Patreon: The History of My ‘Favorite Wrestler’ Spot

Stoney Keeley looks back at the history of his favorite wrestlers throughout his fandom.

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Those of us who are brave and/or dumb enough to become lifelong wrestling fans all have our own distinct journey through wrestling fandom. We’re often drawn in by an exciting match, or the charisma of a certain superstar, and if we’re hooked – well, I can’t really explain that. We’re just hooked. 

But, it’s one of the things I find most interesting when talking to other wrestling fans. Who was “your wrestler” growing up? How did “your wrestler” change and evolve over time? Looking at my own favorite wrestlers over time reads like a glimpse into the mind of a mad man, but I figured I’d share it with you guys nonetheless. 

My Favorite Wrestlers Through the Years

Doink The Clown – That’s right. The first favorite wrestler I had as a child was a literal clown. The first match I ever saw was a barn-burner between Barry Horrowitz and the 1-2-3 Kid. I was instantly hooked, and then when I saw this literal clown come out and wrestle, I was blown away. Learning that he used to be an evil clown presented a layer of depth to the character that just drew me in. Yes – this is an honest statement: Doink the Clown was my first favorite wrestler. 

Kane – I can remember those Paul Bearer promos about how Kane was ALIVE and on his way to the WWE vividly. That shit captivated me – At this point, I had figured out the big secret about wrestling, but to a young Stoney, it was awfully easy to lose sight of that during those promos. Then, when I saw the big bastard and what he was capable of, it was like the second coming of Frankenstein’s monster and brother I was all about that.

Test – Yeah, maybe I was a bit of a contrarian. When most people were going Stone Cold, I was going Test. But, I thought he looked cool as shit – like a real life Terminator that just happened to bang lots of groupies because he was Motley Crue’s bodyguard or whatever. I even tried to walk and talk like Test in junior high. We all had nicknames for each other, and the group called me “Test-Pac” for some reason. I still don’t understand that one to this day.

Chris Jericho – I had always thought Jericho was funny and super talented, but it wasn’t really until his debut in WWE that he really ascended to my “favorite” status. As you can tell, I was maturing as a wrestling fan at this point and started to develop an appreciation for the art.

Edge – Everything about Edge ruled. Just when it looked like he was looking a little aimless, he turns heel, gets that Money In The Bank briefcase, and takes off. He became the defining heel of the 2000s, if you ask me, and I became a big time Edge guy.

CM Punk – I know, I know…it’s a very marky mark thing to say, but I have to admit it. I looked at Punk as a bit of a folk hero. Here was this guy who had made it through wrestling, and opened a lot of doors for future super indie guys to come up and last in the WWE. I still look at his run in WWE and think it was some of the most consistent quality work of all time. His match with Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam 2013 is still one of my favorite matches to date. 

The Shield – Once Punk was out of the equation, I gravitated toward the Shield guys big time. It just felt like we were witnessing the future – the next generation of WWE main eventers, and the whole gimmick was cool as shit. 

n/a – Yeah, I went through a pretty lengthy spell during which I didn’t really have a favorite…just more or less watching the shows, writing about ’em, and not really thinking about who I actually looked forward to watching.

Orange Cassidy – And, here we are – caught up to 2020 Stoney, and Cassidy is unequivocally my favorite in the world today. It’s one thing to be a talented wrestler. It’s one thing to be a comedy wrestler. But, very rarely do you get the combination of both. That’s what Cassidy is to me – it’s hard to do something that hasn’t been done throughout the entire vast history of professional wrestling, but ‘Freshly Squeezed’ is that dude. I saw him for the first time at The Collective 2019 in Jersey City, and have been a big time fan ever since.

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley

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