SteveMania
How my Grandfather got me to love professional wrestling
When people think of entertainment they think of movies, television, or going to a show. We want to be immersed in a different world with strong characters and compelling storylines. For me, I get all this and more from professional wrestling.
I talked about my how my Grandmother is the reason why I love baseball and the Yankees. For this post, I’m going to talk about my Grandpa Joe and our shared love for wrestling. When I was 6 years old, I remember watching WCW Thunder for the first time on a Saturday evening with him. I was enthralled by the likes of Hulk Hogan, Sting, and Goldberg. My Grandfather explained all the rules and moves to me but I was too mesmerized by the pageantry and flash to care.
We watched wrestling together every chance we got and I would tune in every week to stay up to date with the stories. My uncle would record all the pay-per-views and overnight a VHS tape to me. I was so lucky to watch iconic moments like the rise of the NWO, D-Generation X, and the Rock/Austin rivalry. My Grandfather and I would talk on the phone every week and share our thoughts on the recent matches.
When I got older, I made sure he watched as much wrestling as possible. I would bring my laptop to his house and we’d watch special events like the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania together for hours. My Grandmother would make fun of us but we were too preoccupied by suplexes and figure four leg locks to care.
As the years went by, my Grandfather’s memory declined. He couldn't remember any of the wrestlers names but that didn’t stop him from still calling me every week. A few years ago, I introduced him to a Japanese wrestling promotion called New Japan Pro Wrestling. He called it the best wrestling he had ever seen in 60 years and always thanked me for showing it to him. I felt so special and honored to return the gift he gave to me when I was a child.
My Grandpa Joe passed away in the summer of 2020. It was hard because the last time I saw him was in March right before the world shut down. This past weekend was WrestleMania and it made me miss him even more than I usually do. Maybe it’s because of my deeply special and personal connection to it, but I believe that professional wrestling is the highest form of art. It has classic good and evil characters, choreography, costumes, acrobatics, and storylines that rival anything written by Shakespeare. Also, wrestling is not fake. I’d love to see you be powerbombed through a table and see how it feels.
I can’t wait to watch another match with you in another life, Grandpa.
Solidarity forever.
-Steve