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Living off the Past
Nostalgia.
Everyone at some point
in their life is nostalgic. Be it reminiscing about high school, going to a horror convention (and seeing a jackass like Ron
Palillo two weeks before he got pummeled by an even more grating on the
nerves actor) or listening to old songs on the radio, or watching classic
movies (even classic bad movies), there's life in the old adage that people
view the world in "rose colored glasses."
The wrestling business, especially the indys, is counting on your nostalgia. It puts asses in the seats. It brings back fond memories. And more often than not, it winds up completely trashing and ruining those memories as you sit and watch someone do such a poor job trying so desperately to hang on to 15 minutes that passed them by so long ago.
Turn on RAW or Smackdown and you'll see Hulk Hogan, looking like a haggard leather suitcase, hobbling around the ring doing the same stupid schtick he was doing 18 years ago, oblivious to the fact he's parodying himself at this point. And people are eating it up- er, make that WERE eating it up. Nostalgia only sells and lasts so long. Just look at the ratings, as if they have any impact on your life, but they prove the point that people are only so reminiscent.
The indys are full of workers clinging to the sure fire sell nostalgia brings. Most every show in the country has at least one father bringing his son so he can see the guys his dad "grew up watching." The scary part is that they're still out there working, or what passes for "working," as the wrestling business is extremely lenient on penalizing its employees for a bad workrate. Kevin Nash would be working somewhere as a bad bouncer and eating sticks of margarine on a bet if the business wasn't.
Nostalgia can be good
and bad, and brings out the best and worst memories.
I went to a show and saw Ricky Steamboat last July. I practically flew
over the top rope to get two pictures taken with him. Why? Because l will
always remember his classic matches with Ric Flair, Steve Austin, Randy
Savage, and so many others. I remember Steamboat, a not-so-flashy wrestler
who brought out the best in everyone he worked with, bring me out of my
seat watching him team with Eddie Gilbert as a mystery partner to kickstart
a program with Flair. I remember Steamboat pop the crowd at a Clash of
the Champions on TBS as he came out to be the mystery partner of Shane
Douglas. To see the not-so-flashy Steamboat throw off the dragon costume
he wore on the ramp to the ring was a moment I will always remember no
matter how many matches I watch or how many years I follow the wrestling
business.
I saw Steamboat unselfishly do a solid job as a referee- not the flashiest of jobs in the business- and by his very presence elevated two wrestlers, American Dragon and Low Ki, to an even higher level as they pulled off what was probably the match of the year. I yelled myself hoarse chanting for Steamboat at the end of the match, egged on in a nice touch by Dragon and Low Ki, and the look of pure gratitude on Steamboat's face as he looked around the ringside area as the chant spread ended the night on a perfect note. Nostalgia, in this case, worked.
Unfortunately, nostalgia in most cases doesn't work. And there are so many examples of it not working in the business, not to mention examples of workers hoping that nostalgia will keep them employed no matter what their impact was on the business.
The indys have their share of the "Could've Beens," (like Christopher Daniels, Reckless Youth, and Chris Candido- who I still hold out hope for all of them to make it huge- they all deserve it despite the bad breaks they've been given) the "One Hit Wonders," (like 911 and Tommy Rich, who parlayed five days as NWA champ into a career of booze and laryngitis) the "Hangers On," (Robert Gibson, Larry Zybysko, King Kong Bundy, Jimmy Snuka, the Honky Tonk Man, Koko B. Ware, and so many others) and the "Never Really Weres." (Evan Karagias, Allan Funk, the Wall, Stevie Ray- and the knucklehead who pays him $700.00 deserves what they (don't) get, Barry Horowitz, the Public Enemy, Kid "I Had a Video!" Romeo, and so on and so on)
Because the business is filled with people who just don't seem to know when and how to bow out gracefully, us lucky wrestling fans get to see some truly "classic" moments as we watch workers do just about anything to keep themselves out there, and not realizing that the more nonsense they do really puts them "out there." Watching the Iron Shiek degrade himself further, if that's possible, by doing the Macarena in front of 125 people for a few cheap laughs- mostly from the workers and promoters, sadly...seeing Sabu mutilate himself for cheap pops and tables he increasingly can't break...looking at the Sandman drink himself into a stupor once again and risking his health as well as the poor guy he's wrestling that night...seeing closeted goofballs actually mark out for the Sandman getting drunk and wrestling...shaking your head at Tom Brandi milk the Patriot gimmick that wasn't even his to begin with after 9/11, which makes me really uncomfortable for a lot of reasons...rolling your eyes at Nikolai Volkoff doing the same thing despite being billed as a heel foreigner for decades....I never realized that the wrestling business was so glamourous and rewarding that people just can't seem to leave it.
The memories are great. But the good times often times don't last.
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Jim has been watching
wrestling for over 20 years and has followed and reported on indy wrestling
for over 6 years. He's also a fan of the New York Giants, New York Yankees,
St. John's Red Storm basketball, Alabama Crimson Tide football, and the
New Jersey Devils, but please don't hold that against him.
Contact Jim at BilJim2@aol.com
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Previous Columns:
Watching Tazz is Tough Enough
Seven in Two
Getting Your Moneys Worth
How Not to Run and Indy
If That's What it Takes, They Don't Have It!
Customer Service in the Wrestling Business
Consider the Source
How Much Would You Pay?
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The comments and statements do not necessarily reflect the opinions of
Brett Schwan and the Wrestling Clothesline (although many times, he comes
damn close!)
