Alex Marvez

Before its 2010 demolition, the Spectrum was home to five-figure crowds for World Wrestling Entertainment and World Championship Wrestling events for more than 30 years.

Yet it wasn't the most iconic building in Philadelphia for grappling shows.

A critically acclaimed play is tackling racism and the trappings of stardom in pro wrestling.

Pablo Marquez can personally relate on both accounts.

Marquez -- who is choreographing the grappling action for "The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity," a play set to debut next month in Boca Raton, Fla. -- had visions of fame and fortune when he began wrestling almost two decades ago. Marquez worked for two major U.S. companies in the 1990s (WWE and Extreme Championship Wrestling). He then spent extensive time performing in Japan, Puerto Rico and Mexico.

The Ring of Honor talent roster has more glitter thanks to Shelton Benjamin.

Nicknamed the "Gold Standard" during a decade-long WWE stint, Benjamin is shining with his new employer. As ROH's tag-team champions, Benjamin and fellow ex-WWE castoff Charlie Haas have displayed excellent technical skill and brought some much-needed star power as the company tries building momentum for its syndicated Saturday-night telecasts on the Sinclair Broadcasting Group.

Jim Cornette has a simple mantra for what he hopes to accomplish with Ring of Honor's new nationally syndicated weekly pro-wrestling shows for the Sinclair Broadcasting Group.

"I don't want to bring pro wrestling back into the 1980s. I want to bring back wrestling with the logic of the '80s with people who were born in the '80s," Cornette said Thursday in a telephone interview. "You can take the vibe from the '80s and build to a big fight between two guys where you want to see who wins and what happens. The difference is, you're plugging in guys in their 20s."

Gail Kim learned the hard way that Impact Wrestling is where she belongs.

At the time a Hulk Hogan-vs.-Sting match was headlining one of the most successful pay-per-view shows of the 1990s, Bobby Roode was training to become a pro wrestler in his hometown of Peterborough, Ontario.

Fourteen years later, Sting and Hogan will meet again in what very well may be the Hulkster's final in-ring appearance. But this time, Roode has the chance to steal the spotlight for himself Oct. 16 in the co-main event of the "Bound for Glory" pay-per-view show emanating from Philadelphia.

Steve Karel is finding new ways of pushing pro wrestling to the extreme.

The behind-the-scenes general manager of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) during its 1990s heyday, Karel wants to re-create a cutting-edge vibe with his Urban Wrestling Federation (UWF). Karel hopes to merge the grappling and hip-hop worlds into a new hard-edged genre.