Life, Death and Pro Wrestling

The last 24+ hours have been pretty emotional, and it all came to a head last night when, for the first time in my near-30 years as a professional wrestling fan, I was moved to tears.

People often ask me why I still watch pro wrestling. Well, nobody actually asks me that, but I often ask myself and assume other people wonder why as well. I don't usually have an answer. I love it for the storytelling and the sometimes hero-like characters that can be created, but too often recently the weekly television shows lack any creativity or compelling direction one might expect an episodic television show (especially on that's been on for 25 years) to have. It's embarrassing more often than not. Hell, probably 80-90 percent of the time. But I stick with it for moments like Sunday.

My Sundays are normally spent leisurely enjoying my time off after a six-day work week, and yesterday I went see my alma mater, Indiana, play for the first team this season. It was a mostly thrilling basketball game against a ranked Maryland team. The Hoosiers collapsed down the stretch sadly, though I was mostly encouraged by what I saw. Unfortunately that won't be what I'll remember most about that game.

It was 2:35 p.m., early in the second half of the basketball game, when I received a text from a friend that Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash. I immediately went to Twitter, and the only thing I saw was the TMZ report, like I'm sure many others did. Time passed, but I really don't know how much. I tried to let the basketball game distract me, but it was difficult to think about much else. Somewhere over the next hour, Kobe's death was confirmed, and I spent the entire ride home from Bloomington trying to find details. It was a bittersweet relief to find out that only one of his daughter's had perished, as initial reports indicated all his kids were with him.

It's weird. I was never a huge Kobe fan. In fact, I really didn't like him at all when I was younger. But I grew to respect his game and I feel privileged that I got to see one of the all-time greats during my lifetime. It's also true that Kobe was no saint. He made his share of mistakes, but he also seemed to be reformed and a dedicated father and husband in his post-retirement. Yet for some reason, his untimely death hit me really hard.

It finally occurred to me yesterday afternoon. All last week I knew the four-year anniversary was coming up of the death of one of my best friends, Luke. Today is the actual anniversary as I'm writing this, and I think Kobe's passing was an all-too real reminder of what Luke's death four years ago showed me: Nothing in this life is guaranteed. Nobody knows when their time will be up, so you have to make the most of what little you have.

In April of 2011, the night after Wrestlemania 27, one of my all-time favorite wrestlers, Edge, unexpectedly announced his retirement. Visibly shaken, Adam Copeland, the man not the TV character, gave an emotional speech about multiple neck surgeries and recent numbness led doctors to recommend retirement out of fear of possible paralysis or even death should he continue. It was a very real moment in an otherwise scripted show. Without getting too deep into my fandom for Edge, one of the things I loved about him was that he was a fan. The way WWE portrayed it (so take this with a grain of salt), he appeared to be one of the biggest fan-turned-superstar that the company has ever had. Copeland was even in attendance at Wrestlemania 6 in Toronto to watch Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior. In March of 2012, Edge went into the WWE Hall of Fame, and for all intents and purposes, his career was over.

The Royal Rumble has always been one of my favorite wrestling Pay-Per-Views, and part of that is because its known for having at least one or two surprise returns. The returns are sometimes underwhelming, but if the WWE can keep a secret under wraps, the unexpected returns can provide great memories. Rumors had been circulating that Edge had been cleared by doctors to compete again and that the Royal Rumble was where he'd make his triumphant return.

I have to be honest though, after an emotional day that included a celebrity death, the highs and lows of IU basketball, reflecting on a friends' death, and numbing my brain with 3 ½ hours of mindless pro wrestling, my favorite wrestler making a big comeback was not near the forefront of my brain. His music hit, my jaw hit the floor, and the crowd reaction gave me goosebumps. By the time he walked through his trademark smoke, the emotion on his face was plain to see, and my eyes welled with tears. Had I been alone, those tears may have turned to sobs.

(Edge's return)

Here was a guy who got to live his life-long dream of becoming a professional wrestler, only to have that dream cut short in the prime of his career. Now he's back. There are rumors of a new three-year contract for the Rated-R Superstar, but it's impossible to say how true that is at this point, or if it'll even be in a wrestling capacity. If nothing else, it seems likely he'll at least have a Wrestlemania match in a couple months, but who knows?

And that's just it. Who knows what's next for any of us? If the last 24 hours have taught me anything, it's that we need to make the best of what we have while we have it, because nothing is certain. It's a lesson that I think everyone knows, but unfortunately, sometimes I think we need a reminder.