A North Carolina Pasttime
Over my almost 2 years living here, I've come to realize North Carolina is known for quite a few things.
Barbeque, NASCAR, golf, and the Panthers (and now the Hurricanes) are just a few of the local attractions. But would you believe pro wrestling is also on that list?
Some refer to it as a sport and some don't but that form of entertainment has been a North Carolina mainstay for well over 60 years. Jim Crockett Promotions, which operated out of Charlotte and ran weekly shows throughout the Carolinas for many decades, helped put names like Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, the Rock & Roll Express, and Wahoo McDaniel on the map back in the 1970s and 80s.
The Shelby Rec Center even held national television tapings in the early 80s featuring those names. Yes, the same rec center located a few blocks away from The Star.
Wrestling returned to Charlotte last night as the WWE taped Friday Night Smackdown at Bobcats Arena. And of course, I was there.
A bit of a traffic jam outside the arena
Sorry about the lack of zoom but I'm sure most will recognize Charlotte's own Ric Flair
The inflatable custom entrance used by United States Champion MVP
The only bad part about sitting up front (aside from people holding their signs up blocking your view) is the pyrotechnics. My ears were in pain after the more than a dozen explosions going off mere feet away.
Is this Charlotte or Fallujah?, I thought to myself.
For those wishing to see last night's show, it will air Friday at 8 p.m. on the CW Network.
Barbeque, NASCAR, golf, and the Panthers (and now the Hurricanes) are just a few of the local attractions. But would you believe pro wrestling is also on that list?
Some refer to it as a sport and some don't but that form of entertainment has been a North Carolina mainstay for well over 60 years. Jim Crockett Promotions, which operated out of Charlotte and ran weekly shows throughout the Carolinas for many decades, helped put names like Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, the Rock & Roll Express, and Wahoo McDaniel on the map back in the 1970s and 80s.
The Shelby Rec Center even held national television tapings in the early 80s featuring those names. Yes, the same rec center located a few blocks away from The Star.
Wrestling returned to Charlotte last night as the WWE taped Friday Night Smackdown at Bobcats Arena. And of course, I was there.
A bit of a traffic jam outside the arena
Sorry about the lack of zoom but I'm sure most will recognize Charlotte's own Ric Flair
The inflatable custom entrance used by United States Champion MVP
The only bad part about sitting up front (aside from people holding their signs up blocking your view) is the pyrotechnics. My ears were in pain after the more than a dozen explosions going off mere feet away.
Is this Charlotte or Fallujah?, I thought to myself.
For those wishing to see last night's show, it will air Friday at 8 p.m. on the CW Network.
posted by Graham at
2:59 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home