Welcome back to the 80’s Wrestling ZONE!
First off, I received a lot of great feedback from my debut column last week. Thank you so much for everyone that sent Emails. It looks like this column struck a chord with a ton of readers on here. It’s very obvious that I’m not the only one out there that still loves ’80s Wrestling.
I’m from New Jersey, so I grew up a huge WWF fan. I enjoyed watching NWA as well, but I was a WWF kid. It was everywhere. I still remember as a young child there was a parade in my town and “Hulk Hogan” was wrestling “Big John Studd” on a float. Now of course it wasn’t really them, it was just a few locals dressed up as them. It’s something that stands out to me as a child that I don’t forget.
I did get the chance to meet Big John Studd though. It was at the Meadowlands Race Track in East Rutherford, NJ. It was Big John Studd and Ricky Steamboat signing autographs. It was my first time meeting any of the bigger stars and it was just an amazing experience as a child that I will never forget.
One thing I will NEVER forget though is when my friends in the neighborhood came running down the street saying that “Rowdy” Roddy Piper was three blocks down the street. Crazy right? They were actually telling the truth! I lived down the street from Lou Duva’s boxing gym. Piper was there at the time training and filming for WrestleMania 2. I’m not sure why, but my parents didn’t let me go! All of my friends came home with autographs of Roddy Piper and I was sitting there like a jerk! Just for those that are wondering, my parents to this day don’t know why they didn’t let me go. They screwed me out of meeting Hot Rod!!!
I was a very lucky child though.
My parents would take me to see WWF every month at the Brendan Byrne Arena. It was also at William Paterson College in Wayne, NJ a few times a year as well. That would be what was considered the “B” or sometimes “C” show for the WWF. I remember one time the main event was Hercules vs. Billy Jack Haynes in a Chain Match. Till this day, I can still remember those two being bloody pigs at the conclusion of the match.
One time at Madison Square Garden, I was in the seventh row and caught “Rugged” Ronnie Garvin’s towel in his match against Greg Valentine. The cool thing is, I still have the towel and he’s going to be one of the vendor guests at my ’80s Wrestling Con on April 27th in Freehold, NJ at iPlay America. I plan on bringing it there to take a picture with him holding it.
I also caught “Leaping” Lanny Poffo’s frisbee at William Paterson College where he was going one on one against Ron Shaw. I got the chance to meet Lanny during intermission and took a picture with him holding it. He’s actually one of my featured guest at ’80s Wrestling Con and it’s the first time I’ve ever had him on one of my events. I’m really looking forward to having him.
These are all wonderful memories. I’d love to rewind the clock for just one day to a Saturday in 1986. If you were lucky enough to grow up on wrestling in the ’80s, chances are you would love to rewind the clock as well. While we can’t do that, we can meet back here each and every Monday in the ’80s Wrestling ZONE!
I’m very saddened by the passing of King Kong Bundy, who was scheduled to appear at ’80s Wrestling Con. He worked on many of my shows in the 90’s and truly is a pop-culture 80’s Icon. How he is not in the WWE Hall of Fame is a joke. He was in the main event of WrestleMania 2! I thought this year since it was in New Jersey it was a lock. With all of the years that have passed, it just wouldn’t mean the same now that he’s gone. On top of being a huge ’80s name, he found fame in the movie Moving and Married With Children. Just doesn’t make any sense to me.
Speaking of ’80s Wrestling Con, WrestleZone.com is doing a big promotion with us for it. They have exclusive interviews dropping soon with Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Paul Roma, and Original ’80s GLOW Girl Hollywood. We are working on a lot of other fun stuff as well, so stay tuned for more news on involvement between us. WrestleZone.com will have a booth and be live at the Con, so that’s going to be awesome.
’80s Wrestling Con takes place on Saturday, April 27th in Freehold, NJ at iPlay America. Appearing live will be Jake Roberts, Ricky Steamboat, Bruce Prichard, Wendi Richter, Ken Patera, Nasty Boys, Greg Valentine, Powers of Pain, Rocky Johnson, “Cowboy” Bob Orton, Slick, Lanny Poffo, Koko B. Ware, The Wild Samoans, Young Stallions, Bushwhacker Luke, and Tony Atlas. Also appearing as vendor guests will be the Original ’80s GLOW Girls (Hollywood, Lightning, and Royal Hawaiian), Barry Windham, Ronnie Garvin, Gary Michael Cappetta, and Barry Horowitz.
There will also be tons of different attractions taking place at ’80s Wrestling Con, including:
*The Ultimate ’80s Wrestling Auction
*The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of ’80s Wrestling Q&A Panel Presented by Megalopolis Toys
*The Glamour, Gilt, and Greed of the ’80s GLOW Girls Q&A Panel
*Pro Wrestling Illustrated Reveals Their Three Greatest ’80s Covers Ever
*Greg “The Hammer” Valentine’s Figure Four Challenge
*Koko B. Ware Performs Piledriver LIVE on Stage
*The Return of Pro Wrestling Spotlight With John Arezzi
*More!
’80s WRESTLING CON: To learn more about ’80s Wrestling Con, please visit http://80sWrestlingCon.com
TONIGHT ON 80’S WRESTLING RADIO: Every Monday night we do ’80s Wrestling Radio LIVE at 11PM EST. This week we have former WWE Cruiserweight Champion TJ Perkins on to talk ’80s Wrestling with us. You can call in and talk with us at (323) 927-2953 and listen live at http://BlogTalkRadio.com/
FEEDBACK: Do you have any cool memories like I do? Tell me about them! Email me at: 80sWrestlingPics@gmail.com
Thanks again guys and catch you next week right here in the ’80s Wrestling ZONE!
Tommy Fierro
