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Torch VIP member Jason Hess has been a pro wrestling fan for over 25 years. His historical pieces on Houston wrestling have been featured on classic wrestling websites. Hess will be joining Torch assistant editor James Caldwell this weekend to cover WrestleMania 25 events.

What do the following names have in common?

Bull Curry. Wahoo McDaniel. Boris Malenko. Johnny Valentine. Gary Hart (yes, the manager). Dory Funk Jr.

They all drew massive sellout crowds in Houston, Texas regardless of economic conditions.

Houston Wrestling, under the leadership of longtime promoter Paul Boesch (who took over for Morris Sigel in the mid-'60s after Sigel's death), was one of the more successful promotions of the territorial system of wrestling, with a system much like St. Louis for Sam Muchnick.

Featuring regular Friday night cards at the venerable Sam Houston Coliseum, Boesch more often than not filled the arena to capacity using the aforementioned stars along with many others. In particular, Wahoo McDaniel would prove to be one of the greatest drawing cards Houston would ever see, drawing sellouts to see him challenge Funk for the NWA title, Valentine in a feud that would cross multiple territories, and a hair vs. hair match against Malenko that would see Boesch book the Houston Astrodome for the event.

While mostly affiliated with the NWA until 1981, Boesch would uniquely use stars of all promotions, regularly having AWA title matches during Nick Bockwinkel's reigns as champion, and even bringing in WWF champion Bob Backlund for a rare out-of-Northeast title defense.

Not immune to the infamous "cycle syndrome" that seemingly all promotions went through during the years, Houston wrestling was consistent enough throughout its run on both television and at the Coliseum that large crowds were prevalent throughout the Sigel-Boesch regime.

With this Sunday being the 25th edition of WrestleMania, and with the event being held for the second time in Houston, looking back 25 years to 1984 reveals some interesting similarities between then and now.

Economic Issues: Who can escape news of the last year-to-year-and-a-half when it comes to our national and global economy? Our current economic issues were echoed (if not nationally and globally than regionally) back in 1984. While the majority of the country was doing okay economically speaking (the term "okay" is admittedly relative), Houston was just beginning to feel the effects of an economic bust.

Referred to in this city as the "Bust of '84," the oil industry - one of, if not the biggest economic drivers for Houston - had begun to fail. Houston would not be the only major city in the South to feel the crunch of the oil industry, as the majority of the Mid-South territory (Texas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas) fell prey to the same downturn.

Boom in the Midst of Bust: As of this week, WrestleMania 25 has grossed $6.5 million dollars, making it the largest North American pro wrestling gate of all time. The money figure is impressive no matter how the economy is doing, but in light of our recent history the gate receipts become that much more impressive. 25 years ago, the Sam Houston Coliseum was filled more often than not. Even in the midst of riding huge economic waves, Paul Boesch in conjunction with Bill Watts and Mid-South wrestling managed to fill the Coliseum with fans, as 1984 would be one of the most successful years in Mid-South and Houston history.

Impact on the Local Economy: Recently, one of the selling points in the pitching of WrestleMania to possible city sites is the boon the event adds to the local economy of the city. In 2008, the mayor of Orlando made much of the millions WWE brought to their city due to WrestleMania 24. While Houston mayor Bill White has not been quite as vocal, WrestleMania 25 will prove to be no different as hotels, restaurants, and local nightlife expect a surge of business this week.

Twenty-five years ago, Houston Wrestling featured some memorable sponsors who would pay money to have their businesses advertised on the Saturday and Sunday television broadcasts. Two advertisers stand head and shoulders above the rest. One was I.W. Marks Jewelers, which featured Boesch in an unforgettable commercial sporting an earring on his cauliflower ear with the locally legendary tagline "If I.W. Marks can make my ears look beautiful, imagine what he can do for hers." While Irv Marks has passed away, his sons still run a local business that is featured prominently on sports and talk radio in Houston.

Second was Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale who ran Gallery Furniture, complete with his catch phrase "Gallery Furniture really will save you money." When saying the line, McIngvale would reach into his back pocket and pull out a wad of cash, jumping up more often than not when accentuating how customers would save money. Gallery Furniture has become a Houston fixture, with McIngvale being a regular at WWE cards. Mack credits the Houston Wrestling programs and its powerful television audience with helping build his store into a local powerhouse. Just like WrestleMania 25 has positively affected Houston's business, so did Houston Wrestling 25 years earlier.

Sadly for many long-time Houston wrestling fans, soon after WrestleMania 3, Paul Boesch shocked the Houston wrestling public by announcing that he had reached an agreement to feature WWF programming and to promote WWF cards at the Sam Houston Coliseum. Within four months, Boesch would tire of the agreement and retire from promoting with a legendary August 1987 card featuring stars from Houston Wrestling's past mixed with then-WWF talent.

Boesch returned for a short while in 1988 with the NWA (and promote the only Great American Bash card in Sam Houston Coliseum history, along with the last successful title defense of the NWA tag belts by Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson before their jump to the WWF in September 1988), his affiliation would be short lived.

Boesch died in 1989, and a retrospective of his career and the history of Houston Wrestling aired five years later in 1994. It was hosted by who else, but Mattress Mack.

The history and legacy of Houston Wrestling is rich, colorful, and storied with a long track record of financial success. WrestleMania 25 is the latest in a long line of successful wrestling events held in America's fourth largest city, hopefully with many more to come.

-- RELATED STORY at PWTorch.com: Hess covers Houston's top-drawing card from 25 years ago.

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