Post by hbkjason on Aug 29, 2019 1:50:35 GMT -5
Wrestling Memories: WWF Magazine
The first copy of WWF Magazine I ever got was from Edinburgh Airport and it was the March 1990 issue (Hulk Hogan on the cover) I would get a few issues throughout 1990, but with the October 1990 issue (Legion of Doom on the cover) I started to get the magazine every month. A run that would actually continue all the way up to when RAW and SmackDown got their own magazines.
I loved WWF Magazine as a kid. My favorite section was the column that Bobby the Brain Heenan had called Brainstorms. It was always a lot of fun and I always got a kick out of the way he would rip on the wrestlers he did not like. As well as this I would love superstar interviews, but thanks to Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard, I now have less fond memories of these as he has made it seem like 90 percent of these interviews were BS and not even done by the actual wrestler and just all made up.
I loved the action shots that the WWF photographers would get and it was through the WWF Magazine that my illusions of “kayfabe” were well and truly destroyed. I went to a show in Glasgow in 1992 and one of the matches was the Big Boss Man vs Bezerker. Well the WWF Magazine had photos from this tour and they showed this match. However, it was not the one from Glasgow, but I could see they did the same spots! It made me wonder if the wrestlers did the exact same match each night when they were on tour.
One thing that I really enjoyed in the WWF Magazine was the merchandise catalogue. Even here in the UK, in the early days of the WWF Magazine, we got the USA merchandise catalogue. I think in 1992 we eventually got our own merchandise catalog. My mum actually ordered me a lot of stuff, including the bedding and curtains which were awesome. Back then it was not like it is now, I actually asked her about this recently and she said she had to go to the bank and get a money order, send it away, wait 9 weeks for it to arrive. However, before this she got stung with a big customs charge before they would let her get the parcel! Things in this regard sure have changed for the better. Man, I really appreciate the effort my folks went to in order to make sure I was all decked out in WWF gear in 90-91! Thankfully around this time the WWF blew up here in the UK so getting things like t-shirts and so on was pretty easy.
Another thing that I personally loved about the WWF Magazine was the advertisements for the WWF video games. One issue in 1996 (I think it was the one with either Sunny or Ahmed Johnson on it) Had a great feature on the 1996, WWF In Your House video game. To say I read that article over and over again is a massive understatement. Seeing the Advertisement in 1994 for Rage in the Cage flat out made me want a Sega Mega-CD! And I also was blown away by the advertisement for WWF Warzone in a 1998 issue (issue had DX on the front cover) and because of that advertisement, the Nintendo 64 version was the one I had to get as it made a point to mention the screenshots were from that version of the game.
1995 would see the rise of the WWF RAW magazine and I loved this magazine. WWF RAW Magazine was for the “mature fan” and as I was a teenager when this was released and becoming a “smarter” wrestling fan, I was all in. I really liked some of the interviews, Marc Mero and Ahmed Johnson in particular always spring to mind. The Ahmed Johnson interview was absolutely brutal in how honest and graphic it was. Of course, as a teenager, the spreads featuring photo sets of Sunny and Sable were something I very much appreciated. In the early days, RAW Magazine would be released bi-monthly before it eventually went to once a month like WWF magazine.
I always liked how the WWF Magazine kept things like it were on TV and the RAW Magazine was more behind the scenes. This made getting both magazines worthwhile in my opinion and it also meant that I was getting two fixes of WWF action each month. However, when the brand split happened, it was decided that RAW and SmackDown would get their own magazine each and this is where they lost me. Gone was the gritty and hard-hitting RAW magazine and the more “kayfabe” WWF magazine. Instead, I felt like both magazines were treating me like I was an idiot. I would have to say that I got both magazines out of habit for at least a year before I said enough was enough.
Despite me losing major interest in the magazines, I have to say that from 1990 all the way until 2001, getting my copy of WWF Magazine and especially WWF RAW Magazine from my local newsagents was something I always looked forward to. I actually always got the WWF Sporting Superstars Poster Magazine each month along with any WWF Spotlight Magazines that they released also. I do plan on talking about these (especially Sporting Superstars) at a later date. Another big deal here in the UK was Power Slam Magazine and that is something else I really want to talk about at some point.
I would love to know how into the WWF Magazine you guys were back in the day and if you remember what the first issue you ever got was.
The first copy of WWF Magazine I ever got was from Edinburgh Airport and it was the March 1990 issue (Hulk Hogan on the cover) I would get a few issues throughout 1990, but with the October 1990 issue (Legion of Doom on the cover) I started to get the magazine every month. A run that would actually continue all the way up to when RAW and SmackDown got their own magazines.
I loved WWF Magazine as a kid. My favorite section was the column that Bobby the Brain Heenan had called Brainstorms. It was always a lot of fun and I always got a kick out of the way he would rip on the wrestlers he did not like. As well as this I would love superstar interviews, but thanks to Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard, I now have less fond memories of these as he has made it seem like 90 percent of these interviews were BS and not even done by the actual wrestler and just all made up.
I loved the action shots that the WWF photographers would get and it was through the WWF Magazine that my illusions of “kayfabe” were well and truly destroyed. I went to a show in Glasgow in 1992 and one of the matches was the Big Boss Man vs Bezerker. Well the WWF Magazine had photos from this tour and they showed this match. However, it was not the one from Glasgow, but I could see they did the same spots! It made me wonder if the wrestlers did the exact same match each night when they were on tour.
One thing that I really enjoyed in the WWF Magazine was the merchandise catalogue. Even here in the UK, in the early days of the WWF Magazine, we got the USA merchandise catalogue. I think in 1992 we eventually got our own merchandise catalog. My mum actually ordered me a lot of stuff, including the bedding and curtains which were awesome. Back then it was not like it is now, I actually asked her about this recently and she said she had to go to the bank and get a money order, send it away, wait 9 weeks for it to arrive. However, before this she got stung with a big customs charge before they would let her get the parcel! Things in this regard sure have changed for the better. Man, I really appreciate the effort my folks went to in order to make sure I was all decked out in WWF gear in 90-91! Thankfully around this time the WWF blew up here in the UK so getting things like t-shirts and so on was pretty easy.
Another thing that I personally loved about the WWF Magazine was the advertisements for the WWF video games. One issue in 1996 (I think it was the one with either Sunny or Ahmed Johnson on it) Had a great feature on the 1996, WWF In Your House video game. To say I read that article over and over again is a massive understatement. Seeing the Advertisement in 1994 for Rage in the Cage flat out made me want a Sega Mega-CD! And I also was blown away by the advertisement for WWF Warzone in a 1998 issue (issue had DX on the front cover) and because of that advertisement, the Nintendo 64 version was the one I had to get as it made a point to mention the screenshots were from that version of the game.
1995 would see the rise of the WWF RAW magazine and I loved this magazine. WWF RAW Magazine was for the “mature fan” and as I was a teenager when this was released and becoming a “smarter” wrestling fan, I was all in. I really liked some of the interviews, Marc Mero and Ahmed Johnson in particular always spring to mind. The Ahmed Johnson interview was absolutely brutal in how honest and graphic it was. Of course, as a teenager, the spreads featuring photo sets of Sunny and Sable were something I very much appreciated. In the early days, RAW Magazine would be released bi-monthly before it eventually went to once a month like WWF magazine.
I always liked how the WWF Magazine kept things like it were on TV and the RAW Magazine was more behind the scenes. This made getting both magazines worthwhile in my opinion and it also meant that I was getting two fixes of WWF action each month. However, when the brand split happened, it was decided that RAW and SmackDown would get their own magazine each and this is where they lost me. Gone was the gritty and hard-hitting RAW magazine and the more “kayfabe” WWF magazine. Instead, I felt like both magazines were treating me like I was an idiot. I would have to say that I got both magazines out of habit for at least a year before I said enough was enough.
Despite me losing major interest in the magazines, I have to say that from 1990 all the way until 2001, getting my copy of WWF Magazine and especially WWF RAW Magazine from my local newsagents was something I always looked forward to. I actually always got the WWF Sporting Superstars Poster Magazine each month along with any WWF Spotlight Magazines that they released also. I do plan on talking about these (especially Sporting Superstars) at a later date. Another big deal here in the UK was Power Slam Magazine and that is something else I really want to talk about at some point.
I would love to know how into the WWF Magazine you guys were back in the day and if you remember what the first issue you ever got was.
