In this edition of Glitter and Slam, I'll talk about my mother's big personal revelation – that in her youth she was a big wrestling fan! Plus mother and son bonded for the first time as smarks as we go over the 2017 Glitter and Slam match of the year: the Last Woman Standing Match featuring Asuka vs. Nikki Cross.
MOM'S SHOCKING CONFESSION!
(Who knew? Mom joined the throngs to see the epitome of manliness when she was a teen – world champion Lou Thesz! Source: @SethHanson1982 twitter)
I was 11 when our family finally got cable, which gave us WTBS and the show World Championship Wrestling hosted by Gordon Solie every Saturday evening. I was enthralled watching Tommy Rich, Buzz Sawyer, National Heavyweight Champ Paul Orndorff, the Road Warriors, and scores of other greats, and of course the man with the ten pounds of gold that represented the NWA world championship, Ric Flair. Soon after, I found WWF programming on in the early afternoon. Amidst my awe at the crazy displays of power and occasional grace, my mom seemed to tolerate it.
(The wrestling I discovered in 1984 was certainly a departure from the norms of 1952. Gordon Solie Interviews the Road Warriors. Source: prowrestlingarchives.com)
She would often roll her eyes and say such things as "They're a bunch of sadomasochistic weirdoes" or mutter "Oh geez..." when I was glued to the screen. She still let me read the Bill Apter magazines, like The Wrestler and Pro Wrestling Illustrated. She even took me to see WWF shows twice at my local high school, where I got to see guys like Putski, Muraco, and the world champion Iron Sheik among others. I was always thankful that she indulged my interest, figuring it beat me blowing up the Dairy Queen or something, but I never thought she really thought much of the sport and business of pro wrestling. Then, we had an astonishing conversation Christmas evening that changed everything!
(Who knew? Mom and I smarking out together on Christmas. Source: personal archive)
Mom has always been hugely supportive of my writing, and always wanted to know when this column was posted. I told her that night about the match of the year I selected and that she should watch it with me, even though she didn't like wrestling.
(Mom didn't think much of Ric Flair's rhetoric, but she also revered the original Nature Boy, Buddy Rogers. Source: Pro Wrestling Illustrated/onlineworldofwrestling.com)
"I don't hate wrestling," she said. "When I was younger I watched on TV all the time with my brothers and we all read the magazines and everything." My jaw hit the floor. During wrestling's first golden age on TV, my own mom, the one who called the men I watched "sadomasochistic wierdoes." She elaborated that my grandparents got their first televsion in 1952 and it was in that first golden age she and her older brothers embraced the sport. They loved it! Every time pro wrestling came to town they and many of their neighbors out in farm country would load into pickup trucks to make the show – rain or shine – even in the winter.
(Mildred Burke was admired for her class, style and toughness in a man's world. Source: areaorion.blogspot.com)
She told me how, from that first television through high school, she cheered on the likes of Lou Thesz, Buddy Rogers and then emerging western Pennsylvania hero Bruno Sammartino and booed with the masses at Gorgeous George. My curiosity led to the big question that's relevant to my beat as an analyst of women's wrestling: What were her thoughts about the female grapplers of that era?
(Another favorite who mingled the feminine ideal with socially odd athleticism in the 50's. Source: GCCWhistory.com)
She told me she never was able to see women wrestle on television and gleaned most of her knowledge of their work in print. Mom looked up to wrestlers like Nell Stewart and champion Mildred Burke.
"I looked up to them when I was a teenager because they were very classy and tough. And they did all that when it wasn't considered a good thing for women to be athletes," she said. I knew that she didn't really follow wrestling now, so I was curious what she thought of some of the women who wrestled now, during WWE's Women's Evolution.
(What would she think of today's stars? Sasha Banks and Bayley before their seminal Brooklyn match. Source: WWE Network)
I brought up the WWE network on the pc and watched the groundbreaking NXT championship match between Bayley and Sasha Banks at the first NXT Takeover. It was special watching this again, now knowing my mom actually appreciated the sport! She didn't say much during the match, but I gauged her reactions and she was especially amused at how Sasha and Bayley played for the camera as the latter kicked the Boss in the face to get out of the turnbuckle.
(In the stars of the 21st century, the classy power of Sasha Banks shined through, forging a direct line back to the first days of wrestling on televison for a fan of yesteryear. Source: GQ Magazine.)
"This is a lot different, but I can see they can definitely wrestle," said as we watched. She praised Banks' athleticism when she took to the air and both of them for exuding class reminiscent of the heroines she revered in her teen years, even in light of the more over-the-top nature of WWE's brand of sports entertainment. I asked her after that if she would be interested in watching the Glitter and Slam match of the year for 2017, something that, in her view, may have a more post-modern feel. I'll go into her reaction after the analysis of . . .
GLITTER AND SLAM WOMEN'S MATCH OF THE YEAR
ASUKA (C) VS. NIKKI CROSS FOR THE NXT WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP
(Ring-a-ding-ding. Source: WWE.com)
At times it worked, as with the Money in the Bank buildup. But, then we had Bayley's burial after a five minute squash against Alexa Bliss, culminating in a creepy hug with Corey Graves as she basically told the world she was a wimp. On the blue side, a thin roster was evident as the only thing the creative team could think of, was to stick champ Naomi in three lame matches with the exceedingly green Lana.
(Truly five feet of fury. Cross shined and took her game to the next level in her first true 1 on 1 title match. Source: WWE.com)
Asuka and Nikki showed what it will take for 2018's Women's Evolution to continue when they squared off one-on-one. Their last woman standing match was 20-plus minutes that included crisp chain wrestling, stiff kicks, shameless pugilism, chairs, a trashcan and all sorts of improvised violence.
(Source: WWE Youtube)
Asuka shouldered the champion's burden and gave Cross the chance to shine, but she didn't have to carry the Dystopian Devil, who made the most of this opportunity to showcase her skill in her first one-on-one high profile match. It culminated in in a fitting end, after the Empress of tomorrow refused to stay down, with her suplexing Cross off a ladder into the the announce table to cinch the last second victory, barely getting up herself at the ten count.
In the end, fans got the best match from two of the game's elite in women's wrestling today, in WWE and the world at large. Fans also received a possible glimpse into how great women's wrestling in WWE can be. This match shows that 2018 can be a superior year in the women's division, especially now that Asuka brings her talents and presence to Raw. Will that happen? Time will tell.
(Source: WWE.com)
Finally, Mom was in awe of these women, but she didn't find the connection to her past heroines of wrestling in the 1950's. Cross was unlike anything she expected, with her constant up-tempo fighting style clashing with Asuka's powerful strikes and fluid grappling. She was, however, entertained by their zeal to go hard and put on the best show possible, working stiff to keep the butts in the seats. I know next time I want to keep up with my beat in the wrestling world, it won't be a surprise when Audrey Kozalla clicks on that link in her son's email to check out what the women of WWE and beyond are doing in the squared circle.
Next time in Glitter and Slam, we'll talk about the groundbreaking 30-woman Royal Rumble.
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