What was your first exposure to Wrestling?

[XL]

I was thinking about this on a personal level earlier today. I honestly don't recall.

I mean, I have WrestleMania II on VHS but I know that was purchsed after I started watching because I wasn't even 2 years old when the event happened.

Do YOU know what your first exposure was? And what were your thoughts at the time and/or now?

[Aguakate]

My dad wrestled in Puerto Rico, so I have known wrestling for as long as I can remember.

[Triple Naitch]

I honestly don't remember.

[Lock Jaw]

Don't remember. But my father watched wrestling. And my father's father watched wrestling. And my father's father's father... I don't know about.

I remember having tons of wrestling T-shirts/toys/stuff from a very young age.

[Mr. Pierre]

A friend of mine invited me over for Summerslam 96 and I was hooked.

[Xero]

WrestleFest and hearing about it from friends.

[MoFo]

Having a sleepover (yh gay i know) and Royal Rumble 2000 was on Channel 4.

Mae Youngs titties had me hooked ever since.

[Anybody Thrilla]

I used to watch Aguakate's dad wrestle in Puerto Rico.

[Exyle]

It's a vague memory now, but it was the WCW show that was on in the afternoon in the mid-late 80's (Pro? Main Event?). I was visiting my older brother at the time, and he explained all of the wrestlers' gimmicks to me.

The first one I remember vividly is Royal Rumble 1992, where Ric Flair won from #3. The PPV was my birthday gift from the same brother.

[FourFifty]

Chanel surfing. If I can put the pieces together it may have been Rhythm & Blues vs The Bushwhackers. If I'm wrong, then I have to say Rhythm & Blues.

When I went to WM25 after the show Rhythm & Blues were doing an autograph signing in their hotel room. When it got up to my turn I looked HTM in the eyes and said "I grew up hating you." He snapped into his persona and asked me what he ever did to me or my family to make me hate him. I then told him that I remembered him. He thanked me, and I laughed my ass off.

After that I watched it on Saturday almost religiously. Randy Savage was the one to hook me into it. From I would rent a WWF ppv tape every other week. WMIV still holds a great place in my heart.

[Tom Guycott]

It was one of those things I always remember being into.

My first memories were of the for-real, once a month Saturday Night Main Event and All-American Wrestling (when we could afford to have cable). My older brother regailed me with tales of some company called NWA and was all hype about some guy named Ric Flair, but he lived in another town that could pick up a station that aired it. I remember liking JYD (because he was the only black guy I could remember seeing, plus mom liked him) and HATING Piper (because he was a damn good heel- I legit hated him even when I first started to learn it was a work).

[Rammsteinmad]

http://multimedia.collectorsquest.com/image/420x1000/wwf-sticker-album-1909.jpg

Had a voucher in the newspaper to get this for free, back in 1993. I was only six, and remember my parents asking my sister to take me to the shop to buy some stickers. Started watching from there. In fact, I think I was watching from the very first episode of Raw.

I still have the sticker album somewhere. Never managed to complete it though. :(

[Schlomey]

My grandpa loved wrestling. One of my earliest life memories was visiting my grandpa and watching WWF sitting on the floor right in front of the old wood panel television.

Jake The Snake was my obvious favorite and I also loved The American Dream Dusty Rhodes.

I have loved wrestling since I was about 3 years old and I'm in my late 20's.

[Lock Jaw]

My first exposure to wrestling was Juventud Guerrera in a hotel in Australia.

[Emperor Smeat]

Can't remember the exact starting moment or time but the first shows I watched were WWF Superstars on Sundays over my grandparents house after CCD/religious class.

At that time, my grandfather was the one who would sit down to watch with my cousins and myself while my grandmother would make lunch for everyone.

[whiteyford]

A Steiner brothers squash match in the early 90s, no idea how i stumbled across it, but watching them destroy two jobbers made me want to see more.

[Lara Emily]

My dad used to love it back in the late 80s early 90s he's was like come watch this with me, at first I thought it was stupid then I loved it.

[Sixx]

I wrestled Aguate's dad in Puerto Rico.

[Crazy Nick]

When I was like 6, I use to go to this place called the youth center, and I remember them having gum that had pictures of wrestlers in them,everyone was trying to get Hulk Hogan. That was my first exposure to wrestling, then I was channel surfing and started watching it on my own. I later found out that my grandfather, watched wrestling so I must have gotten it from him, he past away before I was born.

[Mr Amazing]

watch king of the ring 1998 undertaker vs mick foley in hell in a cell got me hooked for life

[AKin3D]

My first memory of wrestling is from when I was 2. My mom was telling me it was time to get out of the bath or we'd miss wrestling. Then us sitting down watching Saturday Night's Main Event. I do recall Hercules wrestling.

From that moment, until about 94 or 95 (Right before In Your House PPV Started) my wrestling memory is spotted. Like I know I watched, but can't remember.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

WCW Saturdays. Flyin' Bryan :heart:

After I got into WWE, didn't even realise that Brian Pillman was the same dude until much later.

[Jeritron]

I'm not quite sure, but a kid down the street I hung out with was into it long before I was.
I think he would try to push it on me but I never really got into it.

I have early memories of:

putting down sheets on my bedroom floor to make a ring, and us having matches with those Hogan/Warrior pillow wrestlers.

Playing one of the games for NES.

Those tiny plastic M.U.S.C.L.E wrestling figures.

Playing with Hasbro WWF figures at my cousin's house. Macho Man Randy Savage and The Bushwackers specifically.

The Undertaker. Possibly the first wrestler I knew of by name. He was pretty mythic and scary/interesting to me. My sister and friend also convinced me he was her friend's dad who I'd never seen.

Sting and Ultimate Warrior.


I'm not sure which of those come first. They're all probably from around the age of 5 or 6.

[Jeritron]

After that I think I didn't care or take notice of anything for a long time. I knew who Bret and Shawn were, but I had no interest in wrestling.
I was actually one of those kids who would tell the kid with the wrestling mags that it was fake. I'd pass it on tv for other things.
I was too into Star Wars, comic books, baseball and video games.

I remember wondering what the hell nWo was. I'm pretty sure my mom didn't want me watching it, but was easily pushed over.

Got into it suddenly and intense right when the attitude era started, more or less.

[Sixx]

I have early memories of:

putting down sheets on my bedroom floor to make a ring, and us having matches with those Hogan/Warrior pillow wrestlers.


I remember making a ring out of a pizza box by sticking pens in it to make ringposts and using G.I. Joe action figures as wrestlers.

Each event was a Domino's advertisement.

[RiX1024]

Mine was in Summer 99 when my mate told me to watch WWE RAW, once i switched it on I got hooked....a week before Fully Loaded 99.

[whiteyford]

putting down sheets on my bedroom floor to make a ring, and us having matches with those Hogan/Warrior pillow wrestlers.

Did pillow Hogan job?

[The Ravishing One]

A friend brought over Summerslam 91 and I was hooked from there.

[Beth Phoenix Fan]

mine was beacuse of a neighbor i knew in 2004

they had a tape that had wrestlemania 7 and wcw superbrawl 1991(these were recorded on tape) and also wcw wrestle war 1991 and war games 1991

[CSL]

Hogan/Savage London Arena 1989. Put it in spoilers because the videos autoplay at the same time for some ridiculous reason.

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May have marked out a bit watching this again, mostly because I remembered most of the spots which tells you how many times I must have watched this as a kid. Gonna go watch some other stuff I haven't seen since then.

[Jeritron]

I remember making a ring out of a pizza box by sticking penis in it.

[GD]

WWF- Yokozuna versus the Undertaker!

[ooTin]

Sadly the first PPV I ever ordered was Over The Edge (the one where Owen died RIP) But I have been watching since 92. Royal Rumble 1992 WOOOOOOO Flair won.

[dhellova guy]

I was doing Aguates mom while his dad was in Pueto Rico.

[itsmeJD]

My uncle was a big fan when I was a kid and back in the 80's had the old school super huge satellite dish in his back yard. He was able to get PPV's for free and use to invite us over to watch it. After that it was 6:05 pm on the Superstation for WCW Saturday Night and 7:05 on Sunday for the Main Event...and the various syndicated WWF shows on the weekends as well.

[Seth82]

two of my older cousins were pretty big fans as teenagers and they really got me into it

I was probably 6 or 7 when I started watching it

first match I can remember seeing was a Big Bossman match from saturday nights main event

was really hooked and watched religiously for quite a few yrs

[Brigstocke]

My dad had a video of The Rockers vs Earthquake and Typhoon and I watched it when I was about 4/5.

[The Ravishing One]

My dad only had videos of girls wrestling when I was younger.

[RiX1024]

I actually got my parents into wrestling even though my dad told me it was a con but i didn't care at the time and he loved it in the end.....but my stepmum didn't like my dad following it and my mum only preferred the Attitude Era.

[Nicky Fives]

I visited my uncle with my parents, and he was watching Summerslam 1996 that he rented from a video store...... I'm not sure exactly when it was, but I think it was either the Winter of 96 or very beginning of 1997.....

[JimmyMess]

I remember having really really old Hulk Hogan and Macho toys from when I was like 6. And then there is nothing, but around 1997 I remember getting back into it.

I was playing road hockey at my buddies house and the whole time he wouldn't shut up about "omg man Stone Cold won and he broke his neck! The guy broke his neck and won" and I was like "wtf is a stone cold?" And I started watching from there. And the rest is history...

[glanville6]

I was a high school sophomore at the beginning of the attitude era in late 1998. WCW was still popular, too. But I preferred WWF anyway. First few things I remember are the Brood, Michael Buffer, and Chyna being hideously ugly.

I also remember my friend would call me gay for not watching wrestling- and I'd point out that he was the one wearing a shirt with a topless Buff Bagwell.

[DLVH84]

My first exposure into the sport was in 1988 with Europe's Catch Wrestling Association and All-Star Wrestling.

[ace3025]

My friend in middle school came over one Monday night and he wanted to watch Nitro. The first match I ever watched was a Goldberg squash. I don't remember the rest of the show but I was hooked and wanted to be watching when the streak was broken. Luckily his dad was nuts and recorded every wrestling show he could so I got to watch bootleg VHS' from '85 on.

[XL]

I'm still trying to place it for myself.

I have a bucket load of the Hasbro action figures (I remember being pretty PO'd when they stopped selling tag teams as teams) and the blue WWF ring. I quite vividly remember watching WCW Worldwide every Saturday at 3pm on ITV whilst at my grandparents house along with my cousin. We were both WWF fans but they had no shows on free TV. I remember "Surfer" Sting, Vader, Johnny B. Badd and The Hollywood Blondes.

The SilverVision VHS' I have are WM6 & 8, the Rumble, SummerSlam & Survivor Series from 92, SummerSlam 93, etc. Mania 6 was in 1990 so that puts me at 6 years old which seems about right.

I watched up to around WrestleMania 11 in 95 at which point I stopped. I got back into it just ahead of SummerSlam 98 when I caught some of Raw when I was at a friends' house. He lent me King of the Ring and Over The Edge from 98 and then I watched SummerSlam live at 1am.

I've been watching to varying degrees since then.

[CSL]

I quite vividly remember watching WCW Worldwide every Saturday at 3pm on ITV whilst at my grandparents house along with my cousin.

Yesss. Used to tape it every week. Ahhh Vinnie Vegas vs. Jumping Joey Maggs.

[James Diesel]

I must have been about 7 or 8 and I wanted to flip through the channels surreptitiously cause if my parents knew I was watching TV after bedtime they would've whipped my ass.

Anyways, I came across the USA network and I (vaguely) remember this fucking huge masked guy (who I later realized must have been Kane) flipping over a car on an episode of Raw? Whatever happened, I decided to sit back and see what happened. 13 years later, I still have no idea what's going on.

If anyone could possibly refresh my memory on this nostalgic Raw moment, please do so.

[owenbrown]

USWA Wrestling on Saturday mornings

[whiteyford]

I quite vividly remember watching WCW Worldwide every Saturday at 3pm on ITV whilst at my grandparents house along with my cousin. We were both WWF fans but they had no shows on free TV. I remember "Surfer" Sting, Vader, Johnny B. Badd and The Hollywood Blondes.

I remember seeing Vader on that, he was still an unstoppable monster, marked out for him every time he wa on.:love:

[ooTin]

My friends and I used to set up a matress in the living room when there parents were away. We would wrestle and film it. We had announcers. Enterances, Pyro(flick the lights on and off), and music. We used plywood for tables(that took about 6+ throws to break them). I remember one time we got a little carried away and my friend threw me through his parents sliding glass shower door... needless to say his dad was PISSED! His dad found the tapes (we had 20+ tapes) and ended up laughing his ass off when he watched them. We were between the ages of 6 and 13. Ah remembering the good ole days.

[Favre4Ever]

When I was in 9th grade in 1999-2000 we randomly started watching Smackdown! on UPN, I guess it came on before Star Trek:Voyager episodes and we loved that shit. First episode I saw was when HHH took a "drugged up" Stephanie Mchmahon to a "drive-through" wedding place.

Two friends of my siblings and I immediately revealed they were huge wrestling fans once we told them we had started watching, but one was a WCW fan and one was WWF. They would have these huge squabbles over whether Sting was better than The Rock or Austin was better than Goldberg, ect. I watched maybe 2 episodes of Nitro ever, but since Smackdown! was the first show I watched and the product was incredibly riveting back then, I was firmly a WWF guy from the beginning.

[Loose Cannon]

I'm almost positive it was the Rock N Wrestling cartoon back in 85/86. My parents tell me I loved the cartoon and I somehow discovered the real thing from it.

[Aguakate]

...I love this business!

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[Juan]

I was almost 7 years old and we went to my aunt and uncle's for Thanksgiving and they had ordered the 1990 Survivor Series. Been watching ever since.

[Nightwing]

I remember flipping channels when I was pretty young, early 90s I think. Hulk Hogan was wrestling someone in a cage match, I wanna say it was Boss Man. Im not sure though. I always want to think it was a Saturday Nights Main event.

[XL]

My friends and I used to set up a matress in the living room when there parents were away. We would wrestle and film it. We had announcers. Enterances, Pyro(flick the lights on and off), and music. We used plywood for tables(that took about 6+ throws to break them). I remember one time we got a little carried away and my friend threw me through his parents sliding glass shower door... needless to say his dad was PISSED! His dad found the tapes (we had 20+ tapes) and ended up laughing his ass off when he watched them. We were between the ages of 6 and 13. Ah remembering the good ole days.
Wait. Your first exposure to wrestling was actually doing it?

You must be a natural, when do you debut on Raw?

[Xero]

I remember flipping channels when I was pretty young, early 90s I think. Hulk Hogan was wrestling someone in a cage match, I wanna say it was Boss Man. Im not sure though. I always want to think it was a Saturday Nights Main event.

Was it this match?

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[Grablot]

I saw trish stratus while flipping channels and that got my attention if u know what I mean :naughty: :naughty: :naughty:

[Chavo Classic]

My uncle and I used to wrestle a lot. At least that's what he told me we were doing.

[NoRoolz]

First exposure to wrestling was in 1998, as an 8 year old boy my interest was drawn by a programme named 'SHOTGUN'. I turned it on and saw a man repeatedly chopping himself either side of the crotch area wearing silly little shorts. This man's name was then announced as 'Billy Gunn' which was the coolest name I'd ever heard so I continued to watch. I think he wrestled Farooq but that'd be a guess.

[XL]

LOL. You must be the only guy on the planet drawn to wrestling because of Billy Gunn :y:.

[Lock Jaw]

To expand on my story. While my father and his father both enjoyed wrestling... I think it was always just "background" to me. I watched it, and played with all the toys, but I didn't really pay attention too closely. Then I got scared by Papa Shango making Ultimate Warrior throw up and stopped paying attention altogether. Though, this was semi-impossible considering my dad and siblings still watched.

What got me back was... Summerslam... Paul Bearer turned on The Undertaker in the boiler room brawl. I started watching again slowly... and then Wrestlemania 13 came. Bret vs Austin had me hooked for good.

[Haze]

My first exposure went back into the WWF Saturday morning programming, watching Hogan, Savage, Dibiase, and the like. I stopped watching it for awhile after the Ultimate Warrior/Papa Shango feud.

I can remember to the day when I started watching again.

It was Feb. 23 1998, and it was the Monday Nitro following SuperBrawl VIII. Ever since that show I have regularly been watching, or at least keeping tabs on wrestling via the dirt sheets.

[NoRoolz]

LOL. You must be the only guy on the planet drawn to wrestling because of Billy Gunn :y:.

It's probable. I was mesmorized, I didn't want the strobe lighting and rude gestures to stop.

[stultiloquy]

The earliest memory of wrestling I can remember is seeing Jerry Lawler slap andy Kaufman in the face on Letterman. I didn't know it had anything to do with wrestling at the time, but technically that's my first exposure to wrestling.

The first actual wrestling match I watched was Undertaker vs Ultimate Warrior; after I saw 'Taker lock Warrior in a casket after the match I was hooked.

[CSL]

LOL. You must be the only guy on the planet drawn to wrestling because of Billy Gunn :y:.

Fuck that, Billy Gunn/the Outlaws were the shit in 1998. I remember buying into believing that he might beat Trips for the belt on one of the first episodes of Smackdown.

[Nightwing]

Was it this match?

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Oh shit, that was it. Wow. My memory was crazy accurate. Thanks for that! :y: