AdamPitluk
Editor
I
fyou’repartof the650million
householdswhotune intoWWE
wrestlingannually,or ifyou’re
someonewhohascontributedto
the7billionWWEvideoviews
onYouTube in the last12months, then
youcan identifyeveryoneon thecover
even intheirstreetclothes(including
decipheringwhichBella twin isNikki
andwhichone isBrie).
And ifyou’reoneof thedevoteeswho
havebeenwatchingprofessionalwres-
tlingsinceWWE’spredecessor, theWorld
WrestlingFederation (WWF),held its
firstmegaevent,dubbed“WrestleMania,”
atMadisonSquareGardenonMarch
31, 1985, thenyou’re familiarwith the
skyrocketing trajectoryandupward
mobility thebrandhasexhibitedover the
past threedecades (seeourcoverstoryon
page40). Ifyou’renot, it’s time tobecome
one,because it’s justplain fun towatch.
Forme,WWE(andtheWWFbefore
it)producedanarrativethatweaves its
waythroughmy life.
Likemanyboys in the1980s, I loved
watchingprofessionalwrestling.Mydad
enjoyedwatching itwithme,most likely
becauseheusedtowatch itwithhisdad
inthe1950sand ’60s.Aftermygrand-
fatherpunchedout fromhis job inForest
City’s lumberyard,heandmydadwould
watchGorgeousGeorgeandWhipper
BillyWatson.Decades later,whenmydad
would takeme tosee theJunkyardDog
andTitoSantanaatCleveland’sRichfield
Coliseum,my fatherwouldvisiblyrevert
tobeingakidagain.
RightaroundthetimeDadandIwere
watchingMachoManRandySavage
execute thedivingelbowdrop from the
toprope, therewasa teenagerdown in
southeasternTexaswhowasstarting to
attractall sortsofattentionasmuch for
hissheersizeas forhisbrutestrength.
At the time, Silsbee,Texas,wasa
working-class townofabout3,000.
Therewereracial tensions, and the town
naturallyself-segregated.Andalthough
MarkJerroldHenryhadhis issuesand
scufflesgrowingup, the local andstate
mediawere focusedsquarelyonhim ina
goodway.Folks in townstoppedcalling
himMarkandstartedcallinghimBig
Foot, or theTeenageMastodon, or the
LochNessMonster.
Forherewasakidwho,by the timehe
was17,was lifting800pounds.Thatwas
—andstill is—unheardof.MarkHenry
seteverysinglerecord in theTexasHigh
SchoolPowerliftingStateChampion-
ships, someofwhichstill stand.What’s
more, thepeople inandaroundSilsbee
—ofbothraces—ralliedaroundMarkand
puttheirpreconceptionsandracialbi-
asesaside.Theyrecognizedthatpoverty
wastheirproblem,notrace.Andtheyrec-
ognizedthata local teenwascapableof
somethingnootherteenanywhere inthe
worldcoulddo.Tounderstandthestory
ofMarkHenry is tounderstand thestory
ofperseverancepersonified.Hisroad
fromhighschoolweightliftingchampi-
ontotwo-timeOlympicweightlifterto
ArnoldStrongmanClassicchampion to
—eventually—WWEWorldHeavyweight
Champion isaroadthat isextraordinary,
andyet in thesmallwrestlingcommuni-
tyofWWE,notaltogetheruncommon.
AswecelebrateBlackHistoryMonth,
pleasereadtheQ&AwithTarajiP.Henson,
starofFox’ssmashhit
Empire
(page38),
EDITOR’SNOTE
ByAdamPitluk
andgeta lookatJimiHendrix’sonetime
Londonhome(page26).Youcanalso learn
a littlebitaboutthehistoryoftheTuskegee
Airmen(page10)fromanAmerican
Airlinespilot.And,prepareyourselfforthe
bookaboutMarkHenry—oneofthebest
superstarsandathletes inWWEhistory—
whichheandIareworkingon.
I’m39yearsoldnow, andIwatch
wrestlingwithmy twodaughters.These
days, it’sJohnCenaandRomanReigns
andTheNewDayandSheamuswhodom-
inatethesport. It’sasymbolicpassingof
theturnbuckle fromgenerationtogener-
ation, asymbolismthat’snot lostonmeas
weprepare forWrestleMania32 inDallas
onApril3. It’llbeMarkHenry’s last, ashe
prepares forthenextchapterofhis life.
Totrulygetasenseofmyearliersenti-
mentthatprofessionalwrestlinghashad
aprofound impactonmy life, lookatthe
pictureabove(completewithJohnCena).
Even thoughTaylorSwiftwas in town
thenightbefore,mywifeanddaughters
insteadchose
WWEMondayNightRaw
asourbig familyouting for theweek.
Actually, Ichose it for them,but
they thoroughlyenjoyed themselves.
My fatherwasproud.
Family
Tradition
FollowAdamonTwitter
@adampitluk
12
FEBRUARY2016
AMERICANWAY
