[MEDIA] Atlanta Journal-Constitution 10.29.03 Circuslike air encompasses WWE preshow

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/1003/29wrestleb.html

Circuslike air encompasses WWE preshow 

By DON FERNANDEZ 
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 
 
The final touches of gloss brushed on Dawn Marie's lips seemed like a
waste.

A few feet away, 15 cases of Hershey's chocolate syrup were about to
be poured into a galvanized aluminum tub. Within hours, Marie --
dressed in a Wonder Woman costume -- will plunge her head in the sweet
brew along with fellow wrestler Torrie Wilson, each bobbing for
apples.

Too bad she doesn't know about it.

"She'll find out at about 5:30 p.m.," said promoter Bret Hart on
Tuesday evening.

Welcome to backstage at World Wrestling Entertainment.

Hours before Tuesday evening's SmackDown event at the Arena at
Gwinnett Center, roadies scrambled, wrestlers tangled and a general
circuslike atmosphere ensued.

The mood was not so much chaotic as odd.

Underneath a prop of a giant, gray fist, stern-faced technicians
prepared for the three-hour show, which will be broadcast Thursday
evening on UPN.

One of the more intriguing backstage stops is the "magic" area, filled
with props, costumes and other novelties. An entire carpenter's
station was dusted with wood remnants.

"This whole set comes with us on the road," Hart said.

A wardrobe of police uniforms, paramedics outfits and nurses whites
hang above a row of sledgehammers -- real ones, surprisingly.

Nearby, announcer Tony Chimmel clenches his teeth around a pair of
fake fangs, trying to set them into place. Tuesday's show was
Halloween themed, and Chimmel was planning to don a vampire guise.

The event also marked the debut of another announcer, Bill DeMott, a
former wrestler who -- after suffering a broken neck -- retired from
the physical dramatics and has now taken over the microphone.

"It will be an experience for everyone but me," he said.

DeMott has been through the backstage routine for 14 years and
described the hours before a performance.

"Everyone here is eating pretty well," he said. "The rest are getting
pumped up to give people what they paid for."

Alongside the dressing rooms was a complete sewing station, where a
trio of seamstresses are on call to fix any loose hem or stitch up any
torn shorts. Hart said many a wrestler's ring name and look have been
concocted here on the spot.

The carnival of carnage is an extensive production. A whole trailer
filled with hundreds of monitors and elbow-to-elbow crew members
parked behind the Arena. The station has its own generator in case of
a power outage.

In the corridor between the ring and backstage is another kiosk of
monitors. These, though, are for performers to smash into their
opponents' skulls. These, too, are real -- and heavy.

The ring is filled with activity only 90 minutes before the doors
open. Soon, the scent of baby oil greasing up biceps and the snap of
Spandex will be prevalent among the sights and sounds.

Sworn enemies in the ring socialize, moves are rehearsed and
cellphones ring. Everywhere.

Wrestlers Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar and John Cena all gab away on their
cellulars while workers attempt to organize the ringside seats. Sans
makeup, the legendary Undertaker stands nearby, almost unrecognizable.

Cena has been wrestling with the group for only a year-and-a-half. Yet
he watches two newcomers with near hubris.

"They're trying to get on TV tonight," he said of the neophytes
sweating up a storm in the ring.

Cena and his fellow performers can almost be excused from any grumpy
behavior. The WWE SmackDown crew tours 52 weeks a year, with the
majority of each week spent on the road and wrestling.

Hailing from just outside of Boston, Cena hasn't worn weary of the
lifestyle yet.

"So what?" he said. "It's really like being on a sports team."

Except for dunking your head in a vat of chocolate syrup, perhaps.