WWE Craze

Fans line up to see favorite wrestling stars ‘Smackdown’

Masked fans, oversized championship belts and colorful signs crowed the entrances of the Save Mart Center Tuesday night, in anticipation of the professional wrestling entertainment WWE Smackdown.

Jordan McIntyre, 20, a student at UCLA drove four hours with his friend Anthony Guy, 20, a student at Long Beach State, to see their favorite wrestlers and proudly wear the World Heavyweight Championship belts they purchased on WWE̢۪s online store.

Both men have been watching professional wrestling for over a decade but said they leave the body slamming and power drives to the professionals.

“We stopped wrestling at home when we found out that wrestling is not fun,â€Â Guy said. “If you break your opponent’s neck, you get sued.â€Â

Guy said his favorite professional wrestler is Edge, but not for the usual reasons.

“Everyone gives him a bad rap,â€Â Guy said. “He’s the ‘Rated R Superstar.’ He gives dividends every week. Plus his wife is hot. If you watch the show, you’d know I was joking.â€Â

Edge, the 6̢۪5 250 pound wrestler, originally from Toronto, made his debut in 1998 and has won eight championships since. He̢۪s known for his signature move: the spear.

Tre Nicolulis, 10, of Oakhurst, came to the event with his dad, Tommy, and said it̢۪s something he had been waiting a long time for.

“Wrestling is my favorite,â€Â Nicolulis said. “I love it when the wrestlers jump really high and break their necks. I’m hoping Jeff Hardy wins. He’s awesome.â€Â

Jeff Hardy is the 6’1 225 pound wrestler, originally from Cameron, N.C., and has been a star in professional wrestling since 1993. Aside from wrestling, Hardy’s world revolves around writing something he calls “emoetry,â€Â and recording alternative music.

Fun for all ages

Anthony Luevanos, 8, celebrated his birthday at the Save Mart Center event and came with his dad and two nephews, Joe Luevanos,11, and Jason Novella, 8. All of the boys wore wrestling masks and said they have been fans since they were young.

Joe Luevanos said that he likes the wrestling, but he̢۪s really there to watch the ladies.

“I like watching Kelly Kelly,â€Â Luevanos said. “She’s hot. She makes the wrestling more fun to watch.â€Â

The event was listed as the last smackdown and ECU before the No Way Out match. The headline match was between the WWE Champion Edge versus Jeff Hardy in a steel cage match for the WWE Championship.

Also scheduled to appear was Mike “The Mizâ€Â Mizanan, who was first introduced to audiences as one of the seven strangers on the MTV reality show “The Real World: Back to New York.â€Â

Correction

ECW is the name of the T.V. wrestling show.