Wrestlefest

ideogames, believe it or not, can serve as a legitimate record of history. For example, if you watch a movie made in the 1940's you can see the particular feel of that era. The same is true with music, but not only will music reflect a particular era, but the technology used to make the music is a reflection of the time as well. Intentional or not, movies and music archive a legitimate record of history.  The same is true for videogames and I have an excellent example.

What made me think to post this? An article on FoxNews.Com titled "Pro Wrestlers Come And Gone" was probably the inspiration.  Now mind you, I am not a fan of Wrestling.  At least not now anyways.  In the 80's and early 90's it was a completely different deal.  I was also 20 years younger and had completely different priorities.  For me, Wrestling died a few years before WWE.

 

To me, the best wrestling videogame ever made was Wrestlefest by Technos (1991).  That year of manufactuer is very significant.  In fact, any arcade game manufactured in 1991 and 1992 is probably equally significant.  If you went out of your way to play Street Fighter II in an arcade when it was first released then you remember Wrestlefest.  The reason why is because most arcades had Wrestlefest, and if you walked into an arcade that had 20 quarters waiting on Street Figher II you had nothing better to do to kill time then play Wrestlefest or any of the other miriad of arcade games available at the time.

 
So in reading the article on FoxNews.Com I was a little shocked.  I was a little surprised.  And here is why:
 

Wrestlefest featured 12 WWF wrestlers.  The line up was as follows:

 

Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, Mr. Perfect, Earthquake, Ted DiBiase, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Big Bossman, Sgt. Slaughter, Smash (Demolition), Crush (Demolition), Hawk (Legion of Doom), Animal (Legion of Doom).

 

This was an impressive line up, and what was more impressive is that the characters looked like the actual wrestlers.  Some of the images were digitized, which to some degree that might be cheating when it comes to creating the likeness of an actual person in a video game, but the majority of the images were clearly hand drawn and done well.  But then again, I'd expect nothing less from Technos.

 

Anyways the death roster from FoxNews.Com was as follows:

• 
  
  Mr. Perfect: The man known as Mr. Perfect passed away on Feb. 10, 2003, from an acute cocaine intoxication. His father says steroids and pain killers also contritubed to his death. He was 44.
  
  
• 
  
  Earthquake: Earthquake retired from wrestling in 2004 after he revealed he had bladder cancer. The disease took his life on June 7, 2006. He was 42.
  
  
• Big Bossman: Ray Traylor, a former prison guard, made his wrestling debut in 1985. He joined the WWE in 1988 as the Big Boss Man. He died on Sept. 22, 2004, after suffering a massive heart attack. He was 41. 
• Crush: Brian Adams began his wrestling career in 1986 and debuted with the WWE in 1990 as part of the tag-team Demolition. In March 1995, Adams was arrested for purchasing steroids. He died August 13, 2007, at the age of 44. Authorities believe nandrolone, testosterone, and HGH played a part in his death.
• Hawk: Hawk battled through drugs and alcohol most of his career. He passed away Oct. 19, 2003, from an apparent heart attack. He was 46.

So 5 out of the 12 are already dead.  Hulk Hogan is still trying to get his life turned back around.  Ted DiBiase does alot of Christian work I hear, Jake "The Snake" Roberts entered rehab at WWE's expense, Sgt. Slaughter doesn't have any relevant gossip (although in relation to this videogame blog he did appear on the Super Mario Bros. Super Show along with follow Wrestler Captain Lou Albano who played Mario, who is also dead).  The Ultimate Warrior started a blog http://www.ultimatewarrior.com/ which is worth a good laugh, and as for the rest of them... who really gives a damn?

The point is that a videogame captured a moment in history, when these 12 men were on top of their game, with their names and likenesses to be found in almost every arcade in America.  And now they are just filler material on a slow news day for FoxNews.Com.  18 years from now will the rest be dead?