World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)

[bob]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4fdPltPJRU&feature=player_embedded

[venomx]

Ah... XFL. LOL.

[bob]

I am only one of 2 people that I know who watched every game from the XFL. 

[HappyGilmore]

I am only one of 2 people that I know who watched every game from the XFL. 

I tried to catch as many as possible.

[JaseSF]

Edge seems to be announcing his retirement right now on Raw...

[HappyGilmore]

Edge seems to be announcing his retirement right now on Raw...

Yeah.  Seems for the best though.  Not worth risking any permanent injury.

[bob]

It's for the best, but it still sucks. 

With Edge gone there aren't many still around from when I was a kid.

[venomx]

So your time was when the Headbangers and Gangral were popular?

[bob]

So your time was when the Headbangers and Gangral were popular?

To give you a time frame the first Wrestlemania I saw live was Wrestlemania 9. Attitude was at it's peak/just beginning when I was in high school.

[HappyGilmore]

So your time was when the Headbangers and Gangral were popular?

That's about the time I started re-watching it.  I started watching back in the late '80s (I was born in '84, so I was about 5), and when I was very little, Hulk Hogan, Haku, and Hillbilly Jim were around, as was Jake the Snake.  I fell out of it in the early mid '90s or so, then ECW kinda resparked my interest, with Raven and Sandman and the cruiserweights.  Then I started rewatching the WWF when Mankind and Steve Austin showed up.  The "Attitude" era was a huge hit when I was in high school, and every kid was watching it.  The Rock, Austin, DX, and the like were very popular.  Been watching it since.

[venomx]

So you both came into WWF around the "Attitude Era." That's cool. When did you start, xJaseSFx?

I was born in 73 so I go way back. I remember my dad watching wrestling all the time. The very first thing I can remember was Blackjack Mulligan putting "The Claw" on his opponents and my dad saying the censorship is going to put a red X up on the screen so we can't see the blood. Yup, then a big red X came up as Blackjack was putting on The Claw, everytime. Thats as far back as I can remember...

Oh yeah, maybe 81-83? I forget the year, my Grandfather watched wrestling as well. His favorite was Ivan Putski. I remember him telling me Ivan's finisher was "The Polish Hammer".

So it's between Blackjack Mulligan or Ivan Putski that would be the very first wrestler that I have ever seen.

[JaseSF]

I was born in 1973 and I started watching at age 6 so I started around 1978-79 I guess. I recall Jimmy Snuka battling Bob Backlund in the cage for the WWF World title and doing the dive off the top of the cage only to miss as one of my earliest memories of watching. I also saw some local wrestlers that used to appear on George Cannon's Superstars of Wrestling and local hero was Hartford Love who battled against Sailor White. My Dad's favourite was Tito Santana and I recall his winning the Intercontinental title and then his feud with Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. I watched the WWF, the AWA, Canadian International Wrestling as well around this era. Recall Dino Bravo as the main guy in Canadian International Wrestling and his having intense feuds with King Tonga and the Masked Superstar. AWA World Champion Rick Martel used to appear as well as well as AWA World Tag Team Champions the Road Warriors - recall Martel & Bravo battling the Warriors and Martel & Bravo battling Tonga & Superstar. Also there was a great feud between the Rougeau Brothers and the Garvins (Ronnie and Jimmy) managed by Precious. Recall loving the Spoiler at a very young age when he appeared in the WWF, the first villain I really loved. He was a very clever cheater and he could walk the ring ropes like the Undertaker back in those days. I was amazed by him. Also recall the Long Riders impressing in the AWA and International Wrestling, Stan Hansen upsetting Rick Martel for the AWA World Championship, the birth of Hulkamania and the title moving from Backlund to the Iron Sheik to Hogan and the rise of Rowdy Roddy Piper as arguably the greatest heel in wrestling history, Piper's Pit. Also recall being amazed by how massive Andre the Giant seemed to be when I was a kid and how quick he could move in those days. Really I've never stopped watching since I was 6 aside from a few years when I was in university when I really didn't have the time...kind of lost track in the mid-90s and again a little after the 2000s but I eventually caught up with most of what I missed too.

[HappyGilmore]

My personal favorite time watching was the ECW stuff.  Seeing the likes of Sabu, RVD, the Dudleys and the Blue Meanie, amongst others, were fun.  Then seeing them all come into the bigger companies like WWE and WCW was a fun time.  I do have to say though, at the tender age of five, I had a Rowdy Roddy Piper lunchbox. 

[bob]

I grew up watching WCW Saturday Night, The Action Zone, Super Stars, and the early days of RAW.

I think the reason I became a fan was becasue my dad says he took me to see Hulk Hogan in a match when I was really little, like in grade school. It would also explain why he's one of my all-time favorites. Sadly I don't remember this.

But I do remember my dad getting us tickets to see a red hot Goldberg squash The Giant.

[bob]

I found this, thought I'd share it.

http://vids.wwe.com/11743/wwecom-exclusive-john-cena-expre