I’m now reading this as also code that YOU will wear your tights to the event, and you will bring a mask too, just in case in you have jump into the ring.
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This is interesting!
When I was a kid, I remember World Class Championship Wrestling always showed their premium matches on TV (like the Von Erichs).
The WWF almost never showed Hulk Hogan or Andre the Giant. You had to pay to see them in person. They just promoted the hell out of them with interviews.
I always wondered where WWF matches took place. WCCW always began their show with “from the world famous Sportatorium in Dallas” but the WWF seemed to hide their locations.
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The coolest part of being a volunteer with Love Pro is being there an hour before the doors open and seeing the “behind the curtain” stuff.
As someone who has been watching wrestling for forty years, this has never been about myth busting, this was and still is about the awe of how these performances come about.
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If I did that bulkamania would be running wild!
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Jake “The Snake” Roberts. All-time great. I grew up in the golden age of WWF Hulkamania, so that era will be evergreen for me, but even in that field, Jake was a guy for the ages. Probably a top heel generationally, in such large part because he didn’t have to scream and rant to make his point. Just dead articulate, calm and collected, with that smile that would give you nightmares.
In the ring, a master of psychology. As he said recently when he appeared on a podcast hosted by the Undertaker, nowadays wrestling is more of a track meet. People work spots continuously, and tempo is really a lost art. Jake could hold an arm bar for 30 seconds and make you the viewer feel like he had the guy’s arm in a steel trap. I’m not dissing today’s wrestlers. Some great stuff happening, particularly on the women’s side with people like Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley, but the vibe is different. I grew up on old-school wrestling where matches had room to breathe and many wrestlers still practiced the old craft of calling the match in the ring, not pre-scripting every beat weeks beforehand.
Anyway, Jake was a master. Go look up any of his classic promos and they are just straight-up gold. His classic matches are a clinic in in-ring storytelling. If drug addiction hadn’t derailed him, he’d have become a household name. I’m glad he survived and is still around to tell his stories.
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yes, it was mostly promote the hell interviews when it came to TV/Arena superstars like Andre Giant or Hulk Hogan - but they’d occasionally feed a hungry TV audience a “squash match” for the ultra superstars. Remember one time they fed a ring-boy/technician by name of Kenny Jay against Hogan. Might have lasted 2 minutes - at most.
Today’s superstars are not only physically over-trained they usually exhibit magnificent acting and vocal skills. The best of the current crop = Paul Heyman (manager), Jon Moxley, Marina Shafir, CM Punk, Kenny Omega, Becky Lynch, a few more.
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And who of those around can ever forget, The Undertaker in my opinion had the best manager of all, the legendary Paul Bearer!
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Ohhhhhhhh yeeeeeeesssssss!
Love me some Paul Bearer.
Still remember Taker’s Survivor Series debut back when he was very temporarily managed by Brother Love, who quickly gave way to Bearer. Amazing stuff.
Mind you, the ‘80s was the golden era of heel managers: Bearer, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, the Doctor of Style Slick, Mr. Fuji, and of course, the one and only “Sensational” Sherri!
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Bobby (Heenan) was in a league of his own. A trained wrestler, his ability to absorb bumps while still perpetrating a comedy/heel manager was truly amazing. He even transitioned into the fake broadcast booth like he was born to do it.
Paul Bearer would be my #2 guy, but a bit behind Bobby. Although Bearer was familiar with most wrestling moves he only took the occasional bump on behalf of his guy(s).
Best thing about wrestling is most gimmicks repeat themselves, there’s been dozens (if not more) nature boys, lots of Bruisers, Masked Men, etc. But the ironic thing, nobody has stolen Jake Snake’s gimmick . . . . perhaps fear of snakes has something to do with it???
Worst thing I’ve ever seen in wrestling was when Owen Hart tried flying into the ring from the rafter and his support system failed him big-time. Owen loved to take risks and this one caught him. But Mr. McMahon and the WWE were guilty of negligence, failing to make sure the stunt succeeded instead of costing a young man his life.
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One hilarious tidbit that came out on that Taker podcast is that Jake is actually scared of snakes! 
The man would do anything for the gimmick, I tell you.
But yeah, you can’t replicate Jake’s heel bit. One of a kind. As you say, there have been many bruisers, Nature Boys, monster heels, you name it. But Jake stood in his own category. I can’t be the only person permanently traumatized (in a good way) by watching Jake seal Macho Man Randy Savage (edit: Ultimate Warrior, not Macho Man) in that casket as part of his heel turn to align with the Undertaker. All this on a Saturday morning wrestling show nominally for kids! 
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#1 purpose: to do something rotten to the face while the heel distracts the referee.
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But also get a guy over in promo if he didn’t have the mic skills to do it himself. Some guys had chops on the mic. Some didn’t.
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I knew I was forgetting the Mouth of the South!
Also, going back a few years, “Classie” Freddie Blassie and Captain Lou Albano.
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I remember him burying the ultimate warrior as well. 
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It was Warrior, you’re right! Not Macho Man. Though he did get the cobra to bite Macho Man in the ring.
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Might have got him at his wedding as well although I’m a little hazy on the details
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Some of classic wrestling’s most intriguing youtube matches might be a bit grayed & choppy - old 16mm films taken by the promoter’s son or wife (these folks were frugal). However, one that really stands out is when Andre the Giant, still in his prime (age 24 to 34) took on Handsome Harley Race. I call him Handsome Harley cuz I remember going to rasslin’ shows at the venerable Winnipeg Auditorium (across from the now-shuttered Bay store) Race tagged with Larry “the ax” Henning (Curt Henning’s pa) many times at that venue while Race was still owned by Vern Gagne’s AWA. In early days Race was a pretty boy, standing a tad over 6 ft. maybe real weight of 210 to 220. Far cry from later Race, scarred up by blade work, ballooning 250+ (maybe 260) lbs. However, Race made a huge name for himself after leaving AWA as multi-time NWA champion and a staple of that promotion.
The memorable match Race had was when Andre (6’10”, 475) stopped by the promotion as a wrestling tourist and was pitted up vs. Race.
Race actually dominated the match - found a way to get Andre on the ground and “punish” him to no end with a bear hug of all things which lasted several minutes. How the heck does a man of average size put a bear hug on a giant? Well, it wasn’t easy - obviously Andre was in full cooperation mode. IT was a stretch to be sure, Race’s hands barely connected so the sight of Andre in anguish was full-bore acting. Obviously, Andre wasn’t going to submit so they decided to end the match by rolling out of the ring and pretend-fight until the ref DQ’d both.
The match reinforced Race as the top tough guy champion in his territory while Andre donated his anguish and pain to the promotion in exchange for his hefty appearance fee (can u imagine his room service bill at the hotel?) Andre did much the same thing for years, getting paid to put local territory champions over. ITs one of the many magic secrets of pro wrestling.
But there was only one Andre the Giant.
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FWIW - here’s the youtube video of Andre vs. Race from 1979, Warning: lots of commercials (you can skip) imbedded. Andre was about 32 or 33 in this thing - starting to spiral into very bad health, although he lasted at least another 12 to 14 years before succumbing at age 46. Andre’s cardio/stamina was obviously is disrepair, so Race designed a smooch-fest where there was plenty of time available for Andre to nap or pass out during the lengthy match. As I mentioned the ending was designed to leave both guys with their dignity and heat intact.
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