Thursday, March 31, 2005

MORE ON EXTREME CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING

For those who read my column today and are interested in ECW, I have an additional column about ECW today at www.hardcorehomecoming.com. The site is to promote an ECW reunion-type show that will happen at the old ECW Arena on June 10. The column also appears below.

"Viking Hall Memories"
by David Jakielo

Viking Hall, the most famous Bingo Hall in the world, is a cherished venue that is for many people to wrestling what Yankee Stadium is to baseball. The history of professional wrestling is rich in tradition at sites like Madison Square Garden and the Tokyo Dome, at the corner of Swanson and Ritner streets in Philadelphia, PA, Viking Hall carries a similar legacy.

The first time I saw a professional wrestling from the Viking Hall was on television the summer of 1996 at 2 a.m. The participants were Chris Jericho and Pitbull #2 with the Television Title on the line.

At the time, I had read much on the Internet and in magazines about the wrestling that was regularly packing Viking Hall with a cult-like following of rabid fans. As a lifetime professional wrestling fan, once I learned that the show received clearance in a late-night timeslot in Pittsburgh, I had to stay up and see what all the noise was about.

What came across my television screen was a stripped down version of what other wrestling promotions presented on Monday evenings. No fancy lights or fireworks here. It reminded me of a volatile atmosphere one would associate with a bar fight. Viking Hall was down and dirty, with raucous fans and those who wrestled there had an amazing “hardcore” work ethic that combined athleticism with violence and emotion.

Viking Hall is the epitome of the old saying: don’t judge a book by its cover. While the venue is shoddy in appearance, inside there was genuine passion, where superstars were created and careers rejuvenated.

I will never forget that match between Chris Jericho and Pitbull #2. It honestly changed my life. I knew while watching the contest that someday I would watch a wrestling show from Viking Hall.

Years later my opportunity finally came as an employee. Just by entering the building, a Bingo Hall, a person is still overcome with a sense that this is a historic arena. I remember standing in the silent, empty arena the afternoon of the show and looking around the building.

There as the balcony in the corner of the building, known as the Eagle’s Nest, I thought about the history that had occurred there. One instance that sprung to mind was when Brian Lee choke-slammed Tommy Dreamer off the Nest through a stack of tables down to the concrete floor.

Many memories also transpired at the top level announcing position. It was there where the Public Enemy, the Pitbulls and countless others smashed opponents through tables. Lucha Libre contests would often make their way to that section of the building where wrestlers would jump off a platform to execute hurrancunrannas and other death-defying maneuvers.

But the majority of the memories occurred in the middle of all the action, inside the ring. Many attendees will never forget:

• “The Night The Line Was Crossed” and Shane Douglas, Sabu and Terry Funk wrestled for 60-minutes.

• Dancing with the Public Enemy.

• The echo of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” while the Sandman drank beer, smoked cigarettes, swung his Singapore Cane and was part of some of the most emotional storylines in wrestling history.

• Mikey Whipwreck, the underdog who won the Triple Crown.

• Barbed wire.

• Sabu’s insane dives into the crowd and the night Chris Benoit broke his neck.

• The Raven – Tommy Dreamer feud.

• When Brian Lee fell off the scaffold.

• Grown men crying during Eddy Guerrero and Dean Malenko’s final night wrestling in the building.

• The night the arena fans erupted and flooded the ring with steel chairs.

• And the countless other memories…

Fans across the country, for four years now, have wished that an event would be organized to recapture the mystique of the glory days of Viking Hall wrestling. The wait is over. On Friday, June 10th, at 8 p.m. wrestling will return to Viking Hall in the form of “Hardcore Homecoming.” Old friends will reunite, feuds will be reborn and new memories will be created.

Continue to check back here at www.hardcorehomecoming.com as news on this very special evening becomes available.

David Jakielo is a weekly humor columnist for Duquesne University’s newspaper, The Duquesne Duke, in Pittsburgh, PA. Nearly 100 columns can be read at www.readdave.com. The topic of his latest column was it was like to work in professional wrestling. Feedback can be sent to DavidFJ@aol.com.

• posted by Dave at 4:42 PM
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