The year's end is usually a time to reflect on what has transpired over the last twelve months, good or bad. That was my original idea for this column. But then I ran across a stack of old wrestling magazines, some dating back a decade, so I thought maybe I'd reflect on those instead.
Back before the Internet made us all smarks, it was the magazines that told us all we wanted to know (or what they wanted us to know) about sports entertainment. Personally, I'd rather be a smark.
Most of the magazines were old WWE publications, and as I thumbed through them, the cast of characters didn't seem much different than they are today. In June of 1999, the cover was dedicated to "Getting It." There was DX, with Chyna wearing the headband that Beth Phoenix has ripped off. There was Mick Foley and Viscera (during his Brood days) and even the Undertaker trying to snap Sable's neck. Sable--remember her?
In August of 1999, Faarooq and Bradshaw were featured. I think the Acolyte Protection Agency was one of WWE's funniest (and, obviously, most enduring) duos. In fact, I remember the moment that their humor started to shine through. Bradshaw was bragging about all the "holts" he knew, and Faarooq corrected him, saying that he thought "hold" was the correct term. It was a little thing, but it struck me funny and I always remembered it. Later on came their legendary poker games and the "office door" that became a running joke. Who'd have thought Bradshaw would still be around and challenging Chris Jericho in 2008? DAMN!
Then there was The Brood, who had the most awesome entrance since the Undertaker. Edge and Christian, looking handsome in their puffy shirts, seemed like championship material even then. And they made it, too, although one became the champion of an organization that wasn't even a twinkle in its founder's eye at the time.
I had saved some newspaper clippings, too. The marketing for shows was much different ten years ago at the height of Monday Night Wars, and Raw coming to town in 1997 was treated almost like the circus coming to town. Well, that's an exaggeration, since the circus coming to town garners a lot more media interest, both then and now. (It's hard to top a parade of elephants headed from the train station to the civic center.)
Nonetheless, a February 1997 issue of the Huntsville Times I'd tucked away for posterity included a quarter-page WWE advertisement for matches between Goldust and Savio Vega, the Godwinns vs. The New Blackjacks, and Sunny vs. Marlena in an arm wrestling match. The main event was to be a steel cage showdown featuring The Undertaker & Ahmed Johnson vs. Faarooq & Crush. And that was just for a house show.
The Times had also done a comprehensive analysis of the Monday Night Wars which was accompanied by a color photo of Crush (Brian Adams), and it made me sad to think that ten years later he'd be gone.
So what was the assessment of the Monday Night Wars back then? We'll delve into that next week.
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Thanks for reading and see ya next week.