From Sky TV to Wembley Stadium and everything in between, Rampage covers one of the most important periods of pro wrestling history in the United Kingdom.
Taking readers back to a time where there was no internet, limited TV and tape trading, author Lee Herbert combines insight and his own personal memories as to what life was like for the UK wrestling fan in this important period. Beginning with how the WWF gripped the nation with its unique Americana style, Rampage takes readers on a journey that peaks with the legendary SummerSlam 1992 in London and the aftermath of that boom period.
Much like the book, there was only one way to start the interview, by talking about The Giant Gonzalez and what is the best match of his career:
“Well, WrestleMania 9, obviously, that’s the one; it’s the chloroform. I’ll never forget it. And that, to me, is a sign of something good when there’s something you’re still thinking about. How many years ago is it now? 33 years ago, nearly now, and I still remember the chloroform. So that, to me, is a sign of a Hall of Fame-worthy match.”
With the biggest question out of the way early doors, it was on to the main topic at hand, UK wrestling. With the book focusing on the change in the British wrestling landscape, Rampage is filled with funeaster eggs and references that only British fans will understand. When asked about the reason for catering to the British fans, Herbert noted that it was time to have a British voice cover the subject:
“Essentially, I just think we’re a bit underrepresented, really, when it comes to that kind of thing. I mean, books about American wrestling tend to be written by people in America, for obvious reasons. It’s American wrestling, but it tends to be more from their perspective. You read things and it’s all about cable TV networks, all these things that we don’t really understand. I mean, we understand about them through pro wrestling, we know what KV TV is and things like that, but only through pro wrestling. So yeah, we’ve always had to educate ourselves on their cultural references. So I thought I’d flip it this time. I thought, no, actually, I’m going to give them some of our [references]. I just thought it was time that we had something from a British perspective, because, you know, we kind of kept the WWF going in these years. The UK audience, we were just such a big reason why they were able to keep going during those years in 91 and 92 when the American audiences were turning off. They were cancelling house show loops, they’re having kind of A, B, C, D loops down to an A loop, cost cutting, all that kind of stuff. So yeah, I think we kind of deserved our own book, really, that was written from a Brit for Brits.”
The Decline Of The Days Of Big Daddy And Giant Haystacks
Ss British wrestling fans of a certain age are well aware, WWF was not the first taste of action to hit the UK shores. Throughout the 80s, Big Daddy became a cultural icon in Britain and his matches with Giant Haystacks on World of Sport are still talked about nearly 40 years later. For those who did not live through the Big Daddy era, Herbert elaborated on the appeal of the man born Shirley Crabtree Jr.:
“With Big Daddy, it was all charisma. Through the decades, there’s been a lot going on sort of post-war and then, and different things like that. I suppose he was our version of, I know people say he was like the British Hulk Hogan, but I think he was probably more like the British version of Dusty Rhodes. He was that kind of working-class hero. I suppose the same thing with Stone Cold Steve Austin years later, it was that same sort of representative of the working man, and that’s what he was. But pro wrestling has been huge over here since the joint promotions thing kicked off, been getting millions of viewers throughout the 60s. Did have a dip in the 70s, before Big Daddy, but it’s just always something that’s been part of the culture, really. I don’t know if people kind of realise that so much now, because British wrestling obviously ceased to exist on TV in 88 I don’t think people appreciate how part of the culture it was really before then, because it was a national pastime, watching British wrestling every Saturday afternoon. It was a very big thing. So there was a huge gap in the market when WWF event eventually came over here.”
Following the cancellation of World of Sport by ITV and the WWF signing a deal to broadcast its content on Sky TV in the UK, wrestling in the British Isles would never look the same again. With an influx of charisma, colour and characters, this was unlike anything British fans had seen before and signalled the end of the “traditional” wrestling fans had seen before. While WWF struggled in the States, the UK could not get enough of it, which was very much proven with the 91 Rampage tour. Although they were essentially house shows, the UK responded like it was WrestleMania:
“A lot of that was the scarcity of content as well. For a lot of people, they were only consuming it through videotapes that had been recorded for them by other people. I didn’t get Sky till kind of late 94 really. So up until then, I was relying on people to record things for me. So I might only see one episode of Superstars in three, maybe sometimes one in four, depending on how well they were keeping you up to date with the recordings and things. So when you don’t have access to all this stuff all the time, you’re looking forward to your magazine every month, and you’re looking forward to getting that one tape, because that might be the only hour that you see in the next three weeks, you appreciate it more. Then that translated to them coming over here as well. We were just really desperate for it, and there had been such a gap as well from the Sky Television launch in 89. We had the live event in 89 which they added the extra one on in Birmingham; they did two nights, and that was it. Then until 91 so people had got a little bit of it in 89 and then they’d had to wait maybe 19-20 months, or something like that, to get them over here. So yeah, people were just really desperate for it. It was that scarcity of content that was really driving that, I think, and really making people really excited and desperate for it.”
WWF vs. The Press
Although fans became gripped with the USA style of wrestling with its colourful characters and a presentation unlike anything the Brits had seen before, not everyone was impressed by what they saw. Despite the fact that wrestling was entertainment and marketed it as such, some articles looked to try and veer the fans away from the spectacle, deeming it to be too low-brow for their tastes:
“There were some quite strange articles about it at the time. And I mean, some of the newspapers really got on board with it, The Daily Mirror, especially in 91, 92, 93 were all over it. But yeah, some of the other newspapers, they just didn’t really take it seriously either. […] I think [ they thought] it’s too low-brow, that was the attitude. ITV removed wrestling essentially because Greg Dyke said it was too low-brow and he didn’t really want it. I think a lot of people just had that opinion of wrestling still, even though millions of people had enjoyed watching it throughout the years. I think one might have been about SummerSlam ’92 actually, and talking about what a bad example it sets to kids and all this kind of stuff, which it’s crazy, really, when you think about it. The stuff that was on TV around that time, things that would never be on TV today because they’d just be so offensive. Then you look at films that were classified as a U or PG then and now, there are 12 or 15 because of the language or the violence and things like that. So yeah, it was just an easy thing to have a go at, and it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as some of the other stuff that was around at the time. I think people just looked down on it, and it was just an opportunity to be snobbish about it, really.”
WWF Merch Madness
Much like the modern era, it’s not just the TV shows and the storylines that captivated pro wrestling fans, but also made them open their wallets. From video games to sticker albums to toys, WWF produced a merch line so successful that it was on the level of rock icons AC/DC and Iron Maiden. However, while Hasbro toys were popular, there was one piece of merchandise that was the pinnacle for all fans:
“I think Bret Hart’s sunglasses is the obvious one. I think that was probably the thing that everyone wanted, because we didn’t have Hulkamania here, so our experience of Hulkamania was discovering old matches. We weren’t saying, ‘Oh, I can’t wait to see the big Hulk Hogan match this weekend.’ It was, ‘I’ve just found this videotape from 1987 with the Hulk Hogan match.’ We only ever experienced it in reverse, we never got to got it in real time. Whereas with Bret we got to see all that in real time. He was going full-time singles as it was all kicking off over here. So we saw his rise through winning the IC belt and obviously SummerSlam ’92, which even in defeat, that really made him, and if that match hadn’t happened and hadn’t turned out the way it did, I don’t think he would have been WWF Champion until much later. I think that was probably accelerated after that match, really, because that was what he really sort of proved himself as a headliner, when Vince and other people probably hadn’t seen him that way before. So that piece of merchandise, the sunglasses, everyone wanted to be that kid that he handed them to. So I think it’s probably fair to say that was the most in-demand item over here. But, I mean, Hasbro toys, it’s crazy just how many kids, even kids that had no interest in it had a Hulk Hogan figure, and it’s crazy to think about how big those things were, and they still are now. People are still collecting them today, which says it all. So, yeah, I would say Hasbro action figures, Bret Hart sunglasses. If you had those, you’re pretty happy.”
Speaking of Hart, The Hitman was one of the biggest stars in the United States in the early 90s, but was even bigger in the UK. With Hart’s matches still being discussed more than 25 years since his retirement, the Hall of Famer still has mass appeal when he comes to the UK for a wrestling-based appearance. For Herbert, the appeal of Bret was the mix of his in-ring work and clearly defined character:
“He just appealed to everyone, really. I think if you’re a bit older, you know his matches were amazing. If you appreciate good matches, and if you were really young and you didn’t really care about the matches, he just had the look. I think with Bret as well, you knew who Bret Hart was. You knew what his character was, what he was all about, what motivated him. I think sometimes today in wrestling, you get characters and you don’t really know what their character is, or who they are. Whereas it was always quite clear with Bret, what he stood for, and I think he could get behind that more than when it’s a little bit more ambiguous as it is. Sometimes today you’re not really sure, Seth Rollins is somebody comes to mind straight away because he’s had characters and personas, and I haven’t really understood what, it’s supposed to be, if that makes sense. He’s fantastic in the ring, but I think they’ve struggled with his character at times. But yeah, it was quite black and white with Bret. You knew he knew what he was all about.”
From Rampage To The Spectacle Of SummerSlam 1992
The historical journey of Rampage takes the reader from the early days of British wrestling, to WWF making its mark with the Rampage tours, and climaxing with SummerSlam 1992, which emanated from Wembley Stadium. Still seen as one of the most important SummerSlams off all time, the extravaganza took over London as nearly 80,000 fans descended on Wembley hoping to see England’s own British Bulldog defeat Bret Hart to win the prestigious Intercontinental Championship. While this was a big deal to wrestling fans, it can at times be easy to forget that wrestling does not always have as big of an impact on pop culture compared to other sports and entertainment franchises, especially in the UK. Recalling how much buzz and coverage the show got, Herbert elaborated on just how big of a deal the show was to casual and hardcore fans:
“People are in the wrestling bubble and spend a lot of time digesting wrestling content, and sometimes forget how little impact it has in the mainstream really. I mean, in recent years, the John Cena heel turn got a lot of press and publicity. But outside of that, most people don’t know who even Roman Reigns or Cody Rhodes are, they just don’t. But, yeah, it was different with this, for sure. For a start, it being on the Six O’Clock news is a pretty big thing when you think that wrestling had been taken off TV kind of not quite four years earlier, for the reasons we said earlier. And now, BBC News are talking about this big wrestling show that’s coming over here, and they have the press conference, and then the way it was taken up with national newspapers as well. The Daily Mirror had a huge, huge readership in 92, well into the millions, and the coverage they gave it was crazy. Full page features, interviews with Bret Hart, Davey Boy Smith, and then all the giveaways they were doing. You know it’s big when the Daily Mirror paid for a television advert just to advertise the fact that they were giving away WWF trading cards. So yeah, it wasn’t just a wrestling bubble thing. This went far beyond that in 92. When you’ve got a national newspaper that’s putting out a TV advert just to say, hey, we’ve got WWF trading cards being given away this week. That was a lot of money back in 92 when everyone watched television. So yeah, it really did sweep the nation. I’ve managed to find newspaper articles, regional ones, where Davey Boy Smith was doing signings and things like that and the centre of Birmingham being brought to a standstill because he was doing a two-hour slot in HMV, or wherever it was. The signing ended up taking five hours when he was booked in for two and it just all this kind of stuff was going on across the country. So yeah, it was absolutely huge at the time. I think it’s probably quite hard to imagine, because when the WWE come over here and they do a tour, or even Clash at the Castle, I get a bit of press coverage, but it’s certainly not on the same level at all. So I don’t think it’ll ever be repeated now. I just think it was a perfect storm, really.”
The Legacy Lives On Past The Rampage
2026 marks 35 years since the Rampage tour. Since then, the now former WWF went through another huge boom period with The Attitude Era and continues to be extremely popular today with records constantly being broken. However, with nostalgia remaining a huge influence on the older fans, the demand for the Golden and New Generation era stars remains, especially in the UK. Spoken word shows with stars from the 80s and 90s sell incredibly well, and meet and greets at conventions remain a constant draw. When asked why that is, Herbert noted that it was the personas that have stood the test of time:
“It’s the characters. If you look at For the Love of Wrestling, that convention that goes on, you get The Mountie there in gimmick and Papa Shango and things like that, people go crazy for it because they were these really big, colourful characters that you really identified with, you couldn’t forget them. There was nothing beige about any of it. If you’re flicking through the channels in 1992 and LOD are walking to the ring in the red, they’ve got the spikes on all that kind of stuff. Or even The Bushwhackers are just doing the Bushwhacker march around the ring, all this kind of stuff. If you’re flicking through the channels, you are not going to keep flicking past that when you see it, because there’s always something going on. Doink The Clown, Crush, all these different people. It’s all eye-catching. It’s all really colourful. So when they come over and they do conventions or meet and greets and things, people are just really drawn to that. I think today, there’s a lot of that missing. I don’t really want to just be old man shouting at cloud, but I think they kind of lost their identity a bit today with characters, because kids are still crying out for superheroes. That’s why it was big then, kids are drawn to superheroes. The WWF gave us superheroes that really existed and that you could go and see live. They gave us Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior, Legion of Doom. They look like they could have been in Marvel or DC, and kids do still want that today. My daughter is six and she watches a Spider-Man show. So they’re still making new superhero stuff today, and kids are watching it, and that’s been so successful now they’ve done an Iron Man version, Incredible Hulk. So it’s all these exact same characters, and kids are still watching them. So the demand is there, but they just don’t make the superheroes now to attract those kids like they used to.”
Rampage by Lee Herbert is available to purchase now.
