PT 1 The beginning (Start -1970)
Like many WWE fans, I like to go back and watch wrestling DVD’s. Some are PPV, Collection and documentary about superstars / promotions. So I thought hey I will check out the 50 year anniversary of WWE DVD.
Now I was a kid who grew up in the great “Attitude Era” and grew up with guys like. Rock, Austin, Triple H, Shawn Michaels and the craziness at that time. It was UN predictable on week to week bases. I have watched a lot of documentaries about WWE and other promotions.
I think I know a decent amount of wrestling history, but the first thirty minutes of this DVD will teach you a lot. Bruno Sammartino and the amazing Madison Square Garden went hand and hand with the success of the WWE. We here that name and automatically think Legend, but why? A kid who grew up in this day and age with not knowing the actually reasoning of why he is great. I finally found out, He put the WWWF at the time on his back and sold out Madison Square Garden 200 times.
He held the title twice and for a combined 11 years. That is UN heard of these days and we will never see that reign again. You think CM Punk reign for over 400 days was good just try to match that. I know that there was two different eras’s, but still think about that. It’s just pure amazement.
Think about this WWE has a wide range of getting their product out there, through social Media, YouTube, TV and Online. Back then the only way you saw it was through magazines or syndication TV. The TV programs was only in territories, so let’s say you live in North or South Carolina AKA the south then you would get Mid-Atlantic run by Jim Crocket promotions. If you live there then you would only get that wrestling promotion not up (for an example) in New York with WWWF ran by Vince McMahon SR. Things are different. If you wanted to know what’s going on in the land of the WWF and lived in Tennessee you only had one way of getting information… Magazines. Those are almost gone or out of style now but back in the day it’s the way to get the word out about your product in your city. Fifty cents got you a copy and if you were a fan in the 1970’s that’s how you got it.
Bruno was not just a wrestler but also after he retired he became a commentator which I never knew. So he and Vince JR AKA Mr. McMahon would to commentary on TV. Pretty cool, they would later have a falling out between the two.
At this time there was the well establish talent getting old and retiring so they had to bring in new talent. We will take a look at that and how national TV really changed Wrestling on the next edition.
