Think pro wrestling is 'extreme' now? Check out the old school...
The lifestyle police aren't content to just wage war on the finer things in life-they want to go after guilty lowbrow pleasures as well. Recently, a number of so-called "media watchdog" groups have been alarmed by the number of incidents of sex and violence found in professional wrestling broadcasts. The premise of their attack is that since pro wrestling is designed to appeal to children, that depictions of sex, violence and other verboten imagery is of serious concern.
Since they always have their finger on the pulse of Joe and Suzy Six-pack, the USA TODAY made the question of "How Bad Is Wrestling For Your Kids" the cover story of their newspaper a few years back. In addition to the usual blather from the lifestyle police and their pointy headed co-conspirators in academia, the newspaper elicited reaction from concerned parents. One slacked jawed yokel interviewed longed for the days when "wrestling was wrestling. Now, it's a lot of acting". This woman, who claimed to be a longtime wrestling fan, insisted that wrestling used to be family entertainment but is now in a state of decline. "I just don't like any of the sex they do these days. I don't think there's any reason for it. (The wrestling promotions are) trying to attract too many people, and they're pushing it toward the men side. Kids shouldn't have to deal with it."
Upon reading this woman's insistence that
'old school' wrestling was family entertainment, and the new
generation of wrestling was not, I was speechless with amazement.
Here's the deal, from someone who actually knows the history
of pro wrestling. It is not now, nor has it ever been, wholesome
family entertainment. All of these people wringing their hands
over the state of pro wrestling are operating with so many incorrect
assumptions that it makes all of the anti-cigar hysteria-which
relies almost completely on the false assumption that cigar smokers
inhale-seem quaint by comparison. In order to reveal this anti-wrestling
hysteria for the sham that it really is, the Prophet is going
to separate the hysterical media myth from the reality of professional
wrestling.
MEDIA MYTH: Old school wrestling was wholesome, less violent, less obsessed with sex, and more about high quality wrestling.
REALITY: Wrestling is probably less violent now than it has ever been, particularly in the major promotions. Sex has always been a part of pro wrestling.
Back during the 1970's and early 80's, pro wrestling was often a nightly bloodbath. And there's no such thing as 'blood capsules'-the blood was (and is) real, resulting from a self inflicted cut from a concealed razor blade. The magazine covers and photos on this page are characteristic of 'old school' wrestling. Legends such as Abdullah the Butcher and The Original Sheik specialized in bloody, gruesome brawls replete with foreign objects, biting of bloody foreheads, and dishing out and receiving ungodly amounts of punishment. Though it is questionable that it could be transmitted in this manner, what drastically curtailed the instances of 'blading' (particularly in the liability conscious major promotions) was the fear of AIDS. Though significantly less common in the major US promotions than 'back in the day', bloodbaths are still routine in smaller US promotions as well as being a staple in a number of Japanese promotions.
Along with gratuitous violence, sex has always been a major part of professional wrestling. In addition to buxom valets, which have been seen frequently in pro wrestling since the late 1970's, more explicit appeals to the prurient interests of the predominately male, adult audience have been around for years. Take a look at some of the wrestling magazines from the mid to late 1970's, and almost every one will feature so called "apartment house wrestling". These are essentially posed 'catfights', with the bikini-clad participants being put into suggestive and revealing poses and some absurd storyline stringing the thing together. The biggest difference now is not the amount of sex, but the extent of the exposure a young woman can get in the major promotions. There really wasn't much to be gained from showing off your cookies to wrestling fans at one point; now, women involved in pro wrestling can parlay their in-ring pulchritude into Playboy magazine covers and acting gigs.
The media has also been ringing their hands over things like occult images in pro wrestling, which they attempt to suggest is also something new. Not even-Kevin Sullivan was doing a "prince of darkness" gimmick down in Florida way back in the early 1980's. The Sheik has been burning his opponents with fireballs since the early 1970's, if not before. Everything that the lifestyle police are worked up about in professional wrestling has been a staple of the sport for years. Unless the woman interviewed in the USA TODAY article was talking about Frank Gotch and Strangler Lewis, her recollection of pro wrestling as a legit athletic endeavor is absurd.
MEDIA MYTH: Pro wrestling is fake, and the wrestlers don't get hurt.
The outcome of pro wrestling matches may be predetermined, but the wrestlers are serious athletes. And they DO get hurt-aside from serious injuries and accidents, every professional wrestler suffers the same aches, pains, bumps and bruises as any other high level athlete. To be a pro wrestler requires serious physical conditioning, and training in how to 'work' a match and to 'sell' opponents moves while preventing injury.
So why do the anti-wrestling naysayers act surprised that kids get hurt trying to emulate pro athletes? And why should pro wrestlers be made to feel responsible? The fact is that kids are going to try and emulate pro athletes-certainly more kids in backyards and playgrounds are pretending they're Barry Sanders and Shaquille O'Neal than pretending they're pro wrestlers. Yet, no one suggest that Shaq not dunk the ball so emphatically lest impressionable youth are watching. It is the same deal-kids are going to play too rough, and some are going to get hurt. Whether they're pretending to be a pro wrestler, a football player, or Davey Crockett just doesn't matter.
MEDIA MYTH: Pro wrestling is designed and marketed for kids, and thus wrestling promotions need to provide good role models for children.
REALITY: This is downright absurd. Pro wrestling isn't 'family entertainment'.
One of the more unfortunate phenomena of the late 20th century is the compulsion among baby boomers to 'child proof' adult activities. This can be seen in the "Disney-fication" of Times Square, and the insistence that Las Vegas is a "family destination" as well as in this strange notion that pro wrestling is one big kiddie show. The fundamental premise of pro wrestling-that differences are best solved through escalating levels of violence-is by definition not "family entertainment". Pro wrestling has the same sort of illicit appeal that many other 'adult' activities do-teenage boys hide Playboy magazines under their bed, even though Playboy doesn't market them to teenagers. The idea that wrestlers should be 'role models' for the less than 20% of their audience under the age of majority is as ridiculous as Playboy forcing their models to wear clothes so teenage boys won't see bare breasts.
Back to our concerned mom we met at the outset of this story-if she's worried about the deleterious effect that watching pro wrestling will have on her children, I've got a bright idea for her: TURN OFF THE TV! Read the kids a book, or take them to a museum or something. Whatever you do, don't attempt to blame your parental shortcomings on the misbehavior of professional wrestlers. There was a time in this country that such an absurd avoidance of parental responsibility would have received the scorn it deserves. Now, there's a battery of lifestyle police, pointy-headed academics, and shallow sighted media waiting to legitimize it.
In short, pro wrestling now-at least thematically-isn't much different than it has always been. Throughout its history it has been a mish-mash of excessive violence, gratuitous sex, defiance of authority, kicks to the groin, bad language and too many other anti-social characteristics to list here. It would behoove those who complain about the sex, violence, and lack of intellectually redeeming content in pro wrestling to actually acquaint themselves with the history of that which they seek to condemn.
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