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VLADIMIR THE SUPERFAN IS THE BEST OF US

I get to live a very lucky life. I get to write about professional wrestling. I get to travel all over the country to write about professional wrestling. I talk to professional wrestlers every day. I get to dive into what I think about professional wrestling—good and bad—and maybe, in some small way, shape, or form, I've helped shape or inspire how other people look at professional wrestling just a little.  But, I hold no delusions of grandeur.  When this all ends for me or I'm not longer alive, most people will move on and find somewhere else to get their professional wrestling news fix. That is fine and I am eternally thankful for the life getting to write about this wacky genre has given me, for the home it has allowed me to purchase, and for the life I get to lead.

As much as it maddens me at times, the reality is I love professional wrestling and if you are reading this, so do you.   You are on your computer or your phone right now reading this because you care about pro wrestling and what it brings to your life when you need it - and I am absolutely the same way.  

The reality is this, though: no matter how much we discuss it, break it down, dissect it, go to it, look forward to it, get angry at it, love it, hate it, or wonder why somebody didn't do what we think they should have done creatively, and no matter how much we may be inspired by or driven crazy by the individuals who work in this industry and aspire to be great themselves; none of us will ever love professional wrestling as greatly, as deeply, and as purely as Vladimir the Superfan does.

It's no stranger to anyone reading this that I've discussed how he's been dealing with Parkinson's disease in recent years. And I'll be honest: it's been very hard, as his friend, to go see the person who was always a big, athletic, joyous, exuberant person become far more subdued and far more physically frail he has become.  “Frail” is how I often think of him now, as much as I feel like I am betraying him by feeling that way.  The guy who used to run to the gym and go play softball every week and be big and jacked up, the point people thought perhaps he was a professional wrestler, now needs a walker to get around and assistance just to get from place to place. It's sobering, and it reminds you that no matter what, Father Time is going to come for us. We can do whatever we want in our lives to the best of our ability, but we can't control our health 100%.  It sucks when it happens to anyone, but it especially sucks as his friend watching it happen to Vlad.

Vlad's in the hospital right now after taking a pretty horrific fall. I saw him and spent a lot of time with him yesterday, and he's still recovering.   He's going to be in there for some time, but the one time he was truly smiling was when we talked a little bit about professional wrestling while I was visiting him yesterday.  So no matter how badly he got banged up, no matter how hurt he is, no matter how much Parkinson's is taking its toll,  just the idea of wanting to go to wrestling and talking about professional wrestling raises his spirits like a phoenix rising from the ashes.

Talking with Vlad about pro wrestling made me smile too, because if Vlad was still cognizant enough to be upset he missed the Sukeban show in NYC because of his fall and to know that MLW was coming up and WWE was returning to the Garden, then chances are (I hope) that he's on the right path to getting the hell out of the hospital mentally after a big fear of bleeding on the brain.  Honestly, I was more relieved he was talking about pro wrestling then that he recognized me right away, because it was a rough week for him health-wise after that fall.  If Vlad can ask me about Jeff Jarrett and Chris Hero, he's in the right frame of mind, right?

If just the beauty of professional wrestling, of potentially going out to see good versus evil play out before his eyes is enough to shake Vlad out of the trauma he's recently been through and make him happy, what more can one ask for?

That's the true blessing of professional wrestling that a lot of us overlook when we talk about work rate, politics, why we didn't like a finish, what promotion is better than another, why this promoter is a terrible person, or why this wrestler shouldn't be in this company, etc.  When we talk about all that stuff, while it is important to a number of people, myself included, the reality is this: at the end of the day, pro wrestling, like all entertainment in its purest form, is something that's supposed to uplift us, distract us, and make us happy.

Vladimir is a constant reminder of that, just by loving professional wrestling.  His joy for professional wrestling should be the infectious thing that we all share and love.  I often joke with my friends that when we take Vlad to a show, it's like watching Peter Pan in action. He's a 60-something-year-old man who's lived his life, but when that bell rings and he gets to watch wrestlers, whether it be WWE stars like CM Punk or an international star like Michael Oku, who Vlad likes quite a bit, that smile and the intensity with which he watches and cheers and claps and beams with happiness transports you.  It makes you fall in love with professional wrestling all over again, because that's how you likely felt as a kid the first time the awe and spectacle of this stuff grabbed you.  The fact I get to be around it so often is a blessing I never, ever take for granted.

Yesterday, WWE, for their own reasons, released Superfan: The Story of Vladimir for free on YouTube.  The irony was I found out after I left Vlad.   I came home from visiting him last night, found out and watched it again for the first time since Peacock removed the film, which was directed by Giancarlo Dittamo.  There are heartbreaking things in there, such as Vladimir dealing with the death of his mom and COVID shutting down the world.  But, there's a lot of joy in there too: Vladimir returning to Wrestlemania, Vladimir being with his best friends, Vlad reminiscing about being on a live Piper's Pit (he loved Roddy so much)  and Vladimir being spoken to by different WWE personalities backstage at WrestleMania.

There's a moment in the doc where Drew McIntyre says Vladimir is the external version of who Drew is inside, that love of professional wrestling.   Unlike a lot of us, who are very measured or care about how we might be perceived if we go a little wild, especially as we get older, Vladimir wears his heart on his sleeve.  He just loves what he loves, and what he loves is pro wrestling - and that's why so many pro wrestlers love and appreciate him.  Vlad never cared about anything but loving pro wrestling and when you are that pure at heart and that passionate, well, game recognizes game.

I often get asked, “What is it like being Vladimir's friend?”

It's a blessing because, number one, when he goes anywhere, he's the Pied Piper. Fans everywhere in wrestling know who he is, to the point where they ask him for autographs and photos just because he's famous for being Vladimir.  I get it.  When I was a kid, I'd think, “Who is this guy? He's at every show. What is going on here? How could he be there? How does he afford this?” So,  I understand the mystique and the aura he has.  I still think the fact that the guy I used to wonder about watching WWF on The Madison Square Garden Network growing up ended up one of my best friends is hilarious.

But, the more important question to ask is this: who is Vladimir?

He is the shining star, the northern light that reminds us that the thing that matters most about being a professional wrestling fan is loving what you are doing, living vicariously through the heroes and villains, being there with your friends to have that communal experience, and simply experiencing and enjoying the moment as it exists, because when it's gone, it's gone.

My friend will hopefully recover, and we'll hopefully get to go to a lot more shows and a lot more Wrestlemanias in the days and years to come. But right now, it's still day to day. He's doing okay, but he's not 100%. He's got a lot of physical therapy ahead of him, and he's still recovering from a pretty massive concussion.  It's scary to see your friend in that position. It's scary to see anyone you care about like that.  It's stressed me out quite a lot, because I love the guy.

The one thing that has really been amazing this week is once again seeing what I have coined among our friends as "the gift of Vladimir", the blessing that we get to have every time when we spend time with him or go to shows with him - where his excitement and passion just cascades over you.  When you are with Vlad, experiencing that pure love of professional wrestling and simply wanting to be there as it plays out just makes things more fun, it makes life a little more vibrant and colorful.

Seeing other people discovering and falling in love with that passion Vlad has through the YouTube comments from people who watched his documentary yesterday or today, it’s incredible.  Just seeing that ripple effect of Vlad's love having an impact on others and reminding them why they love professional wrestling just reaffirms my belief that there's never been a better flag bearer or living, breathing mascot for professional wrestling that has ever existed in my lifetime than Vladimir.  I was really touched to see all of the positives that came out of WWE unlocking that documentary and putting it out there for everybody who had not seen it before.  I was amazed by how many people said, “I thought this never came out. Oh shit, I gotta watch this.”  It was just cool to see, especially after spending an afternoon with him in a quiet hospital room.  I can't wait to relay to him how much love there was outside that room for him just being him.

The first thing Vlad said to both me and others who had visited him this week was: “When is wrestling?” 

I think that is all you need to know about where his heart and his spirit is.

I once said, when this documentary came out, that after finally getting this thing released by WWE (a story for another day), I don't need anything else. I'll be happy forever.  I can't ask for anything more.

Well, I've changed my mind and I want one more thing, and that's to make sure Vlad gets back to wrestling ASAP.  As long as we can physically get him there, our friends and I will.  I can promise you that.

If and when pro wrestling is done with me, I don't know I'll be remembered.  That's life.  

I can tell you this, though: Vladimir Abouzeide will be remembered forever, with the same love he gifted pro wrestling. 

He's the patron saint of professional wresting fans. 

He's the best of all of us who love professional wrestling.

I will update everybody on Vlad as we can, with the permission of his sister.   He's hanging in there. He's hanging tough. 

I just want to say I love my friend. I hope he's going to get better soon. 

God bless Vlad, and thank you all for supporting my friend.

Mike Johnson can be reached at MikeJohnsonPWInsider@gmail.com.

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