A Bahraini super fan is on a mission to preserve the kingdom’s professional wrestling history having unearthed an array of memorabilia highlighting shows that were held dating back decades.
KM Studio director and Green Bee managing director Aziz Altamimi last year directed the biggest wrestling show in the history of the Middle East at Qatar Pro Wrestling (QPW) Superslam III.
Mr Altamimi has always held a special relationship with professional wrestling in his heart, being a fan of the sporty entertainment genre since he was a child.
He has been actively documenting wrestling history in Bahrain and the wider Middle East but the drive to record the thrills and spills inside the ropes have recently gathered momentum as a quest to share the knowledge with future generations of fans.
Speaking to the GDN, Mr Altamimi said that he was frustrated that so much of Middle Eastern wrestling history remained undocumented or treated like a footnote to a bigger story. “The 1980s Bahrain shows feel almost like folklore,” he said. “People speak about them in whispers but any hard evidence has always been scarce.
“Then, only last week, exciting evidence finally started resurfacing – photographs, leads, names, dates and treasured memories.
“That changed everything. For me, this is not just about nostalgia, it is about preserving a part of our sporting and cultural history before it disappears forever.
“Shows in the 1980s became especially important to me because it felt like the missing chapter. We knew wrestling had a footprint here, and we had people who remembered it, but we lacked the kind of evidence that makes it undeniable.
“Once the first real leads started to emerge I became fully obsessed with the subject all over again. That is the wrestling fan in me, but also the historian. Once you know a thread is real, you have to keep pulling it.”
The GDN, thanks to former sports editor Santosh Shetty, extensively covered the sell-out former World Wrestling Federation (WWF) shows that performed at the Isa Town Stadium from September 18 to 21 in 1984, where ‘first-class’ front row tickets cost BD6 and others could be snapped up at half the price.
During the four-day extravaganza, 13 wrestlers took to the ring, including legends such as Tony Garea, Jimmy Snuka, Mr Fuji, Rocky Johnson (father of WWE and Hollywood megastar Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson), Buddy Rose, Don Muraco, and Tonga Kid (father of the sports rebranded World Wrestling Entertainment WWE superstar Jacob Fatu).
Billed as the ‘first ever show of its kind in the region’, the tour was organised by businessman Ali Saleh, in co-operation with the International Wrestling Union in New York.
Mr Altamimi said that he put in a lot of work over the past few years researching the event and last week was when he finally made a breakthrough. “It started the way most wrestling history starts – by listening carefully to older fans, wrestlers and people who were actually there,” he said. “Then I began cross-checking stories, dates, venues and names. Over time, it became a real research mission.
“I reached out to people I trust deeply, including QPW chairman Ali Al Marafi, who is a father figure to me and a historian in his own right.
“I also spoke with Hassan Mulla, a fellow historian, as well as AJ Mandi and my cousin and fellow wrestling aficionado Eyad Al Obaidlee for additional context.
“One of the most important people was Khalid Ali, who was actually at the Isa Town event in 1984. His memories were invaluable. He recalled Buddy Rose being especially a crowd favourite and Mr Fuji standing out.
“Beyond the region, I also reached out to wrestling historians such as Brian Solomon and Keith Greenberg from the US for more context.”
The region normally appears in global wrestling narratives when a major promotion is staged, such as when Saudi Arabia hosted the Royal Rumble on January 31. But Mr Altamimi said that there were interesting stories to tell long before that, and they deserve to be documented.
“This project is ultimately about respect for the fans who were there and for the people who built wrestling in this region long before it grew into a global and fashionable spectacle,” he said. “Our history matters. Wrestling history in the Middle East should not survive only as mere rumours and legend.”
He believes all the names, dates, photographs and memories should be proudly placed on the record as a full part of the fabulous phenomenon the world of wrestling has developed into today.
nader@gdnmedia.bh
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