Welcome to another edition of Kay’s Korner.
Here recently I have found history repeating itself in the wrestling world. I’m not talking about the WWE. I’m not talking about TNA. I’m talking about Tony Hunter’s CCW – Carolina Championship Wrestling.
As I have mentioned before in a previous column, I grew up watching the NWA, which was ran by the Crockett family out of the Mid-Atlantic States during the late seventies and early eighties. The NWA memories always put a smile on my face and for good reason. With such great wrestlers as Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Blackjack Mulligan, Paul Jones, Wahoo McDaniel, and others, it is obvious why it did then and still does to this day.
I have often wondered while watching old videos how those wrestlers would be today. Sure, they would be older and some would be out of shape, but I couldn’t help but wonder if the passion of the business could still be seen in their eyes. Then quite by accident, I found out the answer. The astounding answer to that is yes, it can.
I have been attending the CCW once-a-month shows in Lenoir, NC for a while and have to admit I have enjoyed each and every show, for different reasons. I’ve seen Dusty Rhodes against Tully Blanchard. I’ve seen the Rock-n-Roll Express against the Midnight Express with Jim Cornett. I have seen Greg ‘The Hammer’ Valentine, Abdulah the Butcher, and ‘The Boogie Woogie Man’ Jimmy Valiant. To sum it up in one sentence, I’ve found a way to watch wrestling the way that it is supposed to be.
I have to admit the first time that I went, I really wasn’t expecting much as far as the wrestling was concerned. I mean, sure they were great in their time but how would they be now? I have to admit my expectations were low. To be honest, I was a little scared that seeing some of my favorite childhood stars wrestling now would take away the magic of wrestling from my childhood. To be honest, I was wrong.
Show by show, I began to get involved. I found myself coaching my wrestler as I did in my childhood. I found myself screaming at the referee for not seeing a wrestler cheat. I found myself jumping up to my feet when I got excited. It’s been a long time since wrestling made my heart pound and kept my attention. Isn’t it funny how a trip to the past can bring it all back?
Hopefully there are some of you out there that remember the feud between Dusty Rhodes and Tully Blanchard. It was a long, violent feud that lasted for several years that also included Tully’s valet at the time, Baby Doll. Dusty still looks like Dusty and is still the working man’s ‘good guy.’ Tully, while his appearance has changed, appeared to be in the best shape of his life, and still plays a ‘bad guy’ without missing a beat. Watching them two made me realize that I had to be honest with myself. I had to admit that the guys were still doing their jobs and still doing it well.
What exactly were they doing? They were actually wrestling. They were making the crowd a part of the match. They were telling the story in the ring. There were not any high-flying moves from the top turnbuckle. Instead, there was good old ring psychology where every move was done for a reason. They were taking me back to my childhood when wrestling was ‘rassling.’
For those few hours, I was taken back completely to my childhood. I watched as Jim Cornette came out as loud and as obnoxious as ever while still carrying his tennis racket. (He is still the mouthiest man I have ever seen involved in wrestling and still fun to watch.) I watched the Rock-n-Roll Express do a double drop kick to Bobby Eaton. I have watched Dennis Condrey cheat as only Dennis can while Bobby Eaton kept the referee occupied. I also saw the famous tennis racket being used by the Rock-n-Roll Express to beat the Midnight Express, thanks to Jim throwing it to the wrong person at the wrong time. The other fans there loved it just as much as I did.
I found myself looking around getting just as much entertainment out of the fans as I was the show. The ‘cheers’ and the ‘boos’ took me back to a simpler time in wrestling. It also reminded me that they are other wrestling fans like myself who miss the old days of ‘rassling’. I would be lying if I said that I don’t enjoy these shows. I enjoy them very much and I am not the only one. It has also been a packed house each and every time they come to Lenoir.
Why is that? I think that it’s because it takes us back to a time in wrestling when things were simpler. You can definitely tell the ‘good guys’ from the ‘bad guys’ here. Sometimes the ‘good guys’ win while sometimes the ‘bad guys’ win. Some of the feuds run a little longer while some are a special one-time match. There are a few bad words here and there but it’s more to make a point than just to say it for the sake of saying it. The storylines, while some have already been done, are told in the ring and are being told well.
I have been attending the shows for about six months now. Each show makes me realize that while wrestling has changed, the fans haven’t really changed that much. We are all still the passionate driving force that makes wrestling so unique and special. I can’t think of any other sports program that has interaction with the crowd the way wrestling does. Sure, there are sports that have fans that do the wave but there is nothing like wrestling fans. They are the backbone of wrestling. Without them, there would not be any wrestling.
With that being said, I have a new hope for wrestling. I can cling to my childhood memories and watch new ones being made. I can look forward to watching a wrestling match not knowing what is going to happen next. I can look forward to wrestling being the way it was when I was a child.
Well, that’s another edition of Kay’s Korner. All feedback can be sent to lilwrestlegrl@yahoo.com
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