I was a huge fan of wrestling as a kid. I have fond memories of watching the wrestling with my uncle as a kid. He taught me to love the bad guys (or Heels as they are currently known) and I loved The Hart Foundation, The Iron Sheik, King Kong Bundy, Andre the Giant and The Million Dollar Man. My uncle took me to a show at the Sydney Entertainment Centre when they toured - I had a ball and is a great childhood memory.
Not long after the tour, wrestling disappeared from free to air TV. In pre-internet times it became difficult to follow and i'd hear the odd mention of it or see a match on a Sunday sports show but largely lost track of it. Then came Foxtel and I was overcome with nostalgia. I wouldn't miss an episode, I went down to Melbourne with a friend when the WWE toured for the first time in about 20 years. I was a complete addict for a few years at this point - would watch old tapes and indie leagues, went to a few subsequent shows, would religiously read forums and websites and download anything that looked interesting. My new favourite stars were The Rock, Stone Cold, Kurt Angle, Ric Flair, Edge and Christian, Jehrico and Goldust.
I was such an addict that I eventually became sick of it and needed a break. I think I grew out of it when my new favourite stars left and wrestling looked increasingly repetitive, fake and PG. That being said, it never entirely went away.
These days I am contempt with watching the last half hour of Raw or Smackdown or channel flicking when it is on to keep up to date with current plots and storylines. I do take keen interest around this time of year as the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania have always been my favourite feature events. It also makes for good conversation with my dad, an uncle and the occasional coworker.
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