Penn State gets Raw with WWF

Sport and entertainment collide in Jordan Center

It seems like yesterday when almost every kid had a piece of Hulk Hogan merchandise -- either a T-shirt that said "Hulkamania," an action figure or a foam No. 1 hand that was drenched in yellow and red.

But today, wrestling fans have gone to a rougher shade of black and white shirts, these shirts say "Austin 3:16" and the foam hand uses a different finger. The middle one.

Why has wrestling gone from saying prayers and eating vitamins to "kicking ass?" Well, because "Stone Cold" said so.

Over 9,000 fans clad in "Austin 3:16" shirts and with signs like "WWF fears PSU Wrestling Team" and "Who wrote this crap??" were pumped up from the beginning of the taping as they waited for Austin to come out and give some unlucky soul the "Stone Cold Stunner."

"I think Stone Cold kicks ass," Dom Rutrano, a 16-year-old from Johnstown, said. "He's tough and mean. I loved it when he gave the finger to Santa Claus."

Raw began with a four-way tag team match featuring the Nation of Domination, the Godwinns, the Headbangers and the WWF Tag Team Champions, the New Age Outlaws, clad in Florida shirts and calling Nittany Lion football coach Joe Paterno and the Pittsburgh Steelers "losers."

"I thought they're trying to embarrass our school," Jeff Kerwick (freshman- finance) said. "But that's what they try to do to get the fans upset."

The fans came back with the infamous cheer of "We Are Penn State," but the Road Dog and "Bad Ass" Billy Gunn came out victorious.

The rest of the show seemed more like a concert that a wrestling match. Pyrotechnics and a big screen called the Titan Tron drove fans into a frenzy.

But it was hard to see what the fans thought was the biggest thrill of the night. Was it when Sable, the curvaceous manager of "Marvelous" Marc Mero, came out after Mero made fun of her by bringing out The Artist formerly know as Golddust, dressed like Sable?

Or was it when Degeneration X, comprised of Hunter Hearst Helmsley, his bulky female bodyguard Chyna and the WWF Champion Shawn Michaels, defeated another fan favorite, the Undertaker, to a pulp until the Undertaker's brother, Kane, had to come out to save his brother from a huge beating?

Or maybe it was when Austin gave Henry Godwinn the Stunner while starting a melee as the drawing for Sunday's Royal Rumble was about to begin?

To some fans, just seeing the wild events happen live was a big enough thrill.

"It's exciting," Josh Crabtree, a six-year-old from Tyrone said. "You can see better (than on television)."

Some Penn State students came because of the ticket prices being dropped to $5. "This is my first time at a wrestling event," Aaron Billet (freshman-biology) said. "The $5 tickets are the main reason I came."

"Raw" is one of the most watched programs on cable and is viewed in Canada and other countries.

"My friends all love "Raw," and they know that I'm here," Kerwick said. "I made signs for them."