It’s WRESTLEMANIA weekend here in my home of Las Vegas and shit hasn’t been this hyped up since 1993 when Vince McMahon decided to bring the Super Bowl of wrestling events to Sin City. Hell, on my way back from a doctor’s appointment today, I caught a glimpse of some guys walking down the street with a very impressive-looking championship wrestling belt- and mind you, we were nowhere near the arena that is hosting WrestleMania 41. I just smiled and remembered the excitement I, and so many others in my hometown, once felt when we found out The Undertaker, Bret Hart, and the return of Hulk Hogan were all on the card for WrestleMania IX. I feel it in the air now just as I did back then when I was 10.

And it brings a goddamn tear to my eye and that inner child in all of us.

In addition, PEACOCK recently released a documentary about WrestleMania like no other, entitled “WrestleMania IX: Becoming a Spectacle.” The documentary features raw footage from behind the scenes, including the building of Caesar’s Coliseum in a parking lot to hold the event, shenanigans with wrestlers backstage, and new interviews with the superstars who were present and their stories behind it.

I gave it a watch, and it is, indeed, a jolt of welcomed nostalgia to the golden era of 90s wrestling and how I felt about the sport as a kid. It was a time when Kayfabe was still in strong effect and taken extremely seriously by the athletes themselves to keep the image of their superstar persona alive; only strengthening the fandom into a passion of excitement. Also anger when one of your favorite guys lost or was screwed over royally by a “heel”.

It was also a time of two Doinks. The feels were fire, folks.

The doc also most importantly, gives each match that was on the card that day, a walkthrough on what was going on behind the curtains, goofs, and the reality of tensions between certain parties during the event. If you’re a wrestling fanatic like myself, you probably already know about the massive shit show that was the Undertaker vs The Giant Gonzalez match, as he’s spoken out about it numerous times and is one, if not THEE most hated match from his own personal perspective. As a matter of fact, many fans today stand on the hill of IX being one of the worst WrestleManias ever. And I can see why now as an adult, but as a ten-year-old kid as I was back then, the somewhat crappy card and controversial ending didn’t matter one bit. It was pure fucking magic to us 90s kids who grew up embracing the WWF (yes I still call it that) and watching never before seen footage of some of the greatest icons that are no longer with us like Randy Savage, Curt Hennig, Sherri Martel and Bam FUCKING Bam Bigelow was a real treat. Also, as someone who prides the fuck out of themselves with 80s and 90s wrestling knowledge, I learned quite a few new things that I’ll keep in my back pocket if I ever so happen to land myself on WWE Jeopardy.

“WrestleMania IX: Becoming a Spectacle” is currently streaming on PEACOCK and I highly suggest giving it a go as a pregame to WrestleMania 41. If anything, the raw footage itself of Bobby Heenan riding backwards on a camel is worth it.