I’m not sure if I would have survived 2020 without pro
wrestling.
I know that sounds insane, but as I look back over this
awful year I see how pro wrestling was always there for me.
If we only knew what lay ahead. We could say that about all
aspects of life in 2020. My year would suck like everyone else’s year would
suck. And pro wrestling helped get me through it.
It started in early January when my year got off to a shitty
start when my cousin fell ill and passed away. I never thought it would get any
worse than the first two weeks of 2020.
Through those awful two weeks, my escape was NJPW and its
annual WrestleKingdom show that takes place every January 4 from the Tokyo
Dome. To celebrate 2020 and the fact that Tokyo would be hosting the Olympics –
gah it feels weird to relieve those long-lost hopeful thoughts – WrestleKingdom
would take place over two nights.
The shows were incredible, with multiple matches considered
Match of the Year candidates. The drama, the quality, the excitement, it was
everything I needed to escape. The night after those shows, NJPW hosted its
annual New Year’s Dash show, which was a long celebration of the career of the
retiring legend Jushin Thunder Liger. It was a beautiful moment that I watched
while consumed by sadness.
Then, of course, the pandemic hit the United States in
March. Watching pro wrestling became less of an escape as WWE and AEW tried to
keep going through the pandemic. AEW, to their credit, ended up taping about
six weeks’ worth of TV in one shot to let wrestlers stay home, but WWE, as true
MAGAs, didn’t. They kept putting on live or semi-live TV weekly in Florida,
causing much controversy and at least two COVID outbreaks.
I won’t remember that, though. I’ll remember pro wrestling
helping me deal with my insomnia. Like most, sleep became a challenge during
those first few weeks and then months of quarantine. I’ve been working remotely
since March and I’m not sure I’ve fallen asleep before midnight since either.
As I stayed awake until two or three in the morning every day,
I took comfort in all the pro wrestling I could find. WWE Network gave you a
free 30-day trial for every email address you could find, which meant lots of
late night watching old shows that I never watched at the time. WCW’s Halloween
Havoc 1995? Loved it. WWF’s Armageddon 2003? I see why I skipped that one at
the time.
Thanks to the WWE Network, which smartly closed the free
trial loophole, and the vast wilderness of classic wrestling on YouTube, I’ve
watched more pro wrestling this year than I ever have in my life. And thank God
I did, or who knows how crazy I would’ve gone in the spring and early summer.
As I got accustomed to our new abnormal, AEW hit its stride
with a string of amazing shows over the summer and into the fall. Again, the
timing could not have been more perfect. The existential dread that came with
the one-two punch of the pandemic and the election caused me more heartache
than I’d like to admit. Regardless, I knew that I had two hours every Wednesday
when AEW Dynamite would air and my mind would drift away from the sad realities
of our world.
As we hit the November and December, pro wrestling delivered
some of its best action of 2020. NJPW’s annual G1 Climax tournament – pushed
back from summer to late fall – delivered a string of amazing matches. Japan
has done better with COVID than the U.S., like every other country, so fans had
been allowed to attend for months with a twist, as fans cannot yell or make
noise to prevent potential COVID droplets from being shared. So, it presents a
very 2020 version of pro wrestling, where fans can only clap.
Back here, AEW took things to a different level in December
with the arrival of Sting while Kenny Omega finally became AEW champion, and
then promptly started showing up in other places. I watched Impact Wrestling
for the first time in years (decades?) when he showed up. I spent a Saturday
night watching Mexico’s WrestleMania – AAA’s Triple Mania – because Kenny Omega
was wrestling. It felt great. I loved it. I spent a Saturday night only
thinking about how much I liked something – not how much I dread literally
everything else going on in the world.
Of course, this is 2020. This past weekend, the shocking
death of Jon Huber (AEW’s Brodie Lee, WWE’s Luke Harper) stunned and shocked
every wrestling fan. His last match was an amazing dog collar match on TV vs
Cody Rhodes, a brutal tour de force. His unexplained absence from TV since then
had people speculating on a big return angle. Instead, we had no idea he was battling
a life-threatening lung issue at the Mayo Clinic. The last AEW Dynamite of this
awful year will now be a tribute show to his life.
The year 2020 never relents. It’s a gut punch every single
day. I’m glad I survived it because far too many did not.
Thank you, pro wrestling. I appreciate the help. It was much
needed this year.
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