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Original Publication Date: February 22, 2007 |
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Today
marks a milestone. This is the fifty-second edition of this
weekly column. Yes, you are currently reading the one year
anniversary issue of “Rock Riddle’s Wrestling Revue.” If
you’ve been with me from the beginning, you may have noticed
that all of the stories are timeless. I don’t discuss “last
week’s WWE wrestling show,” for example. I haven’t included
any “Happy Valentine’s Day” or other timely holiday
greetings in any of the fifty-one prior columns. If you
were to read column number five or number fifteen or number
forty-five today, it would be as appropriate as it was the
day it was first published. You can read any of the prior
columns five years from now and they will still be
relevant. All of that was by design. Today’s column,
however, will be different.
Today I
will define time lines for past columns. I will share dates
and times with you for a major upcoming professional
wrestling event that, amazingly enough, encompasses no
actual wrestling. And, I will respond to readers’
questions. Reader Lindsay Ross wrote, “Rock, I enjoy your
articles on your experiences on the road. I'd appreciate it
if you'd include dates so that I could sense the context of
the period in which these happened.” Although I have
climbed into the squared circle a few times since, most of
the stories concerning my personal wrestling and “on the
road” experiences date from the late 1970s through the early
1980s. When I refer to wrestling reunion and “legend”
events, I’m usually referring to events that have taken
place during the past few years.
Reader
Dick Deluxe sent me some recent photos of Rip Hawk, that brilliantly
talented wrestler who inspired, motivated, and encouraged me to go
for my dreams in the amazing world of professional wrestling.
Looking at those photos brings back such great memories. I remember,
at the age of fourteen, hearing about the "horrible" Rip Hawk. My
fellow classmates thought he should be barred from wrestling and
kicked out of the state. They were unanimously adamant in their
dislike for this man. I was intrigued. "What could this man have
possibly done to cause so many people hate him?" I wondered.
"How does he wield such … power?" I knew I had to watch the next
televised wrestling show to have my questions answered. It was
Saturday afternoon. I turned the dial on the television set to
channel eleven. I moved about eight feet away, sat in the middle of
the floor, and anxiously awaited the just-about-to-begin live
televised wrestling show. Little did I know at the time that I was
about to witness something that would change my life forever. I was
about to be introduced to the wonderful world of professional
wrestling. I was also about to experience, live and in color, the
beginnings of a major feud between Rip Hawk and Johnny Weaver – a
feud that would become legendary and take on a life of its own – a
feud that would grace the annals of wrestling history.
How
amazing it is to look at that present-day photo of Rip Hawk and
Johnny Weaver together, smiling, at a "Wrestling Legends" event
thirty-plus years later. As I stare at that photo, I can’t help but
think what may be about to happen. I can visualize Johnny Weaver
being distracted and looking to his right as Rip grabs the
timekeeper’s bell and bashes it over the head of the unsuspecting
Weaver. I would jump up and scream, "YES! That’s the Rip Hawk we
know and love!" I would have a very big smile on my face, and, in
keeping with tradition, I would have something to say to Mr. Weaver
when he came to: "Wow, it’s a good thing you landed on your ear,
Mickey Mouse, because otherwise you might have cracked the
concrete." As a fourteen-year-old fan sitting front row ringside, I
continually hurled invectives at Johnny Weaver. I would yell "Why
don’t you go home and shave your legs again, Big Ears." He was the
"good guy" who was loved and adored by all of the fans – all of the
fans, that is, except me. Needless to say, Johnny Weaver sincerely
disliked me. It must have been terribly frustrating for him. As much
as he wanted to silence me, he knew he could not. He couldn’t lay a
hand on me; I was a fourteen-year-old kid. I knew he couldn’t touch
me, so I verbally dug deeper into those open wounds. I was so proud
of myself. Of course, because of my antics, the fans hated me almost
as much as they hated Rip Hawk. They couldn’t get to Rip, but on a
few occasions, they thought they might be able to get to me. I
learned very quickly to appreciate the police officers; they saved
me several times from an unruly crowd desiring to do me great bodily
harm.
In
an earlier column, I mentioned that the CAC board of directors had
unanimously voted to honor me with one of their twelve year 2007
awards. A number of readers sent e-mails asking for more
information. Several asked if it were possible for them to attend
the actual event. Well, my wonderful readers; because you asked and
because I’m breaking with tradition for this one-year anniversary
issue, here’s the information: The CAC (www.CaulifolwerAlleyClub.org)
is the most prestigious
benevolent organization for professional wrestlers in the world.
Once a year, literally hundreds of the greatest professional
wrestlers alive get together for a three-day event. The event
attracts international press and culminates with a formal awards
dinner on the third night. This year the event will take place at
the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on April 19, 20, and 21.
The awards dinner will take place on Saturday night, April 21.
Details are available on the CAC website along with (as of the
writing of this column) a "front page" photo of Yours Truly. On
April 21, twelve awards will be presented.
Because of my contributions
to both the world of professional wrestling and to the
Hollywood-based entertainment industry, I am to receive the "Reel
Honoree" award. During the entire fifty-two-plus year history of the
CAC, less than seventy-five of these awards have been presented.
Former honorees include Sylvester Stallone, Kirk Douglas, Joe Don
Baker, Robert Forster, Elliot Gould, Tommy Sands, Guy Madison,
Charles Bronson, John Saxon, Pat Buttram,
David Carradine, Robert Conrad, Alex Karras, John Phillip Law,
George Raft, Karl Malden, Cesar Romero and Mickey Rooney, along with
Rowdy Roddy Piper, Judo Gene LeBell and others. I am certainly proud
to be receiving an award which has been presented previously to such
a "who’s who" of the wrestling and entertainment industries.
For next week’s column, I
am considering another break with tradition. I am pondering the
possibility of revealing to you a certain
"not-for-public-consumption" aspect of the wrestling business that I
have previously avoided sharing. But, then again, I wonder if my
readers would have any interest in the world-within-a-world of the
wrestling "groupies." Hmmm … Until next week, keep those e-mails
coming.
