I figure it’s been a hot minute since I’ve gathered y’all ’round for good ol’ Story Time with the EIC. So, let’s take a stroll down Memory Lane as I revisit the first live professional wrestling show I ever attended.
I first discovered professional wrestling back in 1993. I can distinctly remember flipping channels one Sunday morning with my old man, when an episode of WWF Superstars came across the screen – it was the 1-2-3 Kid taking on Barry Horowitz. Not the most tantalizing match-up on paper by any stretch of the imagination, but to a young me, I was enthralled by the action. Lo and behold, you can actually find that match on YouTube. I was hooked, and started consuming as much WWF as I could. At the time, of course, there was no WWE Network, and Monday Night Raw wasn’t near the phenomenon it is today. So, we would make trips to my local video store every week – Mt. Juliet Video & Comics – and I would rent a VHS copy of some old WrestleMania or SummerSlam, and I would wear it out for a week until it was time to return it and get another one. Those are fond memories.
So, when the WWF came to Nashville on July 23rd, 1995 for one of the early iterations of the In Your House franchise, I was ecstatic. The details are a little fuzzy – give me a break…I was nine… – but I believe I got tickets for my birthday (6/29) that year along with a whole slew of WWF Hasbro action figures. I was so jacked up. “Big Daddy Cool” Diesel vs. Sycho Sid in a LUMBERJACK MATCH!!! Right here at the Municipal Auditorium?!?? I couldn’t believe it.
That was before the days of the Bridgestone Arena. You might not know this about Nashville wrestling, but the Municipal Auditorium was a hotbed for some of the most legendary moments in Nashville’s wrestling history. If you ask one of the oldhead wrestling fans in the region, they’ll talk about the Nashville Fairgrounds and the Municipal Auditorium. Jackie Fargo. Tojo Yamamoto. Jerry Lawler. Jeff Jarrett. The list goes on and on – even beyond the 90s, the Municipal Auditorium became, essentially, the birthplace of TNA wrestling. In November of 2019, when AEW made their first trip to Nashville, it was to the hallowed ground inside the Municipal Auditorium. I don’t know how else to describe it – to a Nashville kid, into wrestling, in the mid 1990s….this was the mecca. Not only were we getting Diesel and Sid for the WWF Championship, but we were also getting Jeff Jarrett and Shawn Michaels for the Intercontinental Championship.
As if the magnitude of this event and the action itself wasn’t enough, my parents and I even ended up on camera. This was back in the day when they used to send the announcers into the crowd to ask the fans what they thought of the show, and it just so happened, that they put Todd Pettengill right in our section.
In that photo, Pettengill had just asked my dad what he thought of Jeff Jarrett’s live performance of “With My Baby Tonight,” and my dad responded by screaming “HE’S A KILLER!” into the microphone at the top of his lungs. Finally, here’s a photo of a young Stoney Keeley, who was a shy kid less than thrilled to be on pay-per-view:
Real talk – that Michaels-Jarrett Intercontinental Championship match is a classic. Of course, I had no sense of appreciation for it at the time. But, going back and watching it, holy SHIT was it an all-timer…one I don’t believe people talk about enough. If you haven’t seen it, go back and watch it.
It’s funny – I didn’t learn this until I met my fiancé, Aura, who worked for Buddy Lee Attractions right out of college (the same Buddy Lee that JJ shouts out in his performance). But, Buddy actually used to do a lot of business with Vince McMahon and was partly responsible for even making this show happen. Funny how that stuff works out sometimes.
I’ve had a lot of fun experiences at wrestling shows throughout my life, but all in all, this is one of those nights you never forget.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
Check out the SoBros Shop. Become a Patron. Give us money for no reason. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @SoBrosNetwork. Watch on YouTube.
