By David Rose
It was 1959, God was in his heaven, Ike was in the White House, and I was ensconced in front of the TV set. It was a simpler time. The television before me was black and white, and so was the world outside. Good and evil were clearly defined, and nowhere was the line between the two more evident than in Big Time Wrestling.
My heroes were good guys like Bruno Sammartino and Antonino Rocca. It really got under my skin when the bad guys cheated to get the advantage in a bout with one of my idols. However, I must admit, the villains of the ring had better names and more clearly defined personas.
Of all the tag-team duos, my favorite was The Fabulous Kangaroos. They were the epitome of fair play and would never even dream of hitting an opponent with one of their prop boomerangs or any other foreign object.
Then, one day, without warning, The Kangaroos went over to the dark side. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Here they were, eye-gouging and rabbit punching right along with the rest of the heels. Note – The villain was called a heel while the hero was called a Face.
I have come to believe there may have been economic reasons for the Kangaroo’s transition. Heels were paid more because they were the bigger draw. People will pay to see a villain get a beat-down, and they don’t much care who does the beating.
In 1957, I was unaware of any of that backstory. I was only cognizant of what was before my eyes. The Kangaroo’s transformation from good to evil shook my world to its foundations. If you can’t believe in Big Time Wrestling, what can you believe in?
David Rose, of Hot Springs, is an author and artist.
{More of David’s musings can be found at thespringsmagazine.com/category/arts/david-rose.}
