I interviewed pro wrestling legend Shawn Michaels, and that got me thinking of some of my favorite WWE Golden Era wrestlers.
The Golden Era of what we now call the WWE is defined as 1982-1993. Back then, it was the WWF, it was owned by Vince McMahon, and Mr. McMahon was hell-bent on getting his World Wrestling Federation into as many homes as possible. So if you’re like me, and you grew up as a wrestling fan in the ’80s, you probably grew up as a WWF fan, due to the fact that it was the WWF that was on TV the most.
One of my earliest wrestling memories is from the early years of the Golden Era. I grew up in Greenwood, a neighborhood in Wakefield. Sometimes on Sunday, after service at the Greenwood Union Church, my dad and I would walk down Main St. to visit my great-grandmother, who would always have molasses cookies waiting for us. And Postum for her and my dad.
I have a clear memory around the age of 6 of walking through her kitchen, entering her living room, and seeing her sitting on the sofa with the TV on (loudly; she was old). She was watching a Sunday morning wrestling program, rooting for a wrestler named Chief Jay Strongbow. It didn’t take me long to figure out that on Saturday and Sunday mornings, after my cartoons, there was wrestling on. And it ruled.
Throwback to Some Great WWE Golden Era Wrestlers & Gimmicks
The Golden Era coincided with my years as a grade schooler and a junior high kid. In other words, the best time to get into arguably the best era in all of professional wrestling. Here are some of my favorites from those years. This isn’t a ranking, just a list that I’ll probably keep adding to. If there’s a wrester you’d like added, let me know on the ROCK 92.9 Facebook or Twitter.