This Kid’s Desk

I don’t know why I’ve put off writing about this kid’s desk for so long, but I’m going to remedy that right now.

The picture above was part of a full-page ad that used to appear on the back cover of the numerous wrestling magazines I would buy at my local Piggly Wiggly grocery store every week. The ad itself was to promote all of the magazines, but the Super Color Special issues in particular. But I’ve cropped out the image alone since the rest of the ad is inconsequential.

I would sit and just stare at this image for minutes on end day after day back then wishing I had all of the cool stuff like this kid did. Let me break it down for you as to why I’ve been so enamored with it.

First off, this kid must have had access to several of those full-color special issues with the extra-large posters enclosed inside. There was no other way back then to get all of those cool posters. While I like them all, the one on the far right steals the show as it features the “Night of Dreams Wrestling Supercard”. It was a fantasy lineup that had every wrestling fan salivating back in the day. A show that would feature cross-promotional matches like that has still never materialized here in the states, let alone back in the ’80s.

On the left side of his desk he has several of the Remco AWA Wrestling action figures. These are probably the versions that came in the sets as I see the Road Warriors tag team, the Fabulous Ones tag team, along with Baron Von Rashke and Rick Martel, which I know for a fact came in a two-pack together because that’s how I acquired them. I loved the Remco AWA figures and one of the great touches they featured was the real ring gear they came with like the jackets and the Road Warriors leather chaps.

Moving on to the back of the desk and there stands the two classic VHS tapes that Pro Wrestling Illustrated released in the ’80s. I’ll be going into more detail on them at some point in the future, but for now I’ll just cover them at a high level. The first one in the reddish sleeve is Lords of the Ring and was a compilation tape featuring highlights of several key matches from the time period. The other is Ringmasters, as was a 30-minute highlight video of the NWA’s Great American Bash show from 1985. Back when you couldn’t see this stuff on the weekly TV shows, these VHS tapes were the only way to get to see them.

And last but not least is the library-type box collection of wrestling magazines. I lived to get my hands on a new one every week at the grocery store, so I get where this kid was coming from. The only thing I don’t understand is how he was supposed to concentrate on reading whatever book is in his hands while surrounded by all the coolness.

Maybe I need to track all of this stuff down and redesign my writing desk in the near future.