By Carey Gable
There was a time, in my lifetime, that professional wrestling was dominated by athletes that I could not fathom. They were giants among men. Bigger, stronger, taller, faster, more powerful, fearless, and wild! There were giants like Big John Studd, King Kong Bundy, One Man Gang, Haystacks Calhoun, Plowboy Frazier, Crusher Jerry Blackwell, and many others that would roam from territory to territory dominating the competition. People would come from all over to see these men as they displayed athletic feats that most of us could only imagine!
Then came the rise of the luchador in modern wrestling and the art and craft and brute force of the big man was lost. Professional wrestling became about flipping off the ropes and diving onto each other. Gone were the barrel chested brutes of the 70’s and 80’s. Instead the smaller, quicker athletes became popular on television and at local events.
The paradigm shifted from 6’6” and 450 pounds to 5’9” and 180 pounds. The level of athleticism was and remains incredibly high but the focus of the wrestling shifted dramatically. Instead of embracing both styles and the hybrids that would have been a natural growth from that, the big man style was often overlooked.
The tide has begun to shift back, however. When King of Sports Championship Wrestling, based out of Texas, announced a new championship centered on the Super Heavy Weight Division, it signaled to the wrestling community what many had already begun to see. The crowds are reacting to the variety of the big man style! Fans have begun to drive to see the clash of the behemoths once again. Especially in rural Texas, where there is a history and tradition of Super Heavy Weight professional wrestling, the tales of chain matches and steel cages with larger than life athletes are being retold.
Wrestling has skipped a generation in rural America. It is not the fathers telling the sons the stories, but the grandfathers walking in with their eight and nine year old grandsons that are pontificating on the time they saw Bundy throw Kevin Von Erich over the top rope. This cross generational phenomena means that the history of wrestling, pre-Attitude Era, is alive and well. With that comes the return of the Super Heavy Weights!
March 26th, in Paris, Texas at Chisum High School, King of Sports presents another battle of the Super Heavy Weights. Vince Steele, flying in from New York to make his Texas debut, will face Scott Murdoch, a dominate force in Texas wrestling for years! This burgeoning division includes the likes of Angel Camacho and Sam Stackhouse already, but new talent is seeking the Super Heavy Weight Title! This renaissance marks the return to when big men ruled the ring!
