Friday, January 4, 2008

Readying myself for wrestling

In anticipation of Saturday's World Wrestling Entertainment matinee at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center, I'm preparing for the show when I return from work tonight ... I think.

One of several DVDs I recently have at my place from Blockbuster.com is "The Condemned," the full-length feature starring former world champ "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and produced by WWE chairman Vince McMahon.

I said that I might watch "The Condemned" because I've given mixed reviews for the WWE's other theatrical releases: "The Marine," starring John Cena, and "See No Evil," starring Kane (you might know him as Glenn Jacobs).

"The Marine" had some really amazing explosions and action sequences though, as a writer, I found the plot lacking. As for "See No Evil," I saw it for $1 on a Tuesday afternoon at the South Hills Mall ... let's just say I got my money's worth.

But "The Condemned?" It was reviewed as one of the worst movies of 2007, so I might pass on it tonight in favor of "Hannah Montana: Pop Star Profile." (Yes, I have very eclectic tastes when it comes to my entertainment options.)

Don't get me wrong: I'm down with "Stone Cold."

Back in the day when I used to watch the WWF (and later, WWE), I liked his devil-may-care attitude, not to mention the way he'd always manhandle my uncle Vince. I even once bought an official can of his Whoop-Ass, complete with an AUSTIN 3:16 T-shirt inside.

Was I a "Stone Cold" fan? No. I lived in Vermont and had a lot more expendable income than I do now.

I did, though, buy a copy of the Texas Rattlesnake's 2004 autobiography (above), hand-signed (below) by "Stone Cold" himself:


Either way, I'm sure Saturday's WWE show will be a good time, as it's the first time I've see the Superstars live since January 2005, when I was invited backstage to meet Chris Benoit, the wrestler I'd interviewed for a story in anticipation of the live event.

I'm actually looking at Saturday's show as a day of live entertainment, as if on the Great White Way ... but we may even get some sweat splattered on us! (Oh, dare to dream!) Let's see ya get that at your fancy Broadway theater!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I hope you have a great time - I can remember watching wrestling in my early years (long before you were blogging, I'm sure) when it was still in black and white (or maybe just my grandmother's TV was - lol) - my grandmother was an avid fan and never missed it on Sat nights. We watched the early years of Andre the Giant,Chief Jay Strongbow and Billie Whitewolf and many others. I continued to watch sporadically over the years and even attended Wrestlemania IX in Las Vegas in the 90's when I was there for another event - tickets were $100 for a 5th row aisle seat by the ring. My most memorable moment was when the Undertaker came out from the tunnel to walk towards the ring - I could not believe how big he was (course, my being just under 5 foot made him even bigger)...but trust me - he was BIG. And watching Hulk Hogan win. Some of my favorite wrestlers were in those matches. I still have pictures buried somewheres of that event. It will be a great couple of hours I'm sure !!

nys1emt