"You're A Wrestling Fan?" by Kevin Hunsperger

For about 30 years I have watched professional wrestling on a regular basis. It all started when I was about 9 years old. I grew up in St. Louis and my brother and dad watched lots of Wrestling at the Chase. This of course was long before the WWF completely dominated the wrestling scene. There were plenty of choices for fans.

My show of choice back then was World Class Championship Wrestling. I worshipped the Von Erich brothers, particularly Kerry. He had won the NWA World title from Ric Flair shortly after Hulkamania had started running wild in the WWF. But to me, Kerry was the bigger star. There was something appealing about the show that aired out of Texas each Sunday morning. We watched WCCW religiously. The Von Erichs, the Freebirds, Devastation Incorporated, Ice Man King Parsons, Chris Adams, and Gino Hernandez were just a few of the top draws that had me tuning in each week for more.

Of course my love for WCCW carried over to all wrestling organizations. Georgia Championship, WWF, Mid South, NWA, Central States, and AWA were a regular part of my childhood. Then of course you throw in Hulk Hogan’s Rock N Wrestling cartoon, the WWF LJN action figures, and the WWF ice cream bars my life was complete.

We’d go to house shows for the NWA and WWF when they rolled into town. My childhood friends enjoyed the action as much as I did, but it seemed like the older we got, the more they distanced themselves from wrestling. It was almost as if being a fan of wrestling was no longer cool. Well, I’ve never been cool, so I continued watching week after week with much pride. I guess not too much pride as it got to the point that I was a closet fan. The same thing happened when I was in college. I dragged my then fiancé to more than a couple house shows. She hated it, but felt sorry enough for me that she didn’t want me going alone.

As I entered the “real world” I would find a few other closet fans out there. I worked at a TV station as a new anchor. My coworkers and I would talk about WCW Nitro and WWF Raw is War as the Monday Night Wars were fully ignited at that point in time. But still, I hadn’t found my “wrestling buddy.” That all changed when I moved to southern Illinois. I met a guy by the name of Chad who made me look normal in my wrestling obsession. Besides Chad there were a handful of other fans working with us. We would go to local indy shows, watch the TNA weekly pay per views, and order the big WWE pay per views.

Fast forward several years and now I write my own wrestling blog (My 1-2-3 Cents) and serve as a color commentator for All American Pro Wrestling. When people in the community find out that I’m such a big fan I almost always get the “You’re a wrestling fan? You don’t seem the type.” I have a feeling I know what they mean by that. There’s nothing wrong with being obsessed with wrestling, is there?

Of course the answer to that is no. Wrestling is an escape for me, a form of entertainment. Just like some people enjoy watching major league baseball or going to the opera, I prefer to watch “sweaty men in tights” roll around with one another. Perfectly normal. Just ask the millions, and millions who tune in week after week. Some of us have been doing so for decades.

Weight of the World

The wrestle business is at war with itself. Lines have been drawn in between talent. Lines that don't separate us by talent level but lines that separate us by size. Now don't let my remarks be misleading, through the eyes of competitive sports there have always been these lines. Boxing, football, basketball all have these lines within weight classes and positions. However, only in professional wrestling is the line blurred to determine who can and cannot draw money.

Michael Jordan, in my opinion, is the greatest basketball player of all time. Now some might argue in favor of a guy like Wilt Chamberlain. Both were great athletes that revolutionized the sport but they both have one thing in common, they could play basketball. To say Wilt was better because he was larger just doesn't make sense.

Same should go in professional wrestling. The underlining factor should be can they perform? Can they engage an audience and take them on ride of emotion? If the answer is "yes" then I would consider that person a valued asset.

In boxing, great heavyweights like Ali and Tyson have defined eras but there have been plenty middleweights, welterweights, so on and so forth that have drew big money especially in the last decade where heavyweights in the states have been sorely lacking. Same goes for UFC, sure guys like Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir have done very well but lower weight class guys like Georgge St. Pierre and Tito Ortiz have had a major impact on the sport as well.

There was a time in wrestling when you had a guy like Lou Thesz but right next to him you had a guy like Danny Hodge. He wasn't considered below him or less than Thesz but just a a different weight class. He was considered just as talented, maybe even more so.

WWE tries to create an aura that their roster is full of superstars. That there aren't weight classes or lines of division but I bet you could ask any member of the WWE Universe who would get a title shot between The Great Khali and Primo that 99% would pick Khali, not because he's more talented but because the audience has been trained to see the difference in size with years of booking decisions. Now there is always an exception to the rule and Rey Mysterio is WWE's.

I'm not saying make the next 130 pounder the next World Champion. There still has to be a balance of believability. That's when true talent shines through. The way Rey works is exactly what works. Just like the way Shawn Michaels weaves a story is unlike any other. Now at some point in time somebody said the both men couldn't or wouldn't draw money. Makes you wonder how many others could put the WEIGHT of the world on their shoulders and run with it. 

                                                     Me with wrestling legend Danny Hodge