Pro Wrestling

Pro Wrestling

Bret Hart: Wrestling with Shadows

Written and Produced by Biography

Special Interview

15 December, 1997

Unreal Story of Professional Wrestling Narr. Steve Allen

Written and Produced by A&E

Special Documentary A&E

New York, New York

1 March, 1998

WCW/nWo: Sting Unmasked Narr. Toni Shiavone

Written by Eric Bischoff, Produced by Turner Broadcasting Co.

Special Interview, Turner Entertainment

Atlanta, Georgia

5 May 1998

Nagurski, B. “Professional Wrestling”

Microsoft Encarta `99

(Electronic Version).

Copyright INSO Corp. 1993-1998

PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING: SPORT OR ENTERTAINMENT?

I. Introduction

“Do you smell what the Rock is cookin?” shouts The Rock. This is the new crude

face of professional wrestling. But it wasn’t always like this. Haven’t you ever wondered

about the real history of pro wrestling, not the ‘history’ of what happened last week on

Raw or Nitro? People either watch it or don’t, or some watch it and don’t admit it. In

any case, what is it really? Some call it a controlled riot with commercial breaks, a

melodrama of mayhem, or a brawl with a referee. Whatever you call it, it’s an old form of

entertainment with plenty of ups and downs, but recently, it has become a part of

mainstream America.

II. The Early Years

Wrestling is as old as human history. It has always been used for dominance or

competition. The Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Arabs all were great wrestlers.

Plato’s name literally means broad-shouldered, and he wrestled in his early days. The Irish

used it as a way to settle differences. In fact, it was Irish immigrants living in Vermont

who brought the sport to America. Because of this, Vermont would produce the best

wrestling talent for the next 50 years. Presidents like Washington, Taft, and Coolidge

were all rasslers, and Abraham Lincoln was very much a professional wrestler.

Professional wrestling began when veterans from the Civil War used the skills they

had picked up in camp to grapple for money. Wrestling in the late 1890’s was a very

successful international sporting event. It was the most popular spectator sport in the

United States. It was seen as more scientific than boxing, and football and basketball

hadn’t appeared on the national level. The use of magaz...

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...im. Nevertheless, they are the

reason their chiropractors are so successful.

(A&E, Unreal)

So why do over 5 million people tune in to watch wrestling in a week? Because

they want to see the dramatic reenactment of rituals, like belonging to a group that reflects

who you are, like the nWo, The Corporation, The Four Horsemen, or Ministry, and the

sign language that goes along with it, of course. It’s a soap opera, and just like one, issues

are never resolved, or new ones develop.

(Dr. Gerald W. Morton, Wrestling to `Rasslin

V. Conclusion

Is wrestling fake? Well if we look at it as fake, we are judging it for trying

to be something that it wasn’t intended to be. It is drama. So is Shakespeare. Would we

call his work fake? No, because that word is irrelevant. It is said that a society can be

judged by how it entertains itself. At least we aren’t throwing Christians to the lions, and

when we celebrate violence, it isn’t real. Professional wrestling is only as real as the

imagination allows. The father of professional wrestler Jeff Jarrett once said, “For those

who believe, no explanation is needed. For those who don’t, no explanation would do.”