The WWE Sports-Entertainment Generation & Its Link to the Old-School NWA

The other day I am on the job, talking to a 20-something employee, when the subject of comedians comes up.  I mentioned Richard Pryor, because when you’re talking about comedians, especially the all-time greats, there is just no way to have a serious discussion without talking about him.

I waited for a moment, for an enthusiastic smile, followed by a personal favorite movie moment.  I waited.  And, then I waited some more.  Finally, I got a response.

“Who’s Richard Pryor?”

Breathe deep, Tom.  Just try and breathe deep.

As I pondered the impossibility that this person truly did not know who one of the most groundbreaking comics to ever take the stage was, I suddenly began asking myself a very painful question.

Am I really that old?

As a pro wrestling fan, it’s a question I have asked so many times, it’s ridiculous.  Why?

Because the more I encounter fans younger than myself, especially those of the WWE generation, the more I begin to see that the link between now, and then, is growing weaker.  What is the “then?”

A lot of fans refer to them as the old school, or the territories era.  I just call them the good old days.

Three words: Jim Crockett Promotions.  

A Southern wrestling company run by the son of a longtime promoter, JCP operated in the Mid-Atlantic territory, and was considered a regional promotion at best.

That is, until Crockett began to load the roster with some of the most legendary talent the business has ever seen.

Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, the Road Warriors, Nikita Koloff, the Rock & Roll Express, Magnum TA, the Four Horsemen, the Midnight Express, all of these stars led the National Wrestling Alliance to worldwide prominence.  The NWA became recognized as the industry leader in sports entertainment.

That last bit was crap, by the way.  Just wanted to see if you were paying attention.

JCP was all about the wrestling.  It’s what they did best, and no one did it better.  To this day, no one could ever do it better.

Don’t misunderstand me here, I am not one of those crotchety old fans who sit back and bash WWE at every turn, while spouting off little nuggets of wisdom that begin with “back in my day!”  I am a WWE Featured Columnist, after all.  

Truth be told, I am more than happy with several aspects of Vince McMahon’s company, and when it comes to big-time matches featuring great talent, WWE knows how to get it done.

But, “back in my day,” the World Wrestling Federation was the biggest circus the business had ever seen.  The only thing they were missing was the tent, and believe me, if one had shown up on WWF TV, I would not have been surprised.

The WWF presented crazy storylines featuring over-the-top characters in silly situations.  Working against every usual concept promoters had used for years, Vince McMahon took much of the focus off of the in-ring action, and placed it firmly on the ridiculous antics of his Superstars.

Hulk Hogan led an extremely colorful cast of characters into one live-action cartoon adventure after another, and while fans who may have been loyal to their product loved every minute of it, I was one of those “other” fans.

You were either an NWA or a WWF guy.  That’s it.  The territories were in full effect of course, and there were a lot of workers who were doing a lot to make waves in those promotions.  But, Jim Crockett was No. 1, and Vince McMahon was a distant No. 2.

It seems like a hundred years ago, now, doesn’t it?  For those fans out there who were actually around when Vince was still in the process of building his empire, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

For those of you who were not around then, all I can say is, you missed some great wrestling.

Again, I’m not trying to sound like the old man in the room.  The fact is, there’s nothing wrong with being 20-something.  I was there once, too.  

But, the fact that the more time goes by, the higher the chance that many fans will not have been exposed to the classic days of the business really bothers me.  

While I do appreciate the era we’re in now, and take it for what it’s worth, sometimes all I can think of is where we came from, and what those days meant to me as a fan, and to the business of professional wrestling.

But, there is hope.  There is the Internet, of course, with legendary matches, classic promos, and dramatic moments by the truckload.  And, there is also help from an unlikely source.

That’s right, WWE is the biggest reason mainstream wrestling fans have exposure to the classic moments of the old school NWA.  Thanks to WWE’s DVD retrospectives, Jim Crockett Promotions has new life with this generation.  

The most obvious reason is, of course, because Vince owns the JCP tape library, much like he owns almost everything else from past promotions.  But, the other reason he’s keeping those old days alive is perhaps due to the fact that WWE does still operate with a certain level of respect for the business.

Considering how McMahon came to power in the first place, this notion sounds impossible.  But, why else would WWE want to acknowledge long-dead promotions that many fans today have little to no firsthand connection to?

The fact is, WWE is doing the right thing by keeping that classic era alive for fans today.  They are paying homage to the era that produced some of the finest talent, and most exciting moments, that wrestling has ever known.  And, for that, they deserve much respect themselves.

Because, if Vince was not giving his due diligence in terms of highlighting the industry’s past, then my opening conversation concerning Richard Pryor may well have extended to other possible conversations with fans.  I can almost hear the question now.

“Who’s Dusty Rhodes?”  Thank goodness we don’t have to worry about that one.

By the way, I mentioned the Richard Pryor story to another 20-something later in the same day.  I was met with the same, blank stare.  You guessed it, she had no idea who he was either.

Breathe, Tom.  Breathe deep.