L. Anne Carrington  

Show Notes

• Archived Blog Post

  Date / Time: 4/22/2009 5:12 PM UTC

  The Draw of Wrestling
  

  “What is so attractive about wrestling?”
  
  I was actually asked that question recently. I’m not sure what they meant about “attractive,” but it did get me to thinking about covering the question in this week’s topic.
  
  It’s not what is “attractive” about it as much as what actually draws us fans to it. Unlike other sports we may enjoy, wrestling has more than one aspect to it, which the four most important points are outlined below:
  
  1. For starters, it really is a sport.
  
  Think about it; just like hockey, football, et al, the contact is there. There are at least two opponents with one goal in mind: to be the winner. Sometimes there are time limits, other times it can have no limits. There are differences, however, such as steel cage matches or “extreme rules,” for example, but outside of that, the ‘sport’ factor is definitely present.
  
  
  2. It‘s pure acting when acting is required.
  
  Along with the sport aspect, those who participate in wrestling have to improvise and act at one point. Imagine having to go against your real-life best friend in an on-screen feud. You have to ACT as if you hate the sight of each other even though he/she has been practically glued to your hip in “real life” for several years, maybe even all of your life.
  
  I remember when I first got into wrestling several years ago that it totally amazed me how two men I had seen in a match together that totally despised each other then were drinking together in a club not even three hours later, chatting and laughing like they were old friends–and of course, they were!
  
  We still see a lot of this happening even today, and to the casual observer that doesn’t follow the sport and/or doesn‘t see what goes on once the cameras go off, they will likely believe what they see in the ring. With a few exceptions here and there, I’d like to think most of these men and women tend to get along for the most part.
  
  3. Drama at its best–or its worst.
  
  Wrestling has been described as “the soap opera for men” though we women have enjoyed it as well. We fans know the majority of it is scripted (not fake; how one can fake a broken neck or death, for example, is beyond my comprehension), yet we tune in each week to find out what is going to happen next.
  
  Like any drama, it has its major stars, and then there are the “supporting players” or sorts all the way down to the “bit part actors” and “extras (or as they are called in the industry, background actors).” It has plots, action, angst, happy moments, tragic moments, just like any other drama we see either on stage, television or the movie screen.
  
  4. It’s something to talk about long after it’s over.
  
  Fans are still discussing the Montreal Screw job years later, yet unless I have missed something, not many other sports discuss “happening” events more than a year or two later, perhaps ten at the most.
  
  Sites and message boards give us news, each having their own “history section” which remain active (at least the sites where I have participated and visited); fans still discuss favorites of long past, even upcoming events months in advance (e.g.: the following year’s WrestleMania)
  
  There is always the question of where a specific star is, who deserves a push, who deserves a title, who is basically useless, how story lines could be improved.
  
  No matter how much we love or despise this product, one thing is for certain—it is going to be discussed in one form or another.
  
  Sure, we fans are going to get heckled and ribbed about our choice of programming, but one thing can be said about it, that being it is one sport that will never be dull, no matter how anyone views it.
  
  Now, it’s time to get back to seeing what is going to happen next!
  • Tags:
  • The Wrestling Babe
  • Wrestling
  • Television
  • Entertainment
  • Permalink