Everyone is 18+
Let's get ready to rumble.
It was 1978. I was a twenty-five-year-old photographer I was a long haired clean shaven hippie with light brown hair clean and neat in a pony-tale. Houston Wrestling was getting hot with a Friday night live T.V. show and nationals stars were being made with some wrestlers. So it was a great surprise when I met one of the most admirable giant of a man I had ever met at a restaurant. He asked me to join him and watched him eat five meals to my one and a half, and I had two pitchers of beer to his eight. I had a good size buzz going. Thank goodness I lived a ten-minute drive home, but he did not appear high. He was a massive man. He was seven foot four inches tall and tipped the scales at five hundred twenty-five pounds. He invited me backstage before the bout to see his match.
I told him I had never taken good photos from my seat, a white lie as I have never seen live wrestling.
He says. "Come on down; they would treat me right."
I showed up, was on the list, and was led backstage. His room has a snack table of junk food, sugar-loaded foods, and a keg of beer
The guy taking me backstage not to touch anything to eat or drink unless he told me to. Then, the guy added, "We don't need to take another reporter to the E.R."
So the wrestler greeted me as he ate a turkey leg and drank a pitcher.
He says. "To the guys in the room, this was his new little friend."
Little? I am six foot two, two hundred and twenty pounds of mostly muscles, but next to him, I looked like a little boy in short pants. Someone on his team was told I could go anywhere I wanted to get gooder pictures of him, or he would talk to them after the show."
He did not offer food or drink, so I did not partake, and when it was his time to go to the ring, we all left the room to walk the short trip to the arena. I slipped out first to get a few shots of his crew; he stood two feet above everyone. I see a hot young blond haired blue eyed lady taking photos. She has a Press-pass then we made eye contact and see's my two cameras and a camera bag with a table top tripod hung on my bag in a leather holster it was an L shape. I am not wearing one, and a guy goes to stop me, and the wrestler turns and says. "Give him Press-pass please he is my little friend, so the security guy gives me his. I go out, and one of his people is saying. "You want to see the bout from above?"
I say. "Sure, but I did not want to miss any shots ringside."
The guy says. "Don't worry; we got forty minutes before we have to worry about the finale."
Going up a ladder, I see the lady photographer again. I say. "Hello, my name is Dan.
She says. "Her name was Alice."
I say. "My your eyes are blue they get you in trouble often?"
Alice answers. "If you ask my Mother that she say yes."
I say. "The match is starting it will be hard to watching it now."
We both start taking a few shots getting some excellent angles. I caught you watching me frame a shot and I caught her watching me. This wrestler is twice the size of his opponent. It is quite a show.
I say. "I going down now for the last ten minutes of the match.”
Alice laughs with a big grin and says. "You have to buy me dinner first!"
I say. "Fair trade. I'll find you after the match, dear deli sandwiches and cheesecake?"
You nodded yes and kept taking photos.
I get down around ringside and get some great shots. The match is going according to the script my handler told me. But, hell, the crowd is really into the smells, the noise, and even what appears to be blood. It is unlike watching boxing, which I have seen often.
So the match has wound down, and my new friend, the wrestler, is getting his belt again. It's all a script.
When the lady photographer finds me ring side Alice says. "Well, I'm done; care to go eat, handsome?”
I say. "I would like to, but I need to thank the big guy and get a few more shots first.”