Remember When WWE

Remember a time when wrestling was a “sport” that featured guys like Dusty Rhodes or characters named Tugboat and Earthquake? Guys so ugly they earned nicknames like “The Animal” and whose bellies were so large they were the main focus of their characters’ finishing moves? Remember when plot lines carelessly tiptoed the topic of slavery like Ted Dibiase, the Million Dollar Man, and his manservant Virgil? And remember a time when the women of wrestling were hunchbacked balls of anger? Unfortunately, those days are long gone. Gone are the toothless superstars, trailer-trash women, and outrageous characters (the Gobbledy Gooker, anyone?). Now there’s a ring full of male models and women torn straight from the pages of Playboy. No longer are there any Mr. Perfects or Diesels, but there’s definitely John Cena, AJ Lee, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose. And even though this new form of wrestling doesn’t have quite the same silly things that happened through the ’80s and ’90s, it sure would be fun to see some CM Punk vitamins.
Tue., Jan. 8, 7 p.m., 2013