Unfortunately for me, I was a late bloomer in watching wrestling. I only started watching it in 1999, when the Golden Age of the WWE just culminated in its purchase of WCW. I was really frustrated to miss that so-called "Attitude Era", where "hell could break loose any time, anywhere." But still, at a late age of 13, I still managed to learn the ABC's of wrestling quickly than I ever envisioned. It was difficult, obviously, to pick up historical pieces and connect them into the current storylines being performed in TV. Star Sports and Star World carried those TV rights to exhibit the then-called WWF in our country, but they only showed RAW IS WAR and LIVEWIRE, leaving ourselves to figure out in the Internet what happened in SMACKDOWN! Anyway, my developing passion for WWE grew at an amazing rate, especially witnessing The Rock's phenomenal rise to stardom in 2000. "The People's Champion"; or the "Brahma Bull" was the sole reason why I sometimes neglected homework and watched RAW IS WAR instead late at night. His flamboyant posture, catchy promos, intimidating physique, passionate desire, and most of all, his fan-friendly demeanor made me look at the other side of the wrestling coin. Simply put, The Rock was indeed the wrestler who is simply "electrifying". On the face side, you have the brutal physicality and "fakeness" of wrestling, but on the tail side, there are these intangibles and non-wrestling technicalities that account for the majority of the reasons why we really watch WWE. However, in early 2001, just when I was becoming a true WWE fan, Star Televison discontinued WWE programming.
That didn't stop me from following WWE, not just yet. I tried to keep tabs on it by constantly visiting wwe.com, making it a textual television experience. Downloading RAW IS WAR and SMACKDOWN! was quite hard, as DSL services weren't available yet. Gradually, WWE slowly and slowly slipped away from my hands until I totally lost hold of it. I felt that my tireless efforts to relate and enjoy WWE went to naught, thanks to Star Television. From early 2001 up to late 2002, my wrestling life was non-existent. But then, to my surprise, in early 2003, I spotted WWE in Solar TV. Of course, things have changed. WWF became WWE, RAW IS WAR was simply known as RAW, superstars have come and gone, the arena setup was re-modernized, pyrotechnics was more properly utilized, television graphics became more sophisticated, and the nostalgic entrance themes of wrestlers and the shows themselves. WWE was back in town! It was frustrating at first to "re-relate" to WWE once again, as I had to understand the dark ages of WWE 2001-2002 to be able to appreciate WWE 2003. Well, WWE was a magnet and I was simply a piece of lost metal, and gladly we found each other.
WWE's humble beginnings in Solar TV started with RAW at 10 p.m. Wed, Heat preceding it at 9 p.m. There was a bit of a problem with SMACKDOWN!, as you could only catch it as a one-hour show on Sundays, on RPN. On Solar TV, three straight episodes of Velocity was aired on Fridays, 9 p.m. to 12 m.n. From the start, RAW has been the complete show. Only months later had SMACKDOWN! been shown as a complete two-hour show. Sometime later RAW and SD! was shifted to a 9 p.m. timeslot, Wed. and Fri. respectively. Heat and Velocity was shifted to 11 p.m. on both days. By then, I watched every episode of RAW and SD! every week. Missing one episode could be very costly, as I could miss must-see segments and lose track of storylines. So I see to it that it is automatic that I switch to "WWE mode" during Wed and Fri nights. Then again, both shows shifted to 8 p.m. Solar TV's pay-per-view debut was Summerslam on Nov. 2, 2003. Wow, that's three months late! It televised the succeeding PPV's irregularly, until it was able to cope up with the three-week delay of RAW and SD! with Royal Rumble 2004. Also in this timeframe, Bottomline and Afterburn were added. Then again RAW and SD! got shifted, this time from Wed and Fri to Sat and Sun, same time. This was the result of Solar TV becoming JACK TV that we know today. For the entire 2005, RAW and SD! was Sat and Sun, 8 p.m., with PPV's coming at Fri, 9 p.m. In late 2005, both shows were adjusted to a two-week delay. But this was really bad: 2006 saw both shows shifted to a horrible 6 p.m. timeslot, and still the same days. PPV's came in on Sundays at 8 p.m. this year.
With RAW, Heat, Bottomline & SD!, Velocity, Afterburn, the Philippines has one of the most comprehensive set of WWE TV programming in the world. With three replays each show plus one prime telecast, it is difficult to even miss WWE in our hectic schedules. Solar/JACK TV has watched Goldberg and Co. in the second Elimination Chamber at Summerslam 2003, Chris Benoit winning it all at Royal Rumble 2004 and WM XX, Batista, a half-Filipino becoming a champion at WM 21, and the untimely demise of Eddie Guerrero in November 2005. WWE has really come a long way, and after three years, WWE is as strong as ever on JACK TV. Benefiting from this kind of extensive WWE programming, I could say that I am lucky to be here in the Philippines and at same time a religious follower of WWE.
During these three years, I wondered from time to time if the WWE could visit our country and run a live event tour, at least once. But it was only wishful thinking of course. The logic that WWE has yet to visit the likes of Denmark, France, Sweden, Russia, Spain, Brazil, and even Malaysia makes it unthinkable for WWE to visit, to be honest, a less superior country like the Philippines. Of course, brushing that fact aside, we know that WWE has already visited our country back in the early 90's, with the conspicuous names of Bret Hart and our Asian brother Yokozuna headlining the two shows. However, WWF in the early 90's is very, very different from today's WWE. Out of desperate hope, I frequently check from time to time at WWE.com if ever there are live events scheduled anywhere in Asia. In 2004, WWE had visited Japan and to my surprise, Thailand. The former is a true market for wrestling, as it has its own wrestling organizations and some of WWE wrestlers had Japanese experience. Mick Foley, the "Hardcore Legend", perhaps learned some of his suicidal offense in Japan, where hardcore wrestling is game, much like ECW. But Bangkok, Thailand? In 2005, WWE had another Asian tour, this time coupling Seoul, South Korea with their primary Asian customer, Japan. This time, they really held televised RAW and Smackdown! in Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan. Some of us saw the unique Japanese way of cheering and booing wrestlers. That made me think how would the Filipinos react to the wrestlers. I only sighed and sighed as fellow Asians showcased their wrestling knowledge to the world. Please, when can WWE come here in our country? It is a dream of mine that should materialize after all the dedication RAW after RAW, passion Smackdown! after Smackdown! I was like the little boy in James Joyce's short story "Araby", where Araby itself never existed, but the boy persisted that it did exist, only to find out in the end that Araby was nothing but a grim reminder to him that reality is not what it seems.
One academically-draining day, everything changed. I had found Araby. At last.
A fellow wrestling fan/friend named Nikonboy phoned in to inform, no, to surprise me. Of course, knowing how rumors could easily spread, I thought of it as some kind of a joke. I checked WWE.com, but still, no live events scheduled for the Philippines. He further informed me that his friend had seen a poster in Araneta Coliseum promoting it. To believe his hellacious declaration, I had to go to Cubao as soon as possible. That was when, early December 2005? Then I literally found Araby. The poster had a picture of John Cena in action with the description of "WWE RAW Live Tour, Feb. 24/25". That day, however, the WWE website still showed no live events scheduled for the Philippines. About a week later, it was officially confirmed in the website. "WWE RAW Live Tour - Manila, Philippines". Tickets go on sale at December 15, 2005.
World Wrestling Entertainment coming to Araneta Coliseum, the mecca of Philippine sports-entertainment. For two days. Despite Manila wrestling fans having breakfast and New York wrestling fans having dinner simultaneously, WWE chose to break timeline barriers and brave tremendous jet lags to come here and show what wrestling is all about. Although the tickets might have been very expensive, which really pushed my wallet to the edge, I believe that watching WWE live has another price that could never be bought.
The Filipino experience of WWE.
After nearly seven years of befriending WWE, fate has brought myself and WWE together, and of all places, in my hometown of Manila. Not in the U.S., Japan, or Thailand. Right here in the Philippines.
On that fateful day of February 24, 2006, Friday, WWE RAW Live Tour exploded right in my face. After all the opportunity costs I have sacrificed in watching WWE, Internet minutes devoted to WWE.com surfing, patronizing WWE T-shirts (whether original or fake), and my intangible passion for WWE, the last piece of my WWE puzzle was completed, again, on February 24, 2006 in Araneta Coliseum, Cubao, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines.
(My seven-year long hope and search for WWE coming in Manila is very similar to the experience of the little boy in "Araby", although he did not find Araby, but I did. However, me and the little boy shared the same thoughts. Please read James Joyce's short story ---> http://eserver.org/fiction/araby.html)
WWE RAW Theme
"Across the Nation" by Union Underground
Now get the guns, the drugs, from my generation.
I'll take the fall, the saints, across the nation.
And it's the sex, the gods, the freaks, the frauds,
they're messin' with me, come on, come on, come on.
Let's get it on!
CHORUS
Move to the music
Play that f**king music
Move it to the music, yeah!
(Let's get it on)
Move to my music
Play that f**king music
Live through my music, yeah!
Forget the lies, the money, we're in this together.
And through it all, they said nothing's forever.
And they refuse to see the change in me,
why won't they wake up? Come on, come on, come on.
CHORUS
Bridge
(Test, test, test, test) Move to the music, yeah. (3x).
Live through the music yeah.
Repeat CHORUS
That didn't stop me from following WWE, not just yet. I tried to keep tabs on it by constantly visiting wwe.com, making it a textual television experience. Downloading RAW IS WAR and SMACKDOWN! was quite hard, as DSL services weren't available yet. Gradually, WWE slowly and slowly slipped away from my hands until I totally lost hold of it. I felt that my tireless efforts to relate and enjoy WWE went to naught, thanks to Star Television. From early 2001 up to late 2002, my wrestling life was non-existent. But then, to my surprise, in early 2003, I spotted WWE in Solar TV. Of course, things have changed. WWF became WWE, RAW IS WAR was simply known as RAW, superstars have come and gone, the arena setup was re-modernized, pyrotechnics was more properly utilized, television graphics became more sophisticated, and the nostalgic entrance themes of wrestlers and the shows themselves. WWE was back in town! It was frustrating at first to "re-relate" to WWE once again, as I had to understand the dark ages of WWE 2001-2002 to be able to appreciate WWE 2003. Well, WWE was a magnet and I was simply a piece of lost metal, and gladly we found each other.
WWE's humble beginnings in Solar TV started with RAW at 10 p.m. Wed, Heat preceding it at 9 p.m. There was a bit of a problem with SMACKDOWN!, as you could only catch it as a one-hour show on Sundays, on RPN. On Solar TV, three straight episodes of Velocity was aired on Fridays, 9 p.m. to 12 m.n. From the start, RAW has been the complete show. Only months later had SMACKDOWN! been shown as a complete two-hour show. Sometime later RAW and SD! was shifted to a 9 p.m. timeslot, Wed. and Fri. respectively. Heat and Velocity was shifted to 11 p.m. on both days. By then, I watched every episode of RAW and SD! every week. Missing one episode could be very costly, as I could miss must-see segments and lose track of storylines. So I see to it that it is automatic that I switch to "WWE mode" during Wed and Fri nights. Then again, both shows shifted to 8 p.m. Solar TV's pay-per-view debut was Summerslam on Nov. 2, 2003. Wow, that's three months late! It televised the succeeding PPV's irregularly, until it was able to cope up with the three-week delay of RAW and SD! with Royal Rumble 2004. Also in this timeframe, Bottomline and Afterburn were added. Then again RAW and SD! got shifted, this time from Wed and Fri to Sat and Sun, same time. This was the result of Solar TV becoming JACK TV that we know today. For the entire 2005, RAW and SD! was Sat and Sun, 8 p.m., with PPV's coming at Fri, 9 p.m. In late 2005, both shows were adjusted to a two-week delay. But this was really bad: 2006 saw both shows shifted to a horrible 6 p.m. timeslot, and still the same days. PPV's came in on Sundays at 8 p.m. this year.
With RAW, Heat, Bottomline & SD!, Velocity, Afterburn, the Philippines has one of the most comprehensive set of WWE TV programming in the world. With three replays each show plus one prime telecast, it is difficult to even miss WWE in our hectic schedules. Solar/JACK TV has watched Goldberg and Co. in the second Elimination Chamber at Summerslam 2003, Chris Benoit winning it all at Royal Rumble 2004 and WM XX, Batista, a half-Filipino becoming a champion at WM 21, and the untimely demise of Eddie Guerrero in November 2005. WWE has really come a long way, and after three years, WWE is as strong as ever on JACK TV. Benefiting from this kind of extensive WWE programming, I could say that I am lucky to be here in the Philippines and at same time a religious follower of WWE.
During these three years, I wondered from time to time if the WWE could visit our country and run a live event tour, at least once. But it was only wishful thinking of course. The logic that WWE has yet to visit the likes of Denmark, France, Sweden, Russia, Spain, Brazil, and even Malaysia makes it unthinkable for WWE to visit, to be honest, a less superior country like the Philippines. Of course, brushing that fact aside, we know that WWE has already visited our country back in the early 90's, with the conspicuous names of Bret Hart and our Asian brother Yokozuna headlining the two shows. However, WWF in the early 90's is very, very different from today's WWE. Out of desperate hope, I frequently check from time to time at WWE.com if ever there are live events scheduled anywhere in Asia. In 2004, WWE had visited Japan and to my surprise, Thailand. The former is a true market for wrestling, as it has its own wrestling organizations and some of WWE wrestlers had Japanese experience. Mick Foley, the "Hardcore Legend", perhaps learned some of his suicidal offense in Japan, where hardcore wrestling is game, much like ECW. But Bangkok, Thailand? In 2005, WWE had another Asian tour, this time coupling Seoul, South Korea with their primary Asian customer, Japan. This time, they really held televised RAW and Smackdown! in Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan. Some of us saw the unique Japanese way of cheering and booing wrestlers. That made me think how would the Filipinos react to the wrestlers. I only sighed and sighed as fellow Asians showcased their wrestling knowledge to the world. Please, when can WWE come here in our country? It is a dream of mine that should materialize after all the dedication RAW after RAW, passion Smackdown! after Smackdown! I was like the little boy in James Joyce's short story "Araby", where Araby itself never existed, but the boy persisted that it did exist, only to find out in the end that Araby was nothing but a grim reminder to him that reality is not what it seems.
One academically-draining day, everything changed. I had found Araby. At last.
A fellow wrestling fan/friend named Nikonboy phoned in to inform, no, to surprise me. Of course, knowing how rumors could easily spread, I thought of it as some kind of a joke. I checked WWE.com, but still, no live events scheduled for the Philippines. He further informed me that his friend had seen a poster in Araneta Coliseum promoting it. To believe his hellacious declaration, I had to go to Cubao as soon as possible. That was when, early December 2005? Then I literally found Araby. The poster had a picture of John Cena in action with the description of "WWE RAW Live Tour, Feb. 24/25". That day, however, the WWE website still showed no live events scheduled for the Philippines. About a week later, it was officially confirmed in the website. "WWE RAW Live Tour - Manila, Philippines". Tickets go on sale at December 15, 2005.
World Wrestling Entertainment coming to Araneta Coliseum, the mecca of Philippine sports-entertainment. For two days. Despite Manila wrestling fans having breakfast and New York wrestling fans having dinner simultaneously, WWE chose to break timeline barriers and brave tremendous jet lags to come here and show what wrestling is all about. Although the tickets might have been very expensive, which really pushed my wallet to the edge, I believe that watching WWE live has another price that could never be bought.
The Filipino experience of WWE.
After nearly seven years of befriending WWE, fate has brought myself and WWE together, and of all places, in my hometown of Manila. Not in the U.S., Japan, or Thailand. Right here in the Philippines.
On that fateful day of February 24, 2006, Friday, WWE RAW Live Tour exploded right in my face. After all the opportunity costs I have sacrificed in watching WWE, Internet minutes devoted to WWE.com surfing, patronizing WWE T-shirts (whether original or fake), and my intangible passion for WWE, the last piece of my WWE puzzle was completed, again, on February 24, 2006 in Araneta Coliseum, Cubao, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines.
(My seven-year long hope and search for WWE coming in Manila is very similar to the experience of the little boy in "Araby", although he did not find Araby, but I did. However, me and the little boy shared the same thoughts. Please read James Joyce's short story ---> http://eserver.org/fiction/araby.html)
WWE RAW Theme
"Across the Nation" by Union Underground
Now get the guns, the drugs, from my generation.
I'll take the fall, the saints, across the nation.
And it's the sex, the gods, the freaks, the frauds,
they're messin' with me, come on, come on, come on.
Let's get it on!
CHORUS
Move to the music
Play that f**king music
Move it to the music, yeah!
(Let's get it on)
Move to my music
Play that f**king music
Live through my music, yeah!
Forget the lies, the money, we're in this together.
And through it all, they said nothing's forever.
And they refuse to see the change in me,
why won't they wake up? Come on, come on, come on.
CHORUS
Bridge
(Test, test, test, test) Move to the music, yeah. (3x).
Live through the music yeah.
Repeat CHORUS
