Chris Kanyon Online Commentary

[Guest bravesfan]

This is his first commentary update since last August.

 

from chriskanyon.com.

 

I'm Going To WrestleMania

 

I'm going to WrestleMania. Well, I guess the quote used to be "I'm going to Disneyworld" (for those of you who are too young to recognize that quote, it was an old TV advertisement campaign where they would ask famous people RIGHT after winning the Super Bowl or The World Series or the Stanley Cup, etc., on the field or ice RIGHT after winning, and ask them what they are going to do now that they have won, and they would always answer, "I'm going to Disneyworld.") Well, I have never been that big a fan of Mickey Mouse, but I have always loved Pro Wrestling. And I really am going to WrestleMania. Actually, I am writing this on the plane heading to WrestleMania, and, to be honest, I can't wait. For people like me, people who LOVE Pro Wrestling, WrestleMania is the Super Bowl, The World Series, and the The Stanley Cup Finals all rolled into one and than some. To quote Mean Gene Okerlund, who uttered the WrestleMania II catchphrase, "It's What the World is Watching."

 

Now keep in mind, this is not my first WrestleMania. As a fan I went to IV, V (both in Atlantic City, NJ), VI (Toronto) and VII (Los Angeles). And I was actually with the WWE for last year's version, but I spent WrestlMania XVIII at Klub Kanyon (my house/back yard) with about 100+ of my closest friends watching the event on TV thanks to my injuries. But not this year. This year I will be there. Unfortunately, I doubt very much that I will be performing, but it is still a great honor and privilege to be there as a wrestler. And I KNOW that I will be performing there next year, that you can count on.

 

But here I am, on a 4+ hour flight, 32,000 feet in the air, Harry Potter playing on the TV, me with 3+ months of unpaid bills in my carryon (thanks OVW), and the pressure of selling my Atlanta home and buying my Tampa home weighing me down, and all I can keep thinking about is WrestleMania and Pro Wrestling in general, and all the great memories they have provided for me. And one of the greatest WrestleMania memories of all time for me would be my antics at WrestleMania IV. You see, I have always been a big fan of the movie Rocky, and I have always loved the scene where Rocky went to the empty arena the night before the big fight, and got into the ring, and then out comes the promoter. Rocky tells the promoter that the poster hanging from the rafters depicting Rocky is wrong, that he will be wearing red trim on white and not white trim on red. The promoter tells Rocky that "it doesn't really matter, does it?" And that he is sure that Rocky will give the fans a great show. I don't know why, but I have always loved that scene.

 

Well, after WrestleMania IV, at 4:00 AM, after all my friends had gone to sleep (or passed out lol, Dan O', Pass, Fish, Mike and Joe), I snuck into the Trump Plaza where WrestleMania had just taken place hours before, and to my surprise, the arena was well-lit, empty and the ring was still set up. I couldn't believe it: I was Rocky. Well, not exactly, but I kinda felt like him. So, I went all the way up to where the wrestlers came out, and just like Hulk Hogan had done 6 hours earlier, "I walked down that aisle" pointing out at the non-existent fans, flexing my 15 inch pythons, and feeling that I belonged there. That this was my destiny. That someday, I would be going to WrestleMania, not as a fan, but as a Pro Wrestler. Fifteen years later, that is exactly what I am doing. Man, am I a lucky, lucky guy.

 

So there I am, in an empty arena, in the middle of the ring at 4 am, feeling no pain and feeling no fear. But something is missing. What could it be? I need something. A SOUVENIR!!!! I feel, at the time, that I need something, ya know, to remember this moment. What an ass!!! I would remember this moment for the rest of my life with or without a keepsake. But there, in Atlantic City, at 4 am, in the middle of the WrestleMania IV ring, I felt I needed a memento. First I look up at the HUGE WrestleMania banner hanging from the rafters (it had to be at least 75-100 feet long and 30 feet wide). Even in my condition, at 4 am, I knew I could never get that down and out of the building without being noticed. I needed something smaller, something easier to grab and hide. I need a TURNBUCKLE!!!!!

 

Well, actually, it is called a turnbuckle pad, but from the moment that I untied it, stuffed it in my shirt and carried it out of that building, that top turnbuckle pad that Randy Savage had jumped off of in the main event of Wrestlemania IV and missed Ted DiBiase, became forever known as Vincent T. Buckle (Savage ultimately climbed to the opposite turnbuckle pad and hit the elbow drop to win the title). And to this day, I still have it. And to be quite honest with you, it is right above my head, in my carryon luggage (yeah, like I would check in and risk losing that precious memory). And that pad, affectionately known as Vincent T. Buckle, along with me, Chris Kanyon, WWE Wrestler, well we are both "Going to WrestleMania". And ya know what? Disneyworld? Who needs it? Not me. I have Pro Wrestling, the WWE, and Vincent T. Buckle. And I couldn't be happier.

[FroGG_NeaL 0]

Very cool story. Hopefully, he actually will be on the card at next year's 'Mania.

[Guest subliminal_animal]

Aw, I love Kanyon. He seems like a sweet, friendly guy in real life. I'm not gay. I've never heard any stories about him being an asshole to fans or anything, in fact, pretty much all the stories I've heard have him going out of his way to be accomodating and signing everyone's autograph or taking everyone's picture, because they can't do it themselves and plus he needs to practice for a future career in forgery.

[Guest Steviekick]

It's reasons why this that I like wrestling. I love hearing great personal stories about wrestlers that i like to watch. That is an awesome story.

[Guest BifEverchad]

Great story. Kanyon is a great wrestler, who obviously LOVES wrestling.