Silverspoons look at the wrestling business
by Terry Joe Silverspoon on 2001-08-17

Let me start like this, a little personal history lesson. I wasn't born into the business of pro wrestling nor did I start at an early enough age to be a worker, or at age 34 I couldn't see myself as a wrestler. I did however want to be part of a business that I had followed for twenty years. That I accomplished in many different ways from ring crew to announcer to manager to promotor and yes on the odd time wrestled gimmick matches.

How did my love of pro wrestling begin? Well way back in 1968 as an eleven year old kid. My memory is foggy but certain individuals still stick in my mind. I may be wrong about the name of the promotions and show. One of my earliest memories is that of a BIG TIME WRESTLING. Now that may or may not be the name. I do however remember The Dutchman Dutch Savage. Then I recall All Star Wrestling.

Wrestlers Like Gene Kiniski, Don Leo Johnathan, Dean Ho, Eric Frolic later Playboy Buddy Rose, Rip Oliver, Lord Johnathan Boyd, Iron Mike Sharp, Ron Bass, Klondike Mike and many more. Oh yes at that time wrestling wasn't considered a real cool thing to follow. In fact it made me kind of a geek, I suppose I still am. Never was I totally enveloped in wrestling. it was an off and on kind of an involvement. I have have always found life had to many interesting diversions to zone in on just one thing. One of my passions though has always been professional wrestling. It was never just the so called competition, but more the characters and the role play that drew me to the tv set. I loved to watch a good story unfold. I am still more intrested in story rather then wrestling. To me the wrestling is the action part of a good story, each time out unfolding a new chapter. In those days nobody rode in on lights and special effects or for that matter music. Generating the character portraied was all up to the wrestler. He had to get himself over on his own steam. No elaborate sets, no backdrops, an interview was at ring side with a wrestling announcer. The wrestler had maybe thirty seconds to get his personality and purpose through to the viewers. An amazing realisim was brought to everything they did. It kept myself and thousands of others glued to the tv set.

I believed that know man alive could break Igor Volkoff's figure four leg lock. These men were gods, Heroes and Villans. Larger then life itself. They could do the impossible and beat impossible odds. Now I could have spent my time putting the business of pro wrestling under the microscope and given all kinds of indepth observations about work rates etc. Or critical accounts of WWF shows and local shows. Do I really need to do that after all pro wrestling is still about Heroes and Villans, doing the impossible and beating impossible odds. These men are still Gods and larger then life itself.