Category: Sports Entertainment
In Memory of the Madness: Reflecting on the Legacy of the “Macho Man” Randy Savage
Savage as WWF champion with first wife "The Lovely Elizabeth"
If pro wrestling truly is a morality play, as many defenders claim, then Randall Mario Poffo was the ultimate player. In the ongoing battle between good and evil he represented both the revolting and the redeemed, the misguided and the saved, the hated and the hero.
The world knew Poffo by the wrestling moniker Randy “Macho Man” Savage, and to millions of fans around the world he is a beloved and revered part of their childhood. As news of his death from a car accident early today at the age of 58 spread, sports figures, journalists, current wrestlers, former colleagues and fans of all ages paid tribute to him on television and online. It truly speaks to the reach, influence, and crossover appeal Savage possessed in a career that spanned over 30 years. The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer has a fantastic article up on the life and death of Randy Savage here. I just wanted to take a few lines to express my admiration and thanks to one of the true all-time greats.
Early in Savage's WWF career he found himself defending Miss Elizabeth from the constant advances of the gentle but misguided George "The Animal" Steele
It sounds cliché but Randy Savage, son of the great Angelo Poffo and brother of Lanny Poffo, was born to be a pro wrestler. His pedigree aside, Savage literally possessed all of the tools one needs to be a superstar. He could talk, fly and wrestle better than most, not only in his era but all time. He had classic battles with some of the best wrestlers of the day (see Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat or Ted DiBiase), carried less technically-skilled wrestlers to some of the best matches of their careers (see Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior) and infused every arena he entered with an electric charge known as “Macho Madness.” Continue reading
#67: My Brief Brush with Bret “Hitman” Hart
Continuing the theme of yesterday’s blog post concerning photographing pro wrestling, another great experience I had was at a Ring of Honor (ROH) card at Toronto’s Ted Reeve Arena a few years ago. I wrote an article on the event here and posted some personal thoughts about meeting and speaking with the boys here, so I won’t go into that now. Instead, I want to discuss my brush with Canada’s greatest professional wrestler, Bret “Hitman” Hart.
To me though, as a kid, Bret represented a lot more than just a championship wrestler. He was a David in a world
dominated by goliaths and bulked-up bruisers. Still, Bret found a way to rise to the top of his profession against all odds by the sheer execution of his craft (hence his nickname, “The Excellence of Execution”). To the fans he made the pre-determined world of pro-wrestling seem completely legitimate and carved an image for himself as a feared shooter — someone who could take any sized man down to the mat and tie him in knots. Behind the scenes, he paved the way for a new generation of wrestlers to enter a world where, if you could master the art of wrestling, size was no longer an issue. In Canada, in particular, due to his staunch patriotism and very public separation from the then World Wrestling Federation, Bret became a symbol of honour and dignity and self-respect.
That evening, at Ted Reeve Arena, I stood mere feet away from this man. Technically, I’d met him years earlier at a very brief and informal autograph signing in Toronto after a screening of the excellent documentary Hitman Hart: Wrestling With Shadows. This time, though, I had press credentials and questions prepared.
#66: Capturing the Canadian Luchadores
About a year and a half ago I had the pleasure of attending a Lucha Libre wrestling card that was part of the Mexico: Beyond Expectations festival at Harbourfront Centre. I bring this up because I have a friend whose hard drive crashed and it reminded me of when mine did the same and I lost a ton of my journalism shots — which included the set of Lucha Libre ones the above photo belongs to.
I love shooting pro wrestling events for two reasons: because I love wrestling and believe in its merit as performance art and because the characters are often larger than life. Shooting pro wrestling events can at times feel like you’re shooting a carnival scene. The crowd is electric, the characters larger than life and the entertainment gripping. That is, if its done right. On this summer day it certainly was.
Blue Demon Jr. flying the flag of his native Mexico. (Photo by Mike Crisolago)
The event featured many wrestlers from the local BSE promotion. Originally, most wrestling and Lucha Libre fans in attendance were there to see Blue Demon Jr., then the NWA heavyweight champion. But the Canadian luchadores certainly didn’t disappoint. I have an article posted here about the actual show and the Canadian contingent. For now I want to discuss the experience of covering the event.
My colleague Steven Humphreys and I arrived quite early and, as the event was free, found ourselves ringside. Being ringside at a Lucha event, which generally involves a lot of fantastic high-flying and dives to the outside, can be hazardous to one’s health. This show was no exception. At one point one of the Luchadores shoved his palm into my lens as I took his picture. Things got worse, though, when another was thrown out of the ring and then hit with a dive from none other than Blue Demon Jr. himself, did a flip on the floor and then landed with his giant boot on my lens. I had a great shot of the guy with his leg up on my camera, but liek many of the others from the day it’s lost forever on a broken hard drive.
Still, capturing the Luchadores on camera as they flew across the ring was an incredible experience. And, I have to say, it was extremely hard to keep up. I remember warning Steve whenever a dive or another high spot (high-risk maneuver) was imminent(years of watching wrestling have taught me how to read the build up to such moves).
It isn't easy being a Luchadore.
Backstage, our attempts to interview Blue Demon Jr. were foiled by the fact that we didn’t have an interpreter with us, and his had left. Still, this gave us more of an opportunity to interview the Canadian Luchadores.
Colt 45, KGB, El Sombre and the others were really great guys. They were hanging out in the dressing room area andproved to be more than obliging when it came to speaking with Steve and I. They were forthcoming and really cool guys when it came to comparing and contrasting Mexican Luchadores with their northern cousins.It was funny too because at another wrestling event I interviewed a much higher profile Luchadore who asked that the only thing I include int he article is that I mention that the interview was done through an interpreter so as not to kill the illusion of him being an authentic Mexican star. I say with all truth and sincerity that I love the guys like him who live the gimmick.
All in all my experience with the Canadian Luchadores was a fantastic one that I was very proud to take part in. To see all of the little kids in Lucha masks enjoying the matches and cheering on the larger than life heroes and villains is exactly, in my opinion, what wrestling, at its core, is about. Good versus bad. Entertainment for all ages. Sports meets the ultimate passion play. I’m proud to say the Canadian boys didn’t disappoint.
For my article on the actual complete Lucha Libre event, click here.
For a photo gallery of my surviving Lucha, and other wrestling, photos, click here.
This post appears as part of the FOCUS 365 photo blog component of Bastard Type
My interview with the Ring of Honor ring crew
The following is an interview I conducted with the ring crew at the recent Ring of Honor Death Before Dishonor VIII shows in Toronto. The four are from Montreal, and also train/work as pro wrestlers with the Quebec-based Northern Championship Wrestling (NCW). The crew consists of Jorge Morillas, 31, Benoit Chalifoux, 30, Alexandre Canuel,17, and Roxanne Paris. In the interview, the four discuss their lives as ring crew and wrestlers, how they got started in the business, their injuries, Toronto versus Quebec crowds, and more.
A Ring of Honor experience
I attended Ring of Honor’s Death Before Dishonor VIII in Toronto this weekend, my first ever ROH live experience. I’d seen some DVD’s and videos, but the heat in the building (both the emotion and the literal warmth) cannot be truly understood unless you’re there in person. Here are some snippets about my time with ROH at Ted Reeve Arena. Continue reading
