Ok, so after the Chris Benoit scandal I closed the door on my long wrestling fandom, and I thought at the time it would be for good. It had been petering out slowly over time, and the newer product didn't grab me the way that the classic stuff used to completely enthrall me. And then one of my favorite wrestlers, one I respected, turned out to be a murderer, and enough was enough. I figured it was time to pack it in and move on to other things. That was a few months ago.
Then recently I started to miss it. About a month ago I had a weird dream wherein I forgave Chris Benoit. Then when I woke up, all the angst and bad feelings I had towards him and wrestling in general had pretty much evaporated. Even so, I didn't plan on coming back. Professional wrestling as an artform, however, was then redeemed by Mick Foley. You may not know who Mick Foley is, but he's one of my all-time favorite wrestlers, having worked under the names Cactus Jack and Mankind. He's also a best-selling author. His first autobiographical book, 'Have a Nice Day', started the whole wrestler biography craze, and is still the best of the entire lot. I have that one and his two follow-ups in hardcover. Lately, I've been pruning the bookshelves somewhat, and when I went to take a look at those books I could not bring myself to purge them out. Same goes with the Dynamite Kid's autobiography.
Then the desire to watch some old matches came back. I'd sold off what remained of my dvd collection back around the 4th of July, thinking it was done for good (I only had a small handful left by then anyway). But I missed it, so I started to look to start up the collection again. Sometimes I have little to no control over these impulses, and I just turn it over to my personal Mistress of Influences (that would be Calliope), because she knows what sorts of things I need to take in so that I can be as well rounded as possible. The Harry Potter thing of a few weeks back works under a similar principle.
To break it down, I see it this way: the more things that I'm open to, and the more different sources that I let influence me ... the more imaginative and creative my own work becomes. And wrestling, such as it is, plays an important part here, because it has influenced me in various ways, just like comic books, cartoons, and other supposed juvenile things always have. Whatever. It works for me.
So I've started rebuilding a small stash of good wrestling dvds. They're also good for helping me unwind after a long work day. I can come home with some chocolate milk, put in a Simpsons episode, some Looney Tunes, or a great wrestling match, and they relax me.
Instead of turning my back on the things I enjoy, it's time to embrace some of them.
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