Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Professional Wrestling Culture
Professional Wrestling Culture
It was integrated
with mainstream pop culture. People of all ages were wrestling fans. This is because the
programming was cutting-edge and entertaining. These days, however, it has lost a
significant amount of popularity. It is almost to the point, in fact, that I feel like I am part
of a separate culture by being a wrestling fan. It has been my task to investigate why that
is. To start, I’ve interpreted what I already knew about North American wrestling culture;
the measuring stick, however, comes from the differences I found in other cultures of
professional wrestling.
over-the-top gimmick characters. For instance, the apparently unstoppable Hulk Hogan
became a household name through the use of exaggerated speeches (or, in wrestling
lingo, “promos”) and pure heroics. Other flamboyant characters, such as the guitar-
playing Honky Tonk Man, Kamala the Ugandan Giant (Fig. 1), and the cross-dressing
Adrian Adonis also appeared. Around this time, the term “sports entertainment” began
circulating, as wrestling companies and fans alike came to accept the fact that wrestling
was scripted, and therefore more a performing art than an actual sport. Along with the
shifting public perspective of pro wrestling came a willingness from the average fan to
suspend disbelief and enjoy an exciting, and frequently humorous, show. Despite being
obviously violent, the setting of the WWF was one which could be supposedly enjoyed
however, the fans craved more, which caused characters with more than one dimension to
emerge. The Undertaker, who debuted in 1990, was a highly popular character who grew
darker and more demonic with time (Fig. 2). Shrouded in darkness and mystery, he was –
and still is – a force not to be reckoned with in the ring. Although perhaps he was still
one-dimensional in his gimmickry, it could be seen that fans loved his dark, supernatural
qualities. Because of this response to the audience, wrestling maintained its position as a
Championship Wrestling was taking a different approach. Operating inside a bingo hall
for a relatively small fanbase, ECW avoided insulting the fans’ intelligence by aiming for
realism. It also targeted a more adult audience, as opposed to the WWF’s targeting of
children. Although clearly agreeing that wrestling was entertainment, ECW workers did
not so blatantly allow their events to simply be a “show.” With the promotion’s specialty
being hardcore rules (allowing the use of weapons), the matches were gruelingly painful
and taxing on the wrestlers. Some of the more dangerous match types included the
flaming tables match, the barbed-wire ring rope match, and the Taipei Death Match (in
which wrestlers glued shards of glass to their wrist taping). Also, Paul Heyman, the head
of ECW, often told his workers to say what they actually felt as real people when they
were on-camera. Although the wrestlers were still characters, they were generally mere
exaggerations of the actual people. With the wrestlers given a good amount of control
over their own characters, the company had a great amount of underground success, and
television exposure).
What made ECW truly different, though, was its connection to the fans. Recently,
WWE released a DVD entitled The Rise and Fall of ECW. At one point in an interview
on the DVD, former ECW wrestler Chris Jericho said, “You [the fans] really felt like you
were part of something special, and it was something special.” The die-hard ECW
supporters made sure the seats were filled up at every show, and showed a great
appreciation for the wrestlers. Whether it was cheering and applauding a “face” (a good
guy) or booing and throwing obscenities at a “heel” (a bad guy), the workers were always
sure to receive a tremendous reaction from the bloodthirsty crowd. In turn, the wrestlers
generally made sure to go the extra mile and acknowledge the fans; this often included
speaking to a few fans in the front row during a match, or insulting particular audience
members to receive a heel reaction. Possibly the greatest example of crowd participation
was the infamous chair riot, in which hardcore wrestler Terry Funk asked the fans for a
chair to use as a weapon; as a result, nearly all the fans in the arena simultaneously threw
word of mouth and some minor television exposure – and gained a large following. Soon,
the era of cartoon gimmicks would come to an end, and the “Attitude Era” would be
born. In 1996, ex-ECW wrestler “Stone Cold” Steve Austin made a name for himself in
the WWF, through the use of his foul language, beer drinking, and defiance of authority.
His mean-spirited character, which he had developed during his stay in ECW, was what
caught the attention of the fans. Although the character was designed to be an evil heel,
the fans accepted him as more of an anti-hero; what the fans had always wanted to do,
Austin actually did. Because the key demographic of pro wrestling was a lower-middle
class, blue-collar male, the average fan wanted an “everyman” to idolize. Austin, a
“redneck” from Texas who liked to hunt, was that man. When wrestling reached its peak
around 1998, viewers would tune in every week to see Stone Cold cause damage to his
evil boss and owner of the WWF, Vince McMahon. Some of these more notable
shenanigans included being arrested, only to break back into the arena by driving a
zamboni; filling McMahon’s convertible with cement; attacking McMahon in the hospital
with a bedpan; threatening to shoot McMahon (Fig. 3); and, arguably best of all, driving a
Coor’s Light truck up to the ring and using a hose to drench McMahon and his cohorts
with beer.
swearing became more prevalent, especially with the popularity of Stone Cold, and
storylines also became more risqué. Sex appeal was used tremendously, as women
abandoned their backseat roles as mere valets of male wrestlers. Given the title of
“Divas,” women began to wear skimpy clothing, and gimmick matches like mud
wrestling and “bra and panties” matches started to occupy airtime. Needless to say, this
did not cause the young adult male demographic to lose motivation to watch the show.
The WWF continued to push the envelope, especially because they were in direct
setting of swearing and sex. Apparently, WCW failed, because it was eventually bought
out, along with ECW, by the WWF in 2001. Many wrestling fans agree that the purchases
of WCW and ECW marked the end of the Attitude Era, as the WWF – which soon after
changed its name to World Wrestling Entertainment – no longer needed to outdo another
promotion, either in terms of edginess or otherwise. Ratings soon decreased, as did the
fanbase.
Perhaps the best way to describe what WWE has now become would be to
describe the first live event I experienced: the Survivor Series pay-per-view event in
November 2004. When I first sat down in the Gund Arena in Cleveland, what caught my
eye was the large, flashy stage (Fig. 4). Although the extra décor served no purpose, the
set seemed like a way for WWE to declare its success and power. Some friends whom
I’ve talked to over the past few years have said that they simply do not like the flashiness
of the current WWE; the Attitude Era WWF had a simpler set and was closer to the
underground feel found in ECW. I also noticed that, by the time the event had begun,
many of the seats were not filled. Only a few years earlier, the arena would have been
filled to capacity. Despite this, I still felt like I was simply another twenty dollars in Vince
McMahon’s pocket. I was surrounded by thousands of other fans, and as soon as I had
entered the building, I had bought a T-shirt. Other than speaking to the merchandise
vendor, I had no contact with any WWE staff. It was like I wasn’t an audience member;
In terms of the wrestling itself, the show was decent enough to be enjoyed.
Nothing very edgy happened, though; in fact, the whole event was rather tame, and
actually somewhat reminiscent of the WWF in the early nineties. The two biggest crowd
reactions of the night came from two particular entrances: First, the Undertaker received
a standing ovation of screams and cheers when the lights dimmed and a graveyard bell
tolled. As he slowly walked down to the ring, fog covered the ramp, and an eerie feeling
An even bigger reaction came from the crowd, though, when John Cena made his
way to the ring. Cena, whose character is that of a caucasian rapper, was quickly making
his rise to the top of the ranks at the time of this event. Like Stone Cold, his character was
designed to be a heel: an annoying white kid from West Newbury, Massachusetts, who
would create absolutely horrific “raps” about his opponents. Over time, however, his
promos became quite clever, and he actually became rather stylish (Fig. 5). The fans soon
came to adore him. Now, in the middle of 2006, he is the current WWE Champion, and
has been for over a year now – a considerable amount of time for a championship reign.
Critics argue that he has remained the champion for so long because he is the top
merchandise seller. Cena is very popular with fans around the age of twelve; and the
middle-lower class urban kids, whom have now become a central target of WWE
programming, can buy multiple pieces of Cena merchandise at a time. For instance, it
would be possible to go to WWE’s website and purchase a John Cena t-shirt, teddy bear,
visor, wristbands, chain necklace, and custom “spinner” championship belt all at once.
The kids think that Cena is “cool,” because he has the kind of style that is currently
popular. Cena’s urban appeal is an interesting contrast to Steve Austin’s rural appeal of
years past. Perhaps the central audience has shifted; or perhaps mainstream American
WWE refers to as a “main-event style.” This means that he simply punches and kicks his
opponents a good bit, before using the same five or six moves – in generally the same
order – to finish every match. The worst part about this is that his finisher, the “F-U,”
does not anatomically seem to do much damage. On top of his matches being predictable
and boring, many of his promos have become bland and generic. For months now, Cena
has retained his status as a babyface, but at many shows, over half the fans have heavily
booed him. For the most part, the 18-34 aged male audience wants him to lose the
championship. Now, despite the fact that wrestling is scripted, the championship is meant
to show in whom the company is giving the greatest investment. The champion is
supposed to extract the biggest reaction from the crowd, and be the most entertaining on
the microphone and in the ring. Why, then, does Cena keep winning? Why is the
company ignoring the fans? I, as well as many other fans, believe there are two reasons in
particular: First of all, his aforementioned merchandise sells a great deal. Secondly, he
has a big “superstar” look. Vince McMahon holds “traditional” wrestling values, and
believes that bigger wrestlers should always be given a greater push, despite how terrible
they may be in the ring. This is not necessarily a bad thing, except that smaller,
While Cena is the WWE Champion on the Monday show RAW, the 5’3”, 140 lbs.
Rey Mysterio (Fig. 6) is the current World Champion on Friday Night SmackDown!. As
opposed to winning nearly every match like Cena, Mysterio has lost over half his
matches since he became champion two months ago. Granted, he has not lost the title yet,
but he has not been allowed to use many of the moves in his arsenal. Both his offense and
defense have been severely limited, and he has been made to look weak. Being of
Mexican descent, Mysterio comes from the world of Lucha Libre (Mexican wrestling).
His style is categorized as technical, high-flying, and quick. When used properly, he is
truly incredible to watch in the ring. However, he is nothing more than mediocre on the
microphone. This, combined with his small stature, has made it difficult for WWE to
deem him a credible champion. Mysterio has not been the only misused lightweight
wrestler in WWE, however. Other wrestlers, like the world-famous and very talented
Ultimo Dragon of Japan, have lost most of their matches and given little television time.
Several have left the company because they either were fired or did not want to be further
misused. Fortunately for these smaller wrestlers, WWE is not the only wrestling
promotion in America.
The two largest independent promotions in the USA right now are Total Nonstop
Action and Ring of Honor. Now, RoH fully accepts that small wrestlers can be talented
and pushed to the top. TNA also believes this, but is in a strange middle-ground between
RoH and WWE. Because TNA wants to soon directly compete with WWE, as did the late
WCW, the main-event scene in the promotion is dominated by large men – some of
whom are not very talented. The idea behind this is that the WWE fans actually enjoy the
WWE main-event scene, so TNA wishes to match this. TNA’s “X-Division”, on the other
hand, is a very impressive display of lightweights that also wrestle, not coincidentally, in
Ring of Honor. The culture of the TNA audience, then, is a mixture between the
It could be said that RoH has now taken the place of ECW, by being an
independent promotion that does not insult the fans’ intelligence. Although RoH does not
have the same hardcore culture, it is still designed to be something special that
incorporates the fans as being more than just consumers. It also practices ECW’s old
methods of including various styles in its wrestling. British and Canadian technical
wrestling are represented by esteemed grapplers such as Nigel McGuiness and “The
“tope,” a term used for moves in which a wrestler runs and dives over the ropes to his
opponent outside of the ring. This is a maneuver that stems from Lucha Libre. Other
visually spectacular moves, including many variants of the “hurricanrana” headscissors
takedown, also have their origin in Mexico. Impressive aerial maneuvers like the
moonsault (Fig. 7), a backflip splash from the top rope, were invented in Japan and
brought over to the United States. Although these moves are sometimes used in WWE,
What should be noted are the methods of cultural exchange presented here. Some
of these styles were transferred via Japanese and Mexican wrestlers who came to the
United States, like Rey Mysterio and Ultimo Dragon. ECW hired some Mexican
wrestlers, which created a bridge between North American wrestling and Lucha Libre.
WCW, likewise, made a deal with New Japan Pro Wrestling to bring Japanese wrestlers
to the USA. However, more often than not, North American wrestlers went to work in
other countries, and adapted the native style into their own. Chris Benoit, a Canadian who
now works for WWE, wrestled in Japan for a few years under the name of Wild Pegasus.
Upon his return, he had acquired not only several new moves (Fig. 8), but also an even
greater appreciation for the sport. Several American workers have since adopted a similar
style. Many other wrestlers have also wrestled in Japan, only to improve their careers. In
this case, the cultural exchange was not simply brought to America; the wrestler sought
One such wrestler who recently trained in Japan was an American known as
Samoa Joe. Trained by Shinya Hashimoto, his training was nothing like it was in
America. On Joe’s website, he wrote the following about a particular training session
with Hashimoto:
Once at a preliminary training session, Hashimoto had quizzed a group of
"Psychology", but Hashimoto simply pointed at his eyes and said "The Fire". The
fire, the burning spirit, the unyielding will, even in the face of insurmountable
challenges. With a simple gesture and the most intense stare I had ever seen I
understood all these things that I have just listed and nodded in compliance.
This might seem like the kind of discussion that would possibly occur at a martial arts
dojo, but for this to happen during training for a scripted sport might seem very surprising
– that is, to an American. In Japan, wrestling (or “Puroresu”; “Puro” for short) is held
with a much higher respect than in North America, by both wrestlers and the general
public. Some of this actually stems from the fact that it incorporates elements of martial
arts. Anyone who has watched a Samoa Joe match can agree that his use of intense kicks
and chops is something that does not have simply a wrestling origin.
On October 1, 2005, Joe truly put his Puro abilities to the test. In what some think
was the greatest RoH match ever, Samoe Joe faced Kenta Kobashi – a metaphorical god
in Japanese wrestling. I recently purchased the DVD of this event, and the following are
my observations. Many fans have called it a 5-star spectacle; although the match could
have used more actual wrestling maneuvers, it was nothing short of brutal. Several times
Joe grabbed Kobashi by the head and repeatedly kicked him in the skull, to the point
where it almost hurt just to watch. Three times Kobashi gave Joe the Tiger Suplex ’85, an
extremely dangerous move in which the victim falls directly on the back of his neck. The
high point of the match, however, was when Kobashi backed Joe into the corner, and for
almost three minutes straight did nothing but chop him in the chest at half-second
intervals (Fig. 9). By the end of the match, Joe’s chest was literally welting. This was not
merely a scripted wrestling match. This was an intense performance, in which both
competitors took their bodies to the limit. B. Thompson Stroud, who writes for the
and later wrote about the experience. The following is an excerpt from the article:
These men who have outlined my memories began to stand around me.
Seven-hundred in a five. People with lives and histories and spirits. Souls. And for
this moment, crowded arm-to-arm in the lobby of a New York Hotel they became
the most perfect and clearly illustrated extension of me and my heart that I have
ever known. Every single person. We were all me. Kobashi and Joe chopped each
other as hard as they could, back and forth, the sounds of flesh on blood and
hearts pounding, and we gave them of ourselves, because they have given us
ourselves. They stopped to put their hands on each of our shoulders and say, "I
know, that's why I do this." Unspoken and barely understood. But more powerful
Kenta Kobashi versus Samoa Joe, the one-time attraction match for an
independently funded and run Northeastern wrestling promotion who have never
filled the Superdome or the Egg, helped me know in one of these moments in my
life of appreciation, respect, and pure, unadulterated love. Two guys in their
underwear pretending to hit each other has done it again, like it has always found
a way to do from time to time, since the dawn. I've sat through it all. Every
moment of it, from before I was born until long after the day I die. "You did it
right," I wanted to say. "You're inside of us all." Joe was lifted and dropped on his
head. He smiled at me and said, "Yeah, I know." I patted him on the kickpad when
he came flying into the front row. I like to think that's when we had our moment,
even if he was me and his foot, and he was in pain on the ground.
When Kobashi came to retrieve him from the front row, I backed up and
sat down. I didn't pat him anywhere. I didn't realize I'd done it until Folby told me
about it in the triple-file line. I wasn't sure why I hadn't. I was enjoying myself,
and when the wrestler you like is standing in front of you you try to high-five him
or at least pat him on the shoulder, to show him that you're in cahoots. I was
almost afraid. Reverent? Oh My God Kenta Kobashi Dude I Know. Each word
starting with a capital letter. The little orange ticket turned into diamond between
my fingers.
Daniels walked by, aligned with Folby. Claudio walked by. The others. Before I
could quip that Jay Lethal's submission moves are "more like Gay Lethal" he was
compete for the title for themselves. They train to win bouts to make money. In
mixed-martial arts, the MMA fighters fight it out as hard as they can for pride,
victory, respect. Money, even. And though wrestlers obviously make money, what
they do is not technically a REAL sport. People say that it's a bad thing. The worst
thing you can do. Shitty wrestlers on made-for-TV specials sneer and say YOU
THINK WRESTLING IS FAKE, GET IN THE RING AND I'LL SHOW YOU
HOW FAKE IT IS. But it is, still. The wrestlers don't compete with each other
legitimately for titles for themselves. They make their money whether they win or
lose. Their pride, victory, and respect amongst themselves is earned on paper
before the show. Do you know what the beautiful thing is? They aren't doing it for
Stroud beautifully illustrates two things in this excerpt: For one thing, he shows the
intensity brought into the ring by the two competitors. For another, he shows what effect
the experience had on the crowd; it was as if everyone was united with the wrestlers. The
RoH crowd, much like the ECW crowd, is able to come together through the shared
experience of a wrestling match. In fact, this is what wrestling does in general. Even at
the WWE events I’ve attended, I’ve been able to slightly form a bond with the fans sitting
around me.
promotions. I recently attended a Ring of Honor event in Cleveland, and it was a great
experience. It was the first RoH show I’d been to, so I was not sure of what to expect.
During the first match, a wrestler whom I did not recognize was in the ring. The only
distinguishable identity I could find were the initials on the back of his singlet, which
read “CK3.” I asked my friend what the initials stood for, and he didn’t know. In the
middle of our discussion, a man sitting in front of us turned around and said in what
seemed to be an elitist tone, “It’s Conrad Kennedy the Third.” I wondered if he felt like
we were dumb wrestling fans, who didn’t deserve to be in the same crowd as him.
However, as the show went on, we found ourselves joking with him about the happenings
in the ring, and other crowd members joined in with us. By the end of the night, it seemed
like we had made twenty new friends. The interesting thing about this was that we all
seemed to come from different walks of life. We were suburban college students. The
area. The high school kids sitting next to us looked like they could have been suburban
like us, but they wore a very different style than we did. The man behind us seemed like
he might have been homeless. None of this mattered, though. Our different experiences
weren’t simply consumers or casual fans who happened to hear about a WWE event that
promotions, and waited for a chance to come together. Our cultures of origin took a
backseat as we all enjoyed the culture of Ring of Honor wrestling. Before the show even
ended, I knew that Stroud was correct in his assessment of the RoH crowd. It is a culture
in and of itself.
Perhaps this is the difference between Ring of Honor and World Wrestling
Entertainment. Whereas RoH draws from other wrestling cultures, WWE tends to ignore
them. When a Japanese wrestler enters the WWE, it is almost guaranteed that his
gimmick will simply be that he’s Japanese; and then, his move repertoire is “WWE-ized”
and limited to only a few key moves. The same goes for Mexican wrestlers in the WWE.
Even though Rey Mysterio’s character at first reflected in ECW upon his name, which
translates into the “King of Mystery,” his character is now a short Mexican in a mask.
Even the significance of his mask is ignored; no one seems to know what it means.
The other difference between RoH and WWE is that, after extracting from other
cultures, the Ring of Honor culture is still self-contained. It is a culture that focuses on
wrestling. WWE, on the other hand, is a wrestling culture that focuses on pop culture.
The WWE Champion is the champion because he is a cool rapper. Storylines are created
by writers who, instead of having experience with wrestling, have the job because they
couldn’t find employment in Hollywood. Certain characters are given airtime because
they speak about a political issue, and women are in the company so that they can
eventually be featured in Playboy. In the midst of all these pop culture references, a
wrestling fan must ask “What does this have to do with wrestling?”
The strange thing is that WWE still has a massive following. This must say
something about the audience. They do not want to go to the wrestling. Rather, they want
the wrestling to come to them. Steve Austin was a roaring success because anyone could
turn on the television and see a character to whom they could relate. John Cena can
likewise connect with the fans. If Kenta Kobashi came to WWE, though, the casual
audience would be distant from him – what do they know about Puroresu? It is a foreign
culture of which they are not a part. The independent wrestling culture exists in itself
because it only contains people who want to immerse themselves in wrestling. As such,
they study other wrestling cultures, in an effort to cultivate their own culture. The cultural
exchange of wrestling, therefore, only occurs for the fans who consider their own
Samoa Joe. “Arigato Hakaio.” Online Posting. 11 July 2005. 6 June 2006
<http://xsweatpeax.livejournal.com/>.
Stroud, B. Thompson. “Joe and Kobashi.” Progressive Boink. 18 October 2005. 6 June
2006 <http://www.progressiveboink.com/archive/kobashi.htm>.
The Rise and Fall of ECW. World Wrestling Entertainment Home Video. DVD. 2005.