Where This All Came From

In September 1985, I sat down to watch one of those Fall Cartoon Preview specials they used to air back in those days. For the uninitiated, every fall the three major networks (NBC, ABC and CBS) would put together a half-hour show (usually airing on a Friday night in prime time) to showcase their new lineup of cartoons. You know, they'd show what series were returning, as well as the new cartoons for the season.

In 1985, the first wave of pro wrestling popularity in a generation had hit. Vince McMahon had taken Hulk Hogan and to a lesser degree Roddy Piper, Wendi Richter and others and decided to go mainstream. Wrestling events like "The War to Settle the Score" aired on MTV and celebrities like Mr. T and Cyndi Lauper became involved in wrestling, leading up to the very first Wrestlemania card.

Not satisfied with simply presenting pro wrestling, McMahon decided to branch out, believing his wrestlers had main-stream appeal. This thinking brought us The Wrestling Album, wrestling action figures, lunch boxes, etc.

And it also brought us Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling, a cartoon series that lasted all of one season on CBS.

But as the 1985-86 cartoon season began, CBS (and McMahon) had high hopes for the series, so much so they decided to make Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling the centrepiece of their preview show.

Although Herve Villechaize (Tattoo on Fantasy Island) was initially announced as the host, WWF/WWE heel "Rowdy" Roddy Piper quickly stuck him in a closet and "took over" the show. Hulk Hogan, meanwhile, would later show up to save the day and Villechaize.

And somewhere along the line, I became a fan of Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling and began to watch the show every Saturday at 10:00.

While most of the show was devoted to the animated exploits of Hulk, Captain Lou, Andre, JYD and, of course, Mean "Animated" Gene, in between were live-action sketches featuring many of the WWF/WWE wrestlers and managers.

After a few weeks of watching the cartoon (and buying the WWE bubblegum cards), I decided to watch some real wrestling. And one Saturday in late September 1985, I tuned in WWE Championship Wrestling to see Brutus Beefcake and Greg "the Hammer" Valentine take on a couple of jobbers, followed by a "Not Yet Adorable" Adrian Adonis do the same.

And the rest, as they say is history.

25 Years of History, to be exact.

I don't know the exact date that I began to watch wrestling, but somewhere along the way, September 25th has been chosen as the day I became a wrestling fan, so that's the day I observe. (Laugh all you want but experts agree Christ wasn't born on December 25th but that's the day we celebrate Christmas!)

And since it's been 25 years since I started watching wrestling, I decided to do something to mark the occassion. At first I considered having a party and inviting people in to watch wrestling and hang out...but since I know so few wrestling fans, I decided to do this as an on-line thing.

Basically, over the next several months, I will blog about various wrestling-related topics, including excerpts from my manuscript for "When Wrestling Was Golden", wrestling interviews and articles I've written, reminisces about personal wrestling-related events of the last 25 years and even the odd wrestling photo I've taken.

So, check back periodically as I look back at 25 Years of Being a Wrestling Fan.