WrestleMania Memories...

Like most guys my age I remember the promotion and build up to the first WrestleMania that pitted Hogan and Mr. T against Paul Orndorff and Roddy Piper (my favorite at the time) and I also remember all the other Mania's too. I was in attendance at the LA Sports Arena for Hogan/Bundy in the cage, but those are not the memories I want to talk about.

When I was a teenager my parents decided to have more kids. To be honest with you I'm not sure they decided, but they had two more anyways. I already had a younger sister (2 years younger than me) April and then we ended up with another sister, Lori and finally Noel (he never went by Noel but his middle name of Matthew) a year after her. I bet you could imagine a teenager who was ready to get his license and car, but was told "not yet" because you are getting a new sibling. Not the news you want to hear when you were making plans for the "great escape."

So the Mania memories I want to share have to do with my brother Matt.

From his first days at home I seemed to be his keeper. Both my sister April and I were on duty all the time and with two babies we were always doing something with them. Of course I was either drawing or watching television (mostly cartoons, news and pro wrestling). As time passes and the babies grew up a bit, Matt really gravitated to pro wrestling too. I want to say by the time he was two he knew all the guys names on television and starting to imitate moves on our couch. He would also jump and dive onto me all the time saying he was Jimmy Snucka. He was especially a fan of the Ultimate Warrior and Bret Hart. I also think he was really into Razor Ramon too. It seemed that the most fun we had together had to do with wrestling and he could not wait for the PPVs and his favorite WrestleMania!

Our family was pretty poor and we never seemed to anything the right way. Like most people in our neighborhood we had a "black box" (AKA an illegal cable converter box) that allowed us to watch cable TV for free and PPVs too. The box was pretty much crap cause every so often the picture would scramble for a minute or two and there was nothing but sound. That would drive Matt nuts. I can visualize today his little body jumping on the bed wearing his Warrior T-Shirt or yelling at the Big Boss Man or marching around like the Macho King. Those were great times! We spent many Mania Sunday's together, then I had to grow up (well kind of).

No longer a teen and graduated and all it was time for me to move out and make it on my own (right, like that happens). With no college education and a year or two old HS diploma I set off and land in Springfield, MO and a job at KYTV (only for a week or so) then TeleCable Productions leaving my 'rasslin buddy behind. The distance put a strain in our relationship because he was growing too and being the baby of the family he figured out quick that he could "get" things real easy. There would be time I would visit, talk on the phone with him and feel that we have grown apart. The fact was we had. By the time I returned to California in late 1999 and I seen him all grown up, he was a completely different person. No more kisses, no more hugs all of that was in the past.

I miss my brother and our times together. You see he died four years ago in a drunk driving accident (he was the drunk driver) and he had fallen into a dark place. He would not communicate nor show emotion, he just yelled and did what he wanted. I tried talking with him, but he would have nothing of it. Sad really, inside I knew he was still a good kid...we all are.

So my WrestleMania memories are the ones I had with my brother Matt and that is how I remember him. I know if he were with me today he would be on the road working with the NWA. I know no matter what he would have had a hell of time laughing at me and how far I've gone with it. I'm sure Matt will resurface in other entries, maybe next time I will tell you about a trip to see Fantasia in the theaters for the re-release...that was a good time! Boy time does fly by.