Welcome to Headlocks and Headlines

By Benny Fairchild

Welcome to my blog, Headlocks and Headlines. As a former newspaper reporter who began writing seriously while in high school, writing a book has been a dream of mine, but for now, a blog will have to do.

The name Headlocks and Headlines is pretty self-explanatory. Here I'll write about current events, as well as professional wrestling, both at the national and local level.

Not my grandma, but you get the idea.

My love for professional wrestling goes back to my childhood when I would often walk down the street to visit my great grandmother who loved professional wrestling, and believed it was real. It didn't matter if it was WCCW, WCW, NWA or the WWF, if it was on TV, she was watching. 

She watched wrestling on TV the same way a passionate sports fan watches the games of his or her favorite team. I have no doubt that had the internet existed, her antics would have gone viral. While I can't specifically remember the match, I can remember sitting in a chair across from her and her recliner, which wasn't reclined at the time. Something happened that she didn't like... up came the recliner, off came one of her shoes, and within a half second that shoe was whizzing past my head and headed towards a lamp, which came crashing to the floor.

Aside from our games of dominoes (only when wrestling wasn't on TV), my fondest memories of my time with her center around wresting and the Clash of Champions events which would air periodically on TBS. My family couldn't afford pay per view events, making the Clash of Champions a rare opportunity for me to enjoy pay per view caliber matches and stay up well past my bedtime.

My great grandmother has since passed away and now I'm a father myself sharing my love of wrestling with my daughter Ali, who is 8 and recently made the decision to part with her Disney Princess dolls. What she didn't part with is her collection of action figures, including the likes of Andre the Giant, the Iron Sheik, Macho Man Randy Savage, and several of today's stars. 

Ali, rocking her title belt

Given the time that wrestling often airs on TV, Ali now finds herself in the same boat I did, often not able to watch, but always inquiring about what happened on RAW, Smackdown, or NXT the night before. When school's not in session, a special treat for her is being able to stay up late and enjoy a pay per view (which thanks to the WWE Network are now a lot more affordable).

Another special treat for her is forthcoming though... her first wrestling show. Regrettably, I never got to enjoy a live event with my great grandmother. It's not going to be a WWE show, but she'll enjoy it nonetheless, and she's looking forward to meeting Kelly Kelly (who is also in her action figure collection), as well as Deonna Purrazzo, Carlito, and any other wrestler who will chat with her for a moment, take a pic, and sign an autograph for her already growing collection.

That's all for now, but I hope this gives you an idea of my backstory and what's to come with Headlocks and Headlines. Our first wrestling show together isn't until August, so there'll be more entries before then, but plenty of pictures will follow.