My nan was a big fan. Working class from the Medway towns y'see, and she was one of those typical old dears during the WOS sport era and even attended local matches with some of numerous uncles. I remember her giving me a signed Big Daddy picture when I was about 4, but I didn't really know who he was. 

Around 86/87 she moved house and was one of the lucky recipients of cable TV in the UK - which had the original Sky channel that showed WWF. We would stay with my nan in the school holidays and my brother found some WWF programming. After WOS this was something else. I remember my brother telling me about people getting kicked in the head by wrestlers wearing massive boots and a guy who had a dragon (later I realised this was the Steamboat / Roberts feud when Steamboat had the giant lizard). 

After that whatever night of the week it was that Superstars or Wrestling Challenge was on all my uncles, cousins and their mates would come round with a constant flow of biscuits and tea whilst they watched this amazing new wrestling. 

So despite that my actual parents never had any time for it. My mum who has a background in the design industry enjoyed the costumes when watching the 1990 Survivor Series - although then ruined it for the young Reverend when she commented on whichever it was of Demolition/LOD who was beating on the other and the camera picked up the punches being about 12 inches off the intended target. "He's not even hitting him!" To counter my slight embarrassment I reasoned it was because he was just psyching him out.  

In later years I think both my parents dismayed at my love of it - probably though because all I did was tape trade, watch it on TV and spend all my money on magazines, stickers, trading cards etc. 

Saying that it was also probably because all I ever did was waffle on about it whenever I got the chance and can remember being about 11 and constantly taking a copy of one my magazines to whatever social gathering we went to to sit and read in the hope someone would ask and I'd endlessly bore them with drivel about the merits of Sgt Slaughter and Jake the Snake (2 of my favourites). 

[Fog Dude]

7 hours ago, air_raid said:

I only ever recall two reactions from the late Papa raid from the first time he took me to see it ;

To Luna Vachon : “What the hell is that?”

I remember when my stepmum looked up from doing the ironing while I was watching a tape of Royal Rumble 1999 (our only VHS player was in the living room) and she had a similar reaction to the sight of Luna.

[westlondonmist]

My mum got very disappointed when I explained Roddy Piper wasn't Scottish. 

[LaGoosh]

Years ago we had a similar thread about parents watching the wrestling and it had loads of great stories in it. Sadly the search function on this forum just doesn't work at all so I had no luck finding it. One thing that I always remembered from it was someone's dad thinking a wrestler was called "The Big Bastard".

[Jazzy G]

My mum was a big fan of Rick Rude. She didn't much like wrestling, but always referred to the Ravishing one as her favourite. I have a feeling it wasn't to do with his wrestling from the way she announced it. 

My stepdad, Keith, would tell me he worked with the British wrestlers when he was younger, or that his brother in law did. He was always said that Les Kellett and Mick McManus were the hardest ones. Think he might have mentioned Marty Jones and Mark Rocco once or twice as well. 

[NeverYield]

10 hours ago, LaGoosh said:

Years ago we had a similar thread about parents watching the wrestling and it had loads of great stories in it. Sadly the search function on this forum just doesn't work at all so I had no luck finding it. One thing that I always remembered from it was someone's dad thinking a wrestler was called "The Big Bastard".

I think i found it using google, "Memories of watching wrestling with your parents"?

When you click on it it takes you to page 265 on here but when you go to the actual thread it says "there are no posts to show"

Shame i like reading through old threads 

[Olly1984]

Probably one of the main things I have inherited from my old man is a love of wrestling. Think it's his main thing he likes to remember his dad doing for him, taking him to World of Sport at Normanton and other places during his childhood. Always mentions the greats of the past he has seen like Johnny Saint, Mal Kirk, Rollerball Rocco, Marty Jones. So he got me my first VHS, Starrcade 89 and that kick started my love for it really. Started going to the original 1PW from its inception, right to the 1st shutdown 🤣, but was nice to know he's seen the greats from his childhood, to then seeing the greats of ours like AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson and PAC to name a few, always a great time we had. 

 

My mum just perved over cartoon Channel 5 WCW to gush ( don't do it lads) over Big Sexy Kevin Nash and she did same on old VHS of Rick Rude......

 

Just remembered when I was 16 my birthday gift was a ticket to WWA in Sheffield, great memories but couple of things immortalized in my mind. First was our own UKFF favorite, The Cheese and Onion Warrior himself, Gangrel. We were sat near the front so when Gangrel did his spitting blood spot some landed on my dad. Turns to me and says " Dirty fucker, he better not have AIDS😤😤🤯. And also his burial of Disco Inferno, who for some reason decided to put on a hard hat and debut a new move, " The Village People's Elbow" . Dad again, blankly looks at me and mutters " Who is this twat!!! 

Edited April 17 by Olly1984
Added extra tale.