He went in his sleep, peacefully wetting the bed one last time, according to the news reports. Jake's a little sad, feeling a little older, upon hearing the news that Ed "The Bedwetter" Driphoski has died. Driphoski was one of the first wrestlers Jake ever saw, and Jake took to him and maybe even wrestling in general because as a kid he wet the bed too. He always felt slightly ashamed of it since it took him a long time to grow out of it, but here was a grown man on television who didn't seem to care if people knew that he wet the bed, and that made Jake feel better. The Bedwetter wore trunks that looked like diapers, and he’d often wet himself if his opponent was about to pin him and then disgusted, the opponent would jump off him before the referee could finish the three-count. Then Driphoski'd come back with his finishing move, “The Clean Sheets”, where he’d pick up the opponent over his head and then just drop the opponent to the mat, following up with a dropped elbow for the pin.
Sometimes though he used the “Wet Dream” submission, but they wouldn’t let him do that on television, so Jake didn't see that until years later on bootleg videos of old matches.
Driphoski was usually a heel, but Jake still liked him instantly. The reasoning behind his gimmick and character was that he was seeking revenge on the kids who made fun of him for wetting the bed when he was a child. When he turned face occasionally, the pathos of the character being trapped by his childhood and unable to overcome it was milked for all the milk of human kindness that could be gotten out of his soggy diapers. Since a great deal of the wrestling audience were kids, they could relate to Driphoski's problems, and imagined themselves in his place fighting against all the bullies and mean kids of the world.
Since Driphoski predated the steroid era, he had a long career in the ring. He didn't take unnecessary physical risks in matches, preferring ring psychology, and low impact mat wrestling, saving his showmanship for his promos and ring entrances. He retired from ringwork shortly after Jake started watching wrestling, transitioning to being a manager of other wrestlers, usually tag teams, many of whom he guided to the championship. His gimmick was kept intact though, and he'd occasionally win matches for his wrestlers by distracting their opponents with a well-timed leak. In the past few years, he quit the road, but would still occasionally show up on Grapple Groove when they filmed in his hometown of Chicago, or at big events like the yearly Grapplelution, always to Jake's delight. Even when he couldn't wrestle at the end, they'd let him win hall of fame battle royales because he couldn't go over the top rope to lose because of his hip replacement, and the fans still loved him.
Jake writes up a eulogy for his blog: "I'm glad they're dedicating tomorrow's Grapple Groove to The Bedwetter. One of my all time favorites, he made the lives of wrestling fans damp with enjoyment, moist with excitement, and soaked through with passion for the business."
The Bedwetter's tradition carries on through his son, Jack "The Dripper" Driphoski, who adopted his father's gimmick, but made it more extreme, taking it in a fetish direction, to match the direction of contemporary wrestling. Today, The Bedwetter's gimmick, once controversial, looks tame, reminiscent of a more innocent time in wrestling and society.
Sleep on sweet bedwetter, soak that coffin good.
Blog Love Omega Glee is a novel by Wred Fright about two bloggers who fall in love while the world falls apart, which is being serialized on his blog. To start reading from the beginning or read another installment, please visit Blog Love Omega Glee Central on WredFright.Com. If you like what you've read, or you've read all of Blog Love Omega Glee and want more Fright, then please read his first novel, which is available in print and as an ebook.
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