Gary Michael Cappetta's unlikely journey from wrestling fan to wrestling announcer

When it comes to professional wrestling in Philadelphia, former ring announcer Gary Michael Cappetta has essentially seen it all.

He announced matches at the old Philadelphia Arena that was located at 4530 Market Street.

He watched Bruno Sammartino take on "Superstar" Billy Graham at The Spectrum. He saw Ric Flair style and profile at the Civic Center. He even got to see household names of today before they were stars in Ring of Honor.

So it is only fitting that the city is the first stop on the tour of his newest one-man show, Beyond Bodyslams!, in the city Feb. 19 at CSz Philadelphia at 2030 Samson Street, beginning at 3:05 p.m.

Cappetta's show will feature not only stories from his long career, but it will also be a stage show complete with a loose script and videos that will be played throughout. He will even use props.

"We're going to celebrate being a wrestling fan, Cappetta said during an interview with philly.com. "It's not just my story, it's everybody's story."

"I want people to reflect on why they became a wrestling fan, why they became enamored with the spectacle and why they continue to do so," he added.

Cappetta vividly remembers when he was just a fan that was enamored by the likes of Sammartino, Gorilla Monsoon and Bobo Brazil. However, he admits that he was more than content with just being a fan. He had no intention getting into the industry himself.

He only got involved once he hatched an idea to get into the events for free.

The year was 1974 and the then 21-year-old Cappetta was a senior in college with aspirations of becoming a teacher.

But in an effort to get into the matches for free, he applied for a press credential without actually being a working member of the media.

Cappetta was somehow approved for this credential and was not only granted free access to the events but also a seat at the timekeeper's table, which was right next to the ring.

He suddenly went from an ordinary paying customer to having the best seat in the house without paying a dime.

About three months into his press pass days Cappetta grew frustrated that the World Wide Wrestling Federation (now WWE) didn't have a ring announcer at the shows in Wildwood, N.J.

Instead of having a full-time announcer, then WWWF president Willie Gilzenberg announced the matches, but did so while working at the box office. At the end of each match, Gilzenberg would walk from the box office to the ring to announce the result to the fans.

According to Cappetta, the walk was long and caused multiple delays in between matches.

The delay in action eventually wore on Cappetta, as he felt it was ruining the show. To rectify this, he decided to take matters into how own hands and volunteered to announce so that Gilzenberg wouldn't have to take the long walk back and forth to the ring.

"'We don't want to sit here and wait for you' was pretty much what I was thinking," Cappetta said. "Of course I didn't say that, but that's what I was thinking, so I might as well just do it. I'm sitting here anyway. The microphone is on the table."

Gilzenberg thought it was a good idea, too, and gave Cappetta the job.

The promoters wanted Cappetta to announce more often and eventually asked him if he had any prior experience as a ring announcer. Cappetta did what any die-hard fan would do: He lied.

Knowing he had no prior experience, he told the promoters he had plenty of it.

"The only time I was nervous that night was when he asked me if I had any experience and I lied to him," he recalled. "Then I was nervous because if he had said to me, 'What experience do you have?' I didn't have an answer."

"I wasn't that smart," he added. "I didn't think that far in advance."

For Cappetta's sake, Gilzenberg never asked that question. Instead, he told Cappetta to come back the next week and to wear a suit, as he was not wearing one the first time around.

Just like that, Cappetta was a ring announcer for one of the largest wrestling promotions in the country. He did this for more than a decade while teaching Spanish.

However, when Vince McMahon took over the company from his father in 1982, Cappetta figured his days were numbered.

"I knew [McMahon] didn't like me," he said. "I knew that from the beginning."

According to Cappetta, McMahon only spoke to him three times during his 11 years with the company. For reasons unbeknownst to Cappetta, McMahon simply wasn't a fan of his. At least that is how Cappetta felt, anyway.

The way Cappetta saw it, he was hired by Monsoon, who was a partner in the prior ownership regime. Because of that, Cappetta saw himself as a member of Monsoon's team and not McMahon's. Cappetta said that he figured McMahon wanted to bring in his own team.

"If I wasn't on Monsoon's team I wouldn't have been on anybody's team," he said. "I thank him until the day I die for a career that has lasted 35-40 years. If it wasn't for him calling me when I started teaching, there wouldn't have been a career."

By 1985, ESPN had inked a deal with the American Wrestling Association to air the promotion's television shows. A portion of the shows was taped at the Tropicana Casino & Resort in Atlantic City, N.J.

Cappetta saw that as his opportunity to leave the McMahons and work for the AWA.

"Here were my options: Was I going to tough it out with the WWF and see if anybody changes their mind and if I might have a future with them or am I going to take this opportunity that's handed to me here and now," Cappetta explained.

"Having had enough experience with the McMahons, I knew nothing was going to change, so I took the opportunity," he added.

For the next two decades, Cappetta spent time with the AWA, World Championship Wrestling and Ring of Honor.

And although Cappetta has had many stops on his wrestling journey, the one that sticks out to him the most is Philadelphia.

"In Philadelphia, when you have a hotly contested rivalry, it's not just hotly contested among people who are interested in wrestling, it's a hot ticket in the city," Cappetta said.

"The fans have always been loyal," he added. "Even today, there are people that when I go to a wrestling event in the Philadelphia area, a lot of the people are the same people that came when I was in my 20s. It's a very, very loyal following that they have."

Cappetta hopes the fans are just as loyal for his show Sunday, which will feature the Monster Factory wrestling school as special guests.

Tickets for the event can be purchased at Eventbrite.com. General admission tickets cost $20. Premium tickets, which include early admission, a meet and greet, a free copy of his book and an 8x10 photo cost $40.

Cappetta is on Facebook at Facebook.com/gmc4real.