Collision in Korea wrestler sketches (lost North Korean pencil sketch portraits of professional wrestlers; 1995)

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Collisioninkorea1.jpg

Collision in Korea logo.

Status: Lost

From 28th-29th April 1995, the professional wrestling event Collision in Korea (officially known as Pyongyang International Sports and Culture Festival for Peace) took place. Jointly produced by New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW), it was hosted in the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea. Prior to the event, wrestler Scott Norton among others visited a street bazaar, where each of them were given pencil sketch portrait as gifts by the sketchers.

Background

For the majority of wrestlers and crew members at the event, their stay in North Korea was filled with trepidation. Several incidents occurred that left some in severe trouble with the North Korean officials. For example, WCW President Eric Bischoff was admonished by his attaché by going on a run without informing anyone, resulting in many civilians being "terrified" of him. Meanwhile, 2 Cold Scorpio and Road Warrior Hawk were involved in multiple verbal and physical altercations with one another.[1] Perhaps most notorious of all, Scott Norton phoned his wife at the hotel after two days in North Korea, where his negative comments surrounding his time in the country were not well received by North Korean officials. They led him to a room, where he was warned not to say anything negative about the country, with future phone conversations being forbidden.[2]

While Norton notes how terrified he was concerning the interrogation,[2] he also fondly recalled in his autobiography Strong Style the time when he and Chris Benoit visited a street bazaar, escorted by two armed military personnel. He encountered a few people sketching pencil portraits of all the wrestlers that came by. When it was time for he and Benoit to leave, the sketchers gave him a drawing of himself as a gift, with Norton being moved by this.[3][4] It is unknown how many of these drawings were created.

Availability

Norton's comments help confirm the existence of the sketches. However, none have publicly resurfaced, with most presumably remaining in the ownership of the wrestlers themselves. It remains to be seen whether any of them will be publicly released.

See Also

References