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Words By Patrick O’malley.

Intro.

As the years have gone on and i’ve continued to watch the sport known as Pro Wrestling, there have been times when I have thought to myself, Is it going to get any better than this. And I’ve managed to answer that question with great difficulty over the years. If you like how a show is booked, then that is your preference, and know one should try turn you. This is a collection of moments that I’ve managed to carry with me for a lifetime. So sit back relax, get a drink, and I will begin.

The Mid Nineties.

Well I say the mid nineties, It was actually 1994 at some point. I remember this as clear as day. It was a Saturday afternoon, and in my house that meant one thing. My dad and my brother were going to argue over the remote control. As a seven year old kid I was more interested in playing with my Power Rangers, and Biker Mice From Mars Toys, that was until said older brother worked into the front room, and barged into me, saying the words. move freak, he turned on the TV, and WCW Worldwide the Atlanta promotions weekly magazine show had just started, and for some reason I put down my toys, and I watched as Hulk Hogan came out, my opinion of Hogan would change over the years for obvious reasons, but at that moment in my life he was like a god that had been chissled out stone, and I was mesmerized. That was it for me I was hooked. You know that feeling you get when everything in life just folds into place, well this was the moment for me.

June Of 1996.

This was a special time in my life, because a kid who had just turned 9 I was experiencing a form of freedom, playing outside with my friends on Weekend Days, and one of the hottest topics of conversation between me and my friends was who’s The Outsiders third man. WCW at this time was starting to fire on all cylinders, and it showed no sign of slowing down. I was a massive Hulk Hogan fan at this point, who still believed in the good old red and yellow. This would change when i went round my friend chris house after school, and we watched Bash At The Beach, and it happened. Hogan put that immortal leg drop on Macho Man Randy savage, and just like that he was a bad guy, a heel, and all round rotten apple. As the rubbish filled the ring from the fans throwing things, My tears started to roll, and before I knew it an ocean was coming from my eyes. I will never forget the look on my dads face as we drove away from my friends house, with my eyes full of water. I kept saying the words. How can Hogan do that. Hulk Hogan had joined the darkside, and the world as I knew it had changed. My dad kept saying it’s fake and unreal, and you know what looking back on this 30 years later It’s these moments that you take away with you. My dad has ever since hated Pro Wrestling, whilst his youngest son has become a lifelong fan. Isn’t it funny how life works out.

The WWE Fandom.

Can someone stop the damn Match, were the words that echoed through my friends TV set, as mick Foley had just been thrown from the top of the Hell In A Cell Structure. I had been a fan of the then WWF/WWE for a while at this point. I loved the theatre aspect of physicality, and how storytelling felt like an overgrown Soap Opera. My Mum was a massive eastenders fan back in the day, and at the age of 10 years old I could never gravitate to this form of TV, this would change when I entered my my teen years, as shows like Smallville, and Buffy The Vampire Slayer had entered my own zeitgeist. I was a massive fan of Bret The Hitman Hart, and even though I didn’t get much of the talk surrounding the controversy about the Montreal Screwjob. My friends however broke it down for me, and after a period of about two days after Survivor Series 97. My mind went two one outcome. In life you must treat people with fairness, because this situation was the definition of unfair. My WWE Fandom would continue into the year 2000, as channel 4 had bought the rights to show WWE Sunday Night Heat, and four of the yearly ppv’s, this would be a controversial move on behalf of the UK broadcaster, who in my opinion hadn’t doen there homework. This move came at the height of the attitude era, as the bars for content were raised to the point that parent organisations were raising concerns, about what is suitable for teens to see on tv. This happened on both sides of the ocean. My mum saw a report in the newspaper stating that channel for in trouble for what happened at that years Royal Rumble, however this proven to be a fabrication, as WWE showed the event through a live link, this would change when Backlash aired forty minutes later in the UK, in comparison to the US start time. I know what you’re all thinking why do these stories have to do with one another, well that easy. Everyone was talking about them. I remember walking into the school playground at this time, and everyone was talking about the Royal Rumble, and the trouble that Channel 4 was in due to sexual content from the broadcast. This made all UK Broadcasters take notice of WWF/WWE Content. The WWF/WWE content was also shared by Sky TV for at this point had been weary of how the product was changing. My family couldn’t afford sky, so my watching of the WWF/WWE was done at my friends house, and one fateful weekend in October of 1999 The WWF/WWE was going to coming live from The NEC In Birmingham for one night only ppv called WWF rebellion. I wanted to watch this ppv so bably. I mean it The Rock vs HHH in a Steel cage as it’s main event, so this was a not to miss show, That I never got to see, due to the fact it fell on my brothers birthday. Sometimes life isn’t fair.

Heavy Music Influences.

In the 2000 The WWF released there aggression cd, a soundtrack compilation of entrances being reworked with a metal and hip hop twist. This would act as the start of my further musical education, because from here I became a fan of the likes of Metallica. Korn. Slipknot. Linkin Park. The Prodigy, and Cypress Hill. The whole world of Metal, and hip hop coming together in the world of Pro Wrestling isn’t anything new, but to a 13 year old who was getting into both music styles, this was an incredibly cool thing, and the WWF counteracted this. Limp Bizkit would develop a minor working relationship with the WWF/WWE when they used My Way in the promotional tools for Wrestlemania 17. This was another way of bridging the gap for fans who were looking into getting into a harder edge of music. However it hasn’t all been sunshine andd roses. In june of 2000 Kid Rock played The Undertaker down to the ring on an episode of WWF Raw Is War. This clip has aged poorly over the years, as the detroit rappers/rockstar comments towards the LGBTQ+ community have put a wrench against his name. Metallica are one of the most respected bands in the industry, and are one of the most exciting live acts i’ve ever seen. WWE in 2020 soundtracked The Undertakers Boneyard Match Against AJ Styles. As songs like Now That Were Dead, and For Whom The Bell Tolls became the background fusion that we all needed at the time. WWE have a solid track record when it comes using Metal music to soundtrack major shows, and this was proof of that. In 2018 Slipknot continued this pattern as their song All Out Life, a song that is a stab in the gut to the music industry was used as the intro to WWE NXT. This move made perfect sense, because NXT which was led to success by HHH, was seen as the distruptor to the main roster. HHH has been quoted as saying in an interview with Youtube Channel Louder in 2019, that the Main roster is aimed at your metallicas of the world, whilst NXT is aimed at Undergroundd bands, who are on the verge of making it big. This were slipknot come in, because even though at this point they were an arena level band, they never lost the sound that put them o on the map in the first place. Shaun Crahan the bands percussionist echoed these sentiments in a 2020 interview with Daniel P Carter for BBC Radio 1 Rock Show. The WWF/WWE have many other great musical moments from soundtrackracking PPV’s, and shaping my life througugh music.

Overview Of This Piece.

I like going back in time to tell these stories, because it feels like i’m heading into a delorian known as my life, and Pro Wrestling has played as massive part of that, so thank you for reading, and lnd listening.

For m ore articles written by me then check out my work WWE Raw Analysys. Poor Showing Overall.