Reflections.
If you follow me on Twitter and/or Instagram, you probably saw me post this picture with Hulk Hogan. But it is the reflection of what this picture means that deserves an explination.
I have loved professional wrestling since the first time I laid eyes on Georgia Championship Wrestling in May of 1981. Tommy Wildfire Rich was my first favorite wrestler.
Fast forward to Christmas 1982/New Years 1983. I’m the biggest wrestling fan that I know. I save up my allowance to buy Pro-Wrestling Illustrated, The Wrestler and Inside Wrestling. Although I can only watch Georgia and WWF on TV (Southwest was to come soon), I read about all the Superstars of different territories all over the world. I have said it before, but Bill Apter was my Mark Twain.
For Christmas, my family traveled back to my birthplace, Winnipeg, for a vacation. One of my gifts were tickets to an AWA show at the Winnipeg Arena on January 6.
To me, it was bigger than life. 35 years later, I remember the crowds reaction when Bobby “The Brain” Heenan came to the ring. I remember the anger from the fans Crusher Black and Sheik Adnan El Kassey busted open Jim Brunzell. And I remember the roof being blown off when Hulk Hogan came out. It was like electricity going through every fans body. 8300 fans cheering for The Hulkster.
After the show, I didn’t want to leave. I watched the crew take down the ring. I watch the Arena staff clean up the empty cups. A security guard talked to us and told us that we had to leave. My mother joked about how long of a ride we had the next day back to Pennsylvania. The security guard asked for my program and said “I’ll be back in a minute. Don’t leave.”
It felt like an hour, but it was probably five minutes. I was hoping for one autograph. As the security guard came back and gave me the program there was Rick Martel, Jim Brunzell (who gave a personal message asking if we knew a small town in PA.), Wahoo McDaniel, and in the middle there it was: HULK HOGAN.
I remained a Hulkamanic forever. Although I was a more of an NWA fan than WWF, I still cheered Hulk on. I had a Hulk shirt that I didn’t dare where in front of my Four Horsemen loving friends. And he was one of the first LJN figures I got at Christmas (Roddy Piper was the other).
In 2002, I finally met Hulk Hogan. But he would never remember it. I had recently had a tryout as a commentator with the WWE and Jim Ross had invited me to a TV taping in Philadelphia. I felt weird going because I didn’t want anyone to think I was trying to get a job and I was very happy in Pro-Wrestling ZERO-ONE. I asked Mr. Ross if I could bring my son, Colby. Colby was as big of a fan at six years old as I was when I started watching wrestling 21 years before. Walking around backstage for a bit, I got the urge to pee. Like bad. But, I didn’t feel right going in the Talent locker room, so Colby and I walked around the arena looking for a quiet bathroom.
On the other side of what is now the Wells Fargo Center, I find what I think is a vacant bathroom. We bolt in there and who is there? Yep, Hulk Hogan. He was adjusting his bandana. I said “I’m sorry sir.” and went to leave. As we are leaving Colby says “Dad, I have to pee too.”
Hulk invites us in and we pee. BUT, I had the longest pee ever. Felt like an hour if it was a minute and a half. While I am going with the worlds longest pee, Colby is washing his hands and talking to Hulk. He was telling him that we watched Hulk vs. The Rock at the recent WrestleMania and that I was going crazy for Hulk…I still wasn’t done peeing!
I finally get done and I’m embarrassed as all get up. I wash my hands and apologize to Hulk. He asks me name and he tells me that he has heard of me and his son liked ECW. Hulk knew of me. GTFreakO!
Colby and I leave the bathroom and Colby says “can you believe that Hulk knew who you were?”.
Now we fast forward to January 6, 2018. I am co-producing the NXT event in Largo, Florida with Terry Taylor. Usually if I am doing the Largo show, I like to stop at Luke Williams gym in Clearwater Beach and get a workout in. Being the Phillies fan I am, being anywhere near Clearwater is awesome for me. I know that Hulk has his shop downstairs, but I don’t think that he is going to come up. Luke told me he probably would, but him and Luke are buddies. He’s Hulk Freaking Hogan to me.
I sheepishly re-introduce myself to Hulk and we strike up a fun conversation. Laid back and has tons of time for anyone that wants to talk to him. I tell him that it was 35 years to the day that I saw my first live show and he headlined.
My journey in professional wrestling leads me into these crazy situations. Never, as a nine year old kid, would ever had imagined I would get to do 1% of the cool things I have done.
People have their opinions on what pro-wrestling is or should be, but I know that without the Hogan’s, Flair’s, Gagne’s, McMahon’s, Michaels’, HHH’s, Rock’s, Austin’s, Baba’s, Inoki’s, and a thousand more that would take me days to list, that I wouldn’t be able to have this journey. I don’t know if we thank these people enough.
Thank you.
I love pro-wrestling.
08January
2018
2018
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