Risky business.

• Author: Kinney, Ben
• Position: UP FRONT

So there has been much talk in the state's economic-development community about landing the "Big One." Megasites are being prepared and global automakers wooed to bring a plant and thousands of jobs to the Old North State. That's well and good, but it's also time to focus on something that was once here and taken from us, many moons ago.

Some 30 years ago as a kid in acid-washed jeans running through Charlotte's mean streets listening to Wang Chung, I kept my eyes peeled for local celebrities. Because it was the headquarters city of Jim Crockett Promotions, it was common to see the era's finest professional wrestlers: "Nature Boy" Ric Flair stylin' and profilin' with the Four Horsemen at SouthPark mall; the Evil Russian, Nikita Koloff and his Uncle Ivan praying at breakfast at Shoney's; Chief Wahoo McDaniel buying milk and eggs at Harris Teeter. It was a golden age as the gods walked among us between performances at the old Charlotte Coliseum, Greensboro Coliseum, Raleigh's Dorton Arena and other venues.

Alas, as with many industries, corporate takeovers swallowed up the Crocketts' family business. Turner Broadcasting took our stars to Atlanta, then later sold to Pinehurst native Vince McMahon's WWF empire. Now called the WWE, a once-great Southern institution sadly is now controlled by Yankees. It's time to take it back. Attention Ronnie Bryant, Bob Morgan, Chris Chung and other industry recruiters: Here's my plan to bring back the wrestling industry.

Get a professional manager, er, consultant: I'd nominate Jim Comette, Jimmy "The Mouth of the South" Hart or Mr. Fuji. Famed strategists, they would plan a Great North State Wrestling Alliance. If things weren't working out, someone would get whacked in the back with a folding chair when no one...