You would not be reading these words right now if it wasn’t for my dad.
When I was but a wee lad, my mom didn’t want me exposed to such scurrilous things as pro wrestling. This created quite the conundrum for dear old dad, who had been watching since his childhood himself. Apparently, I had a habit of waking up from my nap on Saturday afternoons right in the middle of the main event for World Wide Wrestling. Ric Flair or Greg Valentine or both would be in some mortal peril when my father would hear a meek, “Daddy?” as I stumbled sleepily from the bedroom.
*click*
Keep in mind this was well before streaming and back when even VCRs were not a fixture in every household.
When I was nine, around the time that my grandmother died, I stumbled upon an episode of All American Wrestling. I vaguely remember Hillbilly Jim was involved in the match I was seeing. The details are sketchy nearly 40 years later, but I was quickly hooked… I don’t remember how Dad reacted at the time but he must have been delighted. At long last he had the opportunity to share the wacky wild world of wrestling with me. Since this was 1987, there was a good bit of variety in the available footage in east Tennessee.
The weekends were full of options. WWF had Superstars, Wrestling Challenge, and All American Wrestling. The NWA (which was Jim Crockett Promotions but, to 9- and 10-year-old me, was just “the NWA”) had World Championship Wrestling on TBS at 6:05 every Saturday night. You could catch World Wide Wrestling and Pro on the weekends in syndication. ESPN aired AWA on weekday afternoons (much better than game shows or soaps) and soon added World Class, including past episodes of the latter, which introduced me to the fantastic Von Erichs-Freebirds feud.
Mom tolerated the hobby but mostly didn’t care for it, although in the latter years of her life she became a fan. I always wondered if the only reason that she only got sucked into watching wrestling because, as her mobility declined, it was more difficult to just get up and leave the room whenever Dad turned the channel to something she did not want to watch… and he watched a lot of wrestling. Bianca Belair (a fellow Vol alum like my parents) was a favorite of hers. She was a big fan of Roman Reigns and Damian Priest as well. She literally shed tears when Reigns returned to WWE in the summer of 2024. I guess it was still real to her.
Mom passed away that November, about a week before Thanksgiving. On July 30, Dad joined her. I can’t really express to you the shock that happens, the void that suddenly forms, when you lose both of your parents in a span of about eight months. I recognize that not all families are the same, and not all children are close with their parents, but we were. Normal routines are no longer normal.
In daily and weekly chores, in plans for holidays, and yes, in watching wrestling.
Even as my dad became bed bound, and it was clear that he did not have much longer left, he wanted to watch All In. And so, on a sweltering July afternoon in Tennessee, I made shrimp and scallops sauteed in lemon butter with Red Lobster cheddar biscuits and 10-year-old Bushmills to wash it down. Dad’s awareness ebbed and flowed and he fell asleep long before the show ended, but he enjoyed it.
It’s strange watching wrestling now with the both of them gone. There’s still good stuff out there to be had — past and present.
Going forward into 2026, I’d like to write more here, and said good stuff will be explored in a variety of ways.
Here’s the plan:
Mat Quest is back, baby! My plan to chronicle everything on Peacock before it eventually left the streaming service (which is happening in a matter of days now) got scuttled by my dad’s health issues. I’ve decided to resume my chronological journey through the world of wrestling, first by taking a step back to June of 1973 where I started and catch the good stuff that wasn’t part of the content drop on Peacock.
That means more stuff from Jim Crockett Promotions, the territories, and overseas. You won’t see any Portland stuff included, however, because…
Portland Wrestling gets its own special series! I find this to be one of the most overlooked territories out there in terms of reviews and general coverage, and it’s high time that changes. Might it devolve into a continuing series of articles praising the greatness of Buddy Rose? Entirely possible! Look for the first installment to drop on January 2.
But wait! There’s more!
We also will continue to Review the Kraken as I keep recapping episodes of Kraken Pro Wrestling’s YouTube show … maybe I’ll get caught up to real time by the summer!
And, an occasional What I’m Watching piece, with thoughts on whatever I end up watching that doesn’t fall into one of the above categories.
I’m hopeful for a fun and busy year in 2026. I hope you’ll join me.
In Moore House Wrestling 