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With WWE's Wrestlemania fast approaching, the attention on the past of professional wrestling as well as the present is rising by the day. While that attention will reach it's apex when WWE visits the greater Bay Area of California, that same weekend, The Rochester RazorSharks will not only compete in Game two of the PBL Finals against the Lake Michigan Admirals, but will also celebrate Wrestlemania and pro wrestling at their Saturday March 28th as WWE Hall of Famers Tito Santana, Greg "The Hammer" Valentine and "The Birdman" Koko B. Ware appearing for a free autograph signing at 1 PM at The Blue Cross Arena.
All three are memorable performers and personalities from the then-WWF's ascension into international prominence from the 1980s into the early 1990s. Santana and Valentine had a celebrated feud for the Intercontinental championship while Koko became one of the most recognizable personalities of his era, emblazoned with bright colors, accompanied by his prized Macaw "Frankie" and singing the immortal so-wrestling-it's-great theme song "Piledriver."
Indeed, Legacy Records announced that The "Piledriver" album will be re-released as part of April's Record Store Day Celebration, yet another lasting testimonial to the career path Koko Ware forged for himself en route to the WWE Hall of Fame. That Hall of Fame induction, which took place in 2009 in Houston, Texas, actually led to great controversy amongst wrestling afficionados, forgetting that a memorable personality is just as important as championship reigns in what remains an ever-evolving, maleable entertainment genre.
Koko, however, doesn't see the controversy. In fact, he felt his induction was overdue.
"I came in in the late 1980s and was there until the mid-1990s," said Ware. "It was nine and a half years. I figured I should have been in the Hall of Fame a lot sooner than I was. I was there for a long time and put in a lot of work."
When look at Ware's body of work, it's hard to argue with him, especially when you look at his body of work outside of his World Wrestling Federation run. Ware broke into the influential Memphis territory after growing up a lifelong fan that attended the weekly Thursday night events in Union City, TN. He learned there were wrestlers training in his hometown and begged his mother to give him permission to join them. "It was my big break."
Once he began training, he caught the eye of the late Plawboy Frazier (Uncle Elmer to WWF fans) who quickly pushed longtime Memphis kingpin Jerry Lawler to take a look at the youngster. On one fateful Friday night, Lawler did. Hours later, Ware was making his debut on WMC-TV in Memphis, TN, a live Saturday morning studio wrestling show. That would be the equivalent of Triple H looking at a WWE prospect and then getting a debut on Monday Night Raw, 12 hours later. The idea is unfathomable today and at the time, frightening to Ware. The pressure debuting was immense, but he did well enough to earn a regular spot in the territory.
"Off to Memphis I went and welcome to the wrestling world!" Ware laughed. "That was such a wonderful place and I give Lawler a hug every time I see him. I didn't have a father or brother in the wrestling business. I was lucky that Jerry saw something in me and said he was excited to have me."
That run in Memphis saw feuds with Jimmy Valiant, the creation of the Pretty Young Things tag team with Norvell Austin and all sorts of chances for the young Ware to cut his teeth on live television as well as in front of the most excitable, loyal wrestling fans ever seen. To this day, nostalgia for that era remains and Ware quickly points out how many other WWE Hall of Famers, including Lawler, Jimmy Hart and even Hulk Hogan, worked that region before making it to national TV.
Memphis also provided something beyond just lessons in how to elicit reactions from the fans and perform. It instilled and bred confidence in Ware so that by the time, WWE came calling, placing him on national TV in 1986, he was ready.
"The butterflies were all gone," reflected Ware. "No butterflies in WWE. After being in front of those 11,000 fans in the Mid-South Coliseum, WWE was just a bigger version. WWE polished me even more and more and more. I wish I could have done more, because with my gimmick or even with Owen Hart, I wished they had pushed us a little more since we were one of the first black and white tag teams in the company."
Still, in 2015, Ware looks back with no regrets, nor should he have any.
While he never had the chance to hold championship gold, the argument could be made he didn't need it to accompany him. His ever-present Macaw, Frankie provided a window for children to embrace Ware, as did his blue, red and yellow neon outfits. Indeed, it's hard to imagine Ware without Frankie and even when he was inducted into the WWE Hall, Ware was accompanied by his new Macaw, Frankie Jr. Ware was a constant precense as a hero in the company, battling villains on a weekly basis on Saturday mornings and Monday nights while also repesenting WWE in licensing, charity and promotional campaigns. He was so memorable, he was given every opportunity one could have had in the company. If that isn't a Hall of Fame career, then what is?
Two of Ware's fellow combatants, Santana and Valentine will join him at the Rochester Razorsharks game on March 28th. When asked about his memories of each, perhaps Ware's most memorable memory was the night he decided to call an audible in Madison Square Garden. Pitted against Santana in a rare meeting of heroes, the New York City crowd soon became restless and began chanting the one thing no performer ever wants to hear: "Boring!"
Ware made the call to return to his Memphis roots and began working as a villain against Santana. The crowd immediately jumped on the usually beloved Ware. Madison Square Garden had turned into the Mid-South Coliseum with the flip of a switch. When the bout was over, Ware had lost and returned to the back, where Vince McMahon was waiting and he wasn't happy.
"Vince said, 'No Koko, you aren't doing that. I don't want no dirty bird, " Ware laughed. The Dirty Bird's wings were clipped and forgotten.
Beyond his time as a singles performer, Ware is likely best remembered for his tag team "High Energy" with the late Owen Hart. With baggy pants he would pull up to his chest for comedic effect, Ware loved his time teaming with Hart. Ware credited Bobby Heenan with the idea of putting the two together. While Hart was a notorious practical joker, Ware claims Hart never pulled any tricks on him.
"I loved teaming with Owen. High Energy is what they called us and it's what we brought. We were always able to get the crowd to react and have fun. That's what this was all about."
Ware is careful to talk about the wrestling business in past tense, noting that while he believes if he appeared at Wrestlemania or Monday Night Raw and they hit his music, the crowd would jump up and react, happy to see him, but he's content being home in Tennesee. He's active in his church, where he sings (church is where he primed his singing voice) and plays guitar and owns and operates a painting company that handles residential work as well as occasional, larger business clients.
Ware says he's embraced life after wrestling, because, "When you leave WWE or wrestling, you are still a Superstar. You have to be a Superstar in life. If you have to get a job and do something new or something day to day, well, then that's what you are going to be a Superstar at. You don't need to be on TV. Only your ego tells you that. Life is good. God is good. You have to embrace life as the Superstar God wants you to be."
So, while he has moved on from the days of delivering brainbusters, Ware still enjoys his occasionally visits back into professional wrestling where he can still greet fans.
He promises that when he gets to the RazorSharks game, he can't wait to talk to the fans. "Even if a fan comes up and doesn't have anything to say, I'll be saying something to them to start our talk. I can't wait. I'm thankful, because I did something. I went from my little hometown of Union City to traveling all over the world. Plus, the people never forgot me. They still remember me as [someone] memorable."
How could they not? Way before Michael Keaton, there was only one "Birdman"..and Michael Keaton certainly can't snap a brainbuster.
Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, Tito Santana, and "The Birdman" Koko B. Ware will all be at the Rochester RazorSharks home game on Saturday, March 28th at 1:00pm for a free autograph session and a meet and greet with fans. For more, visit RazorSharks.com.
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