I am waiting, like everyone else, to see how this Chris Jericho angle plays out. The segment with Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka the other day on RAW brought back so many memories. I can remember clearly being in Hamburg, PA, when Roddy Piper hit Jimmy Snuka with that coconut. I still remember digging into that bag of fruit and Piper making sure I didn’t eat any of it. I had no idea why it was sitting there or that Snuka would be in Piper’s Pit. I really don’t know what the payoff to this thing is going to be. So far three legends have been beaten up on television. I have known two of the men a very long time. I met Jimmy Snuka nineteen eighty one and Roddy Piper since he debuted in the WWF in the mid eighties. The other I haven’t known as long, but we have become much closer friends Ricky Steamboat. I am a big fan of the legends and support them being used on television. I wait with anticipation for Monday Night Raw to see where they are going with this angle. Who knows what they are going to do with Jericho at the Mania. At this point they can go in any direction and it appears they are leaving all options open in regards to a Jericho opponent for Wrestlemania.
It is hard for me to believe that Wrestlemania is twenty five years old. It reminds me how long I have been in the business. When Wrestlemania started there was no PPV there were only closed circuit locations all over the country. I held an event at the Westchester Community College. At first tickets sold slowly but as all the NY City locations filled up people trended north. The very first match was Tito Santana against someone I believe named The Executioner. It may have been Playboy Buddy Rose under a hood. I am not sure why they wanted him under a hood or why he wanted to be wearing one. It would be great to have been in the very first Wrestlemania match. If you ask me they should have both of those guys back. I can tell you Buddy would probably do it and want to work as hard as anyone out there. I know I used him at WrestleReunion 1 ... talk about a guy who wants to prove he can still go.
There are many wrestlers still around that were a part of the original Wrestlemania. Hopefully they will be asked to participate at the show. It would be nice to also pay tribute to those that are no longer with us. The most recently departed is S.D Jones. It was S.D. who wrestled King Kong Bundy who was lead to the ring by Jimmy Hart. It was my first time seeing Jimmy Hart work. I certainly had no clue at the time what a major part of my life he would become. I have to say that so far the buzz for Wrestlemania seems very weak there isn’t much to it. I hope that something changes.
I do want to congratulate Tammy “Sunny” Sytch for being given a chance to participate at Wrestlemania. It seems there will be a diva battle royal and some former ladies are being asked back. I have heard some rumors swirl. It will be interesting to see how it comes out. What I know has changed forever is that people won’t be online for a closed circuit broadcast at 8am with their lunch in hand for first come first serve seating. It is quite an accomplishment to take something from nothing to being a household word. I remember when WWE employee Ed Cohen said “Sal, can you get a little bit bigger building we are going to do something called Wrestlemania”. Who would have ever known that all these years later Wrestlemania would be the symbol of excellence that it is?
This photo
was taken in Valley Forge, PA at WrestleReunion 2 when Tito Santana the man that won the very first Wrestlemania match beat his old rival Greg “The Hammer” Valentine for the IWA Heavyweight Title.
