The magazines under senior Daniel Critchfield’s bed aren’t those of a typical high school male.
Critchfield has 43 World Wrestling Entertainment magazines, along with 81 action figures and 18 posters.
At the young age of three, he began watching WWE on TV, much to the disapproval of his father.
“I became a really violent kid. Every day I would wrestle pillows, pretending that they were real WWE fighters,” Critchfield said.
With divorced parents, the issue of condoning Critchfield’s obsession was not agreed upon. He gained the support of his mother and her new boyfriend, but struggled to get the same acceptance from his concerned father.
“Gifts became WWE action figures. The pile just kept growing and growing,” Critchfield said.
Critchfield, once dreaming of becoming an ambulance driver, switched focuses to being a WWE fighter.
“Even though my parents disagreed, I was independent [and continued to like WWE regardless]. It’s definitely symbolic of my childhood,” Critchfield said.
Although he was never teased for his vast collection, Critchfield began to shy away from WWE when he reached middle school, and his stepfather broke the news to him that WWE is not real wrestling.
“I was [floored]…every person has something they’re interested in… some kids collected stickers, I collected wrestling action figures,” Critchfield.
Senior Kevin Tran became invested in WWE at the young age of five, when his grandmother introduced him to the program.
“For the next [five] years I would get mad at anyone who said it was fake,” Tran said.
As Critchfield matured, he gained perspective, and began looking at the entertainment aspect of WWE, rather than regretting a commitment to a non-athletic, spectator sport.
“To the people who look down upon WWE, look at movies, look at TV. The fighting scenes in action movies– it’s the same thing,” Critchfield said.
Acknowledging that WWE is classified as sports entertainment, Tran, too maintained an active interest in World, discussing matches with fellow classmates in middle school. He even went so far as to join the AHS Grappling Atoms his freshman year of high school, in order to be more like his idol, The Rock.
“I was under the illusion that it would be like on TV, so it was semi-shocking,” Tran said.
Although he later dropped the sport because of the large time commitment required, Tran placed third in the district and grew to respect both versions of wrestling, theatrical and athletic.
“Without the storytelling it’s just two naked guys wrestling,” Tran said.
Critchfield and Tran are good friends and frequently discuss the plotlines of WWE, but both admit to having lost interest overall. At the peak of his interest, Critchfield attended WWE conventions in Washington, DC with his older brother, mother and step dad, but his commitment began to wane after middle school.
“As a kid, if [WWE] was on, I would drop everything just to watch it. Now I only watch it periodically,” Critchfield said.
Each action figure in his collection is worth at least $10, but Critchfield has no plans of selling.
“That’s memories right there. That memory of my childhood is still alive in me,” Critchfield said.
Tran, whose childhood ambition of wanting to become a pro wrestler was put aside when he found what he feels to be his calling, acting, he says he owes it all to WWE.
“It’s fair to say I’m a good actor because of WWE. When they’d cut to a promo in front of a live audience, I got their swag,” Tran said.
Though he calls The Undertaker “indomitable” and the Divas (female wrestlers) “hot,” Critchfield acknowledges the importance of WWE in his life.
“Your childhood isn’t that long, hold on to it,” Critchfield said.
