"Pro Wrestling: In Canada, it's a tradition. In Mexico, it's a religion. In Japan, it's a sport. In America... it's a
joke."
So I found this quote on
Wrestlecrap, and it got me thinking a little.
At least back to the days when my brother and I were waist-high to our parents, played Pokemon cards and though that Double Dragons was the coolest shit ever (Retro for the muthatruckin' win!)
He introduced me to the sport around then, at first of course, boys being boys he was attracted to the huge muscled man-gods settling fights in the ring with a referee to keep things 'fair'. Which is, honestly, what looks like the most obvious, outward reason for watching a spectacle a lot of other people see as white trailer trash.
So, is Wrestling honestly a joke?
And what makes a geeky, bespectacled, female bookworm look up to this often-maligned form of entertaintment?
Let's kick off things by getting a little into the history of Wrestling, shall we?
Wrestling is one of the oldest fighting forms in the world, dating all the way back to ancient Greece where oiled-up paticipants would pummel each other for sport. Of course, it came with a ground set of rules so they didn't up killing themselves, and if studied, one will realize how
intricate and hard to pull off some of these
'fake' moves can be.
Wrestling has also appeared in Persian and Indian culture, as well as old Japan.
In America, the birthplace of 'Pro Wrestling', it first started out as a carnival attraction, with colorful characters beating the hell out of each other and people paying to see them do that and/or betting on the outcomes.
After some time, promoters realised something very quickly;
If they
rigged the results, have certain things drafted out first and build up the rivalry, it actually became more interesting than an impromptu free-for-all.
And that turned into Kayfabe, or
Scripted Wrestling.(For those of you still out of the loop, yes.
Wrestling is scripted. They even have scripts and writers)
So is Scripted Wrestling
fake? Hardly. The moves still hurt, and many a time, the wrestlers prefer doing things on the fly or simply going out there with a small set of spots to give more energy to the whole preformance.
So it's
real?Only in the sense of moves. What
isn't real is the personas of the said wrestler. Bad guys are scripted as bad guys, just like villians in movies. They do dastardly things according to what is written, sometimes weeks in advanced. The promoters gage the audience's reception to the preformer and drafts out Heels and Faces (Villians and Heroes) and storylines accordingly.
Many Heels are
wonderful people in real life, and many more are
best friends with their
worst rivals in the ring.
Kayfabe/Scripted;
Versus real life;
Complicated isn't it?
So getting back to the point; What draws us to wrestling? What draws me to wrestling?
They say humankind is born with both a sense of kindess and a penchant for violence.
Like wolves, intelligent creatures who avidly watch an alpha male square off against a rival.
In old Roman times, the people had an outlet for this in their Colloseums, watching gladiator after gladiator fight against mounting odds, cheering for their favorites and allowing them to live after particularly good shows with a 'thumbs up'.
Pro Wrestling, one could say, is an evolved form that spectacle, only where opponents actually
care about each other and their fates as villian or hero, not life is judged by the crowd's reaction to them.
Modern Pro Wrestling can't be considered a sport due to the outcomes being rigged, but what it is, is what it has been since forever; A spectacle, a form of entertaintment that is a mix of everything from romance...
To comedy....
To drama.....
Despite what others say, I believe it's an intelligent form of televised escapade, due to the idea of things not what they seem to be in the ring and outside. There's as much good writing as there is bad, there are politics, backstage cultures and subcultures, there's a science to how things are done.
It's a challenge to figure out how these people can manage to make what they do so believable to the audience. It's of an interest to learn of what goes on behind those dark curtains to put on yearly, one of the
greatest shows on earth. It's mind-boggling to think about the days, the hours, the sweat and blood and tears these men put into a profession many join not for the money, because there's 1 in a 100 chance you're going to make it big, but because it's their
childhood dream.
Because you should never let anyone tell you that you can't.
Ask
Shawn Michaels, who knew he wanted to be a wrestler since he was 12, or
Chris Jericho, who went to all four corners of the globe to hone his craft and was laughed at in his church when he said he was going to pursue this dream, or
Randy Orton, whose father did everything he could to keep his son away from the bussiness.
The stories these men can tell about their lives and their paths outshine any that some rock gods or movie stars can spin.
And in the end, that's what really draws me, and possibly what really draws many others to the sport-entertainment-spectacle that is Pro Wrestling, the genius that are Vince McMahon and Paul Heyman among others, and the many legends that populate its rich tapestry;
Underneath all the lights and music and action and storylines, is the notion that yes, you can achieve
anything you put your heart into with hard work and heart, yes, even though you don't have the right size, the right look, the right style, that you can be someone in your life, and that any normal man is capable of great things.
So stand up and be proud, Wrestling Fans, because even though our passion is looked down upon, scoffed at, belittled and mocked, we see the beauty of it that others can't.
Wrestling is
not a joke. It's a beloved tradition to Canadians, a hallowed religeon to the Mexicans, a true and honored sport to the Japanese.
And to others that think otherwise....
Be Jealous.
