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WRESTLING COLUMNS

I Thought It Was Cool To Cheer The Bad Guys"
July 28, 2006 by John Alcock


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After growing up watching British wrestling on ITV on a Saturday afternoon, it was like winning the lottery when my neighbour got cable TV. I had seen the WWF in the past, as ITV used to show it late at night, so I knew about stars like Strike Force, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Honky Tonk Man and The Ultimate Warrior.

Even at a young age I seemed to cheer for the bad guys more so once I started to see the larger then life characters of the WWF I was hooked. The first event I got to watch was WrestleMania 5, I can honestly say I had never seen anything as good.

I watched the WWF (and WCW) for the next few years on the TV, but then had the chance to go and see it in person. The WWF announced that Summerslam 1992 would be taking place at Wembley Arena, about an hour from my house. After initial delays my parents sorted out a ticket for both myself, and my sister on their credit card, and I would be off to see the WWF live! At first the thought of going with my sister was a bit of a downer, but I was sure I could convince here to have a good time, and in the process I would be able to enjoy one of the biggest cards of the WWF calendar.

The build up was amazing; The British Bulldog was going to face Bret Hart for the Intercontinental title. Randy Savage was taking on the Ultimate Warrior; with Mr Perfect saying he would be in the champion's corner, but what champion" You had the LOD, The Natural Disaster, Rick Martel versus Shawn Michaels and other stars (") like Virgil, The Berzerker and Nailz!! Still there was one match that I was looking forward to, the casket match between The Undertaker and Kamala.

This was the match I was looking forward to the most, and not because of The Undertaker. You see I had taken my love for cheering the bad guys to a new level, where I actually wanted Kamala to win this match. Looking back I can see the reasons why The Undertaker got the victory, but I wasn't impressed back in 1992. I had made a sign with a big picture of Kamala, whilst also showing a tombstone with The Undertaker's picture on it, RIP in big letters above it pretty much showed what side I was on.

The card was going well, and I was having a great time. As the night drew in and it got dark I knew my match was going to happen soon. There had been a group near me that had also been cheering the bad guys the whole night, so I was confident that they would continue this was when they announced the opening of the casket match. Jungle drums blasted over the speakers and I jumped to my feet, proudly with my Kamala sign in the air. It took about 5 seconds before I realised that I was about the only person in Wembley Stadium showing any interest in Kamala. I felt like a dear in the headlights, and wished the ground would open up and save me from this humiliation. What had happened to the other fans cheering the bad guys, why had they changed their minds" It's safe to say I sat back down and felt like a loser, not helped by the fact that once The Undertaker made his entrance the entire stadium erupted, lighters were alight everywhere and the noise was deafening. Obviously Kamala lost, my plans destroyed I ripped up my sign in an act of protest and disgust. So there you go, my first live event and I was already bitter and twisted towards my fellow wrestling fan.

You would think that after such an episode, you would learn from such a mistake" Well not me as I actually had a very similar thing happen, but only a few months ago. I was living in Australia at the time, and my friend had got us tickets for the WWE SmackDown! Tour in Sydney. I was really looking forward to the show (I had been travelling so didn't realise how poor SmackDown! Was) and especially looking forward to seeing Finlay. I believe it was all I had been talking about in the build up for the show. Sylvain got introduced and then the pipes started over the P.A and Finlay came through the curtain. Just like the Kamala incident in 1992 I jumped to my feet, again nobody else in the arena shared my enthusiasm. As my friend's started laughing a child behind me asked his mother, why is he cheering" It was like a blast from the past, and once again I wished the ground would swallow me up!!

by John Alcock ..


Stephen Y wrote:
I too like to cheer the bad guys, such as Edge, Randy Orton and JBL. But I also boo some of the good guys like DX, John Cena and Hulk Hogan. Luckily, I don't have the misfortune of cheering for the bad guys at a Live Event. P.S DX and John Cena suck
Johnny wrote:
I really enjoyed this column. I also thought it was cool to cheer the bad guys, but I guess when you have a bad guy facing someone like the Undertaker, Taker's getting all the cheers. Finlay is amazing, so you should feel proud to be cheering an actual pro wrestler. Great Column.
Dylan L wrote:
All this little story of your tells me is that you are weak minded, and affected easily by others. You are influenced by what other people do, and that shows me you are weak. So, your little story was about pointless to me. I'm a heel fan. I only cheer for the heels. Even when other people completely ignore them. If you like them, show that you like them, stand up for people you are fans of. I cheer for Rob Conway, and I get made fun of, but it doesn't bother me. Main point: Bad column, and you're weak minded.
Taz23JS wrote:
I tend 2 cheer for the bad guys 2 because I just like 2 see the more agresive wrestler win take batista he was at his best being the enforcer for evolution or guys like Ken Kennedy,Randy Orton,Edge,and even Cena are just better as heels they dont have to worry about pleasing the crowd and they can be pricks all they want that's the American Dream
John Alcock (In Response to Dylan L) wrote:
I disagree with your entire response to my column, and to be honest wouldn't like to bump into you down a dark alleyway, judging by your aggressive tone. The piece was written about a show I attended 14 years ago, and was more of a comment on how funny it can be when you build something up and then get a big shock at the actual show. Obviously you are much more of a wrestling fan because of your use of the term 'heel' so what would I know, the Internet really has ruined parts of wrestling I guess" Remember this was at a time when you had legitimate good guys and bad guys so the chances of cheering alone were far greater, but doesn't make you more of a wrestling fan as seems to be your point about Rob Conway. I would rather be weak minded as you put it, then obviously very angry and frustrated. I don't know your circumstances, but perhaps instead of waiting for the next Diva search segment, you could go out into the real world"
JBL Vending wrote:
Yes, I suppose you are right on some parts. You really didn't have advanced knowledge of storylines, and backstage going-ons as we do toda, so I'll give you that. I still think disagree with you though. That is the fun of being a heel cheerer, the excitement of you being in a group of very few people.

Also, I'm sorry if you don't like my term heel, but that is what the term, 'bad guy' is. You also need to rethink before trying to take personal shots at someone. I'm 13, and it's kind of hard to go out in the real world. I also think that the Diva Search is a waste of T.V. time for the WWE, and I want to see wrestling, not a bunch of girls doing the same lame stuff we also see just for them to get attention. I tune in, to watch actual wrestling. I'm sorry if be being a real, and smart fan bothers you.
[I Never Sign My Name] wrote:
I also like to cheer the heels like Greg Helms,King Booker,Shelton Benjamin,and Scott Steiner.I Am not ashamed of it I think they are great heels. I dont Care if people do look at me funny.
Paul McCarthy wrote:
i love to cheer heels my mate used to go mental because i cheered christian and other cocky heels which is why i think orton is a great heel. babyfaces are pretty weak nowadays anyway they always finish last.
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