Diary of a dying man

Peruwrestling

I continued going through my box and found a picture with Mr. Kennedy (A.K.A Mr. Anderson in TNA) during the press conference at the Sheraton and got lost in my memories of all the sports madness I could live and in practice, I realized my dream of being a wrestler (at least for a while) emulating the titans I had seen as a child on TV.

I have to go back many years, to more or less mid 1997 and early 98. We were in the times of Monday Nights, on Channel 5 (PANTEL) At that time a program was broadcast on Saturdays at 6 pm called: "Gladiators" which was the bad translation into Latin American Spanish of the program called "WCW Monday Nitro" of the company WCW ... where the most prominent were Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Sting, Goldberg, Diamond Dallas Page, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, etc.. Obviously at that time, I did not know the trajectory (nor the scandals) of Hogan, Nash, Hall, etc, as well as I did not know the existence of the WWF and other exponents. At that time, the first programs horrified me as much as they fascinated me because of the violence I saw on screen, until little by little I was captivated by the almost theatricalized mystique of professional wrestling.

I remember that at that time, I (and many of my classmates) tried to imitate the WCW wrestlers, playing at being them and pretending to be them, pretending to fight on the schoolyard floor, a situation that was the nightmare of the teachers who thought we were really fighting (although sometimes we did fight), however, at the end of 1997 the enthusiasm of many of my classmates diminished as they moved on to other "more interesting subjects" for the mind of a child. .. of course in my case it wasn't like that, because I had been so captivated, that when channel 5 removed WCW from the screen, I got hooked with ATV that transmitted the WWF programs and my passion continued with characters like The Undertaker, The Rock, Kurt, Angle, Rikishi, Eddie Guerrero (R.I.P.D.), Cristian (R.I.P.D.), The Undertaker (R.I.P.D.) and The Rock. E.P.D), Cris Benoit (Q.E.P.D), The Godfather, The Dudley Boyz, Edge, The Hardy Boyz and a long list that if I quote them all I would never finish this chapter.

Every weekend was a party for me, because I could get hooked to the transmission of my program and I kept dreaming of one day meeting them or getting into a ring if possible, imagining myself as a recognized wrestler. However, the years went by and except for one or two events that I will tell you about in another chapter, there was no visible way to make it happen... or so I thought.

Years went by and we reached 2006. I had already finished high school and failed a year in an institute to study graphic design (half failed actually) but not for lack of ability, if not for the tedious way of teaching the teacher and the very low quality of the equipment with which the institute had, which triggered in me a brutal boredom. As to get to class I had to go along Arequipa Avenue, one of these days, I arrived at the bus stop bored with the routine, but I was surprised to see a flyer on a pole announcing a big meeting of wrestling fans to watch on a giant screen the broadcast of the most important event of the year... Wrestlemania 22

At first I thought it was a joke, it looked like a photocopied paper, with a picture of a group of guys in a bar. Contrary to my mistrust, I decided to skip classes (yes, irresponsible me) and went to the meeting at the now defunct Pizzottón on Calle de las Pizzas (Miraflores). When I arrived I was surprised to see other kids, both my age and older than me, talking animatedly about the fights of the event. There was an almost electric and palpable energy running through the atmosphere... when we took our places, we were a kind of barra brava that did not exceed 150 people, but we were shouting, booing and chanting loudly every moment, every punch, every entrance... it was really glorious.

I even remember that a spontaneous guy jumped in front of the screen with his banner in support of his idol and before he could say anything, from all sides the cushions rained down to get him down from there... the spontaneous guy was literally buried under the cushions that we all threw, amidst laughter and boos. The night was magnificent, better than I had imagined possible and I could not think of anything else but to integrate myself into this community of fans, because I knew I had found my place.

There I started to become more familiar with the world of wrestling, I bought DVD'S and had passionate conversations with other fans, evaluating the storylines and rivalries that were presented to us, talking about iconic wrestling matches and exchanging opinions about the wrestlers who deserved or not their place as stars... it was a glorious time. It was also thanks to these meetings (and I was still in my hot-ass phase) that I met the woman who was my great love and also my tormentor, who came the closest to destroy me completely... but let's go back to the topic of Peruwrestling, because there is a lot of stuff to cut

I had never lived something so exciting, we met once a month to broadcast the events and watch them on a giant screen, drinking beer in abundance (especially the older ones, I went with my water and my soda) eating salchipapas (good) and grilled chicken (over the years I've tried better) but always with all the good vibes of those who loved the same thing and lived the same passion ... until one day it was possible .... WWE was coming to Lima and we HAD to be there!

Peruwrestling was organized, we rented a bus and we stormed the airport at 2 am, to receive them as soon as they arrived... to see Jeff Hardy, Triple H, Carlito, Undertaker, Randy Orton, Big Show... wow.... It was really cool. I don't think they had ever encountered a fan base as "on" as we were (to clarify... the "on" is not for "on" is for "on" so we were full of energy) we ran to get back to the bus and follow them to the hotel, and even for the press conference, we arrived 2 am at the door of the Sheraton and we got in line, even knowing that the delivery of tickets for the conference started at 10 am, even sleeping on the floor to be part of what for us was historical.

However, the years went by and the community disintegrated, until there were only 4 or 5 of us left, as everyone had grown up and made their own lives apart. We still shared the fanaticism for wrestling... but there were no more meetings. At the end of 2010, Peruwrestling passed into history, becoming only a memory of what it was. There were no more meetings, no more gatherings, no more tournaments, no more debates... Now, 11 years later and having fulfilled my dream of getting into the ring (a subject I will touch on in another chapter) I am still an incurable fan, but I will never forget those days in Miraflores, where we felt part of a stadium in the middle of the event, despite the thousands of miles away.

The photo with Mr. Kennedy, is now stuck on my closet door, being part of my best memories, of the time when I was completely free and happy to let myself be carried away by my passion for sports, being wrestling the only sport that really made me fall in love with it.

The video that closes today's chapter, is a sample of how we lived it back then... you can't see shit, but in the voices you will hear the magnitude of our fanaticism... Thanks for so much Peruwrestling and see you always...