It is common knowledge The Fabulous Freebirds revolutionized wrestling. Their look, their sound, their mere presence was historic for our business. As the antagonists to the ever popular Von Erich family they created good business everywhere they went. There are few wrestling moments that my uncles(whom aren't wrestling fans) still mention to this day. One of those moments is when The Freebirds attacked "Santa Claus". A brutal beating of St.Nick left kids crying, parents outraged and The 'Birds still atop the heel mountain in Texas. I don't know if this was the first Santa Smackdown in wrestling but its one I remember and it has been duplicated several times since.
One moment some may or may not be aware of is the existence of The Christmas Creature! Now the Memphis area has always been kind of a Bermuda triangle of wrestling, no wrestlers don't magically disappear(ok, occasionally on Beale Street) but rather just some unexplainable occurrences. Such as a gimmick like The Christmas Creature. Long before WWE Grand Slam Champion Kane was in fact 1/2 of The Brothers of Destruction, he was USWA's Christmas Creature. As good as a writer as I have been accused of being, even I don't have the words to describe this....
In closing, sometimes Christmas isn't about the best time or the worst present. My favorite Christmases aren't the ones were I got the most presents or had the most money spent on me. The Christmas that counts are the ones you remember, where you were or who you were with. For me personally its been a great year. My wife and I gave birth to our 2nd son, Xander. I've gotten to do what only a handful will ever do and that's be a tag team partner of a legend in Bobby Eaton. I've gotten to work with some of my dearest friends in the business and had the opportunity to make new ones. Last but not least I've gotten fill another passion of mine with this article. A creative outlet that I am thankful for, so to all that enjoy my work both inside and outside of the ring I say "Thank you" from the bottom of my heart because your praise is as good as gold.
