Never again will there be a Golden Age of Wrestling - truly a period in time when professional wrestling was at its peak.
While the explosion in popularity in the 1980's and the eventual point in time where business was the most successful in the
late 1990's serve as great eras in recent memory, the sport itself would never again shine as brightly as it did in the days
of the infancy of television, where wrestling provided a cost effective product for the networks that garnered high ratings.
It was an era where the worked product literally worked, as it was no secret that the legitimacy of the contests was questionable
in nature. As a matter of fact, the Encyclopedia Brittanica as well as the Funk & Wagnall's Encyclopedia clearly stated
that the bouts were an " exhibition " so as to not insult the readers, yet at the same time being respectful in that the medium
was not ridiculed because it was presented as a sport.
And that is the difference between yesterday and today. The greatest manager in all of wrestling history, Bobby " the Brain
" Heenan had made the analogy of a magician's tricks no longer being a secret and thus it was no longer fun. While some may
debate whether that is so, it is a fact that this was a business that was popular and lucrative in a time when the
product was presented to the general public as a sport, as opposed to a glitzy entertainment hybrid.
While no one can argue the success of what pro wrestling had eventually evolved into, one thing is for certain: the people
that had the pleasure of experiencing the Golden Age of Wrestling keep their memories close to their hearts and are unwavering
in their fondness and their love for it and though we may never live through the magic again, we can revisit a piece
of it. There are many great books, web sites, and some videos out there with interesting pieces of work on this subject matter.
This area of Pro Wrestling Chicago .com is ours!
