Professional Wrestling Essay Research Paper Current Issues

Professional Wrestling Essay, Research Paper

Current Issues

Professional Wrestling

When some people hear the word wrestling they think of 2 points takedown or

headgear and singlets. But most people think of the WWF, WCW, NWO, and the

WolfPac. They think of names such as Hollywood Hogan, Sting, Stone Cold, Diamond

Dallas Page, and Golberg. If you have been alive in today s TV culture, you have

undoubtedly heard these names.

Although professional wrestling has been enjoying newfound success lately, it is

not a new sport by any means. Professional Wrestling has been around since the 1800 s

but it was mainly confined to barns and other small areas with people betting on the

winner. These were often bloody and dangerous fights. Dangerous for the wrestlers as

well as the audience as sometimes the fight would spill out into the crowd.

Professional Wrestling became more of a spectator sport in the early to mid

1900 s, but it resembled very little of what we think of Professional Wrestling today.

Today, as opposed to old-time wrestling, it is just a spectator event with people cheering

for a hero against a vilian . Most all matches are set up in a way that there is always

one crowd favorite, and one that the crowd hates.

Today Professional Wrestling is no longer a sport but a entertainment industry.

The fights are rigged, the wrestling is fake, and the only thing real about wrestling is the

money. Millions of dollars are generated by professional wrestling. TV contracts,

t-shirts, posters, Video games, movies. These all generate enough money and interest to

make professional wrestling the most watched entertainment event today. One of the

reasons that wrestling has become such a powerful force in entertainment is that it has all

the action of a Jackie Chan movie, all the drama of ER and all of the eye-candy of

Baywatch.

I am going to tell you some of todays biggest stars and give you a little

background on them.

One of the most entertaining people in professional wrestling is current world

champion Goldberg. Goldberg grew up as a doctors son in Oklahoma with his two

brothers. Goldberg was even an imposing future at a young age as he was a bouncer in a

bar at age 17. He went on to play college football at SEC power Georgia. As a Georgia

Bulldog, Goldberg earned all-confernce honors as a nose-guard and was drafted by the

Atlanta Falcons and eventually ended his career as a LA Ram. Goldberg was not done

bashing skulls after he hurt his knee though. He shaved his head and got a tattoo and

followed many former football players into Pro wrestling. He has enjoyed a career that

has seen him rise to the top. Each wrestler has his specialty finishing move and Goldberg

draws on his football influence for his finishing move, the Jackhammer. He runs across

the ring and spears the opponent in the stomach much like a NFL linebacker into a

quarterback.

Another one of today s rising stars is Diamond Dallas Page. DDP as he is known

will challenge Goldberg for his World Championship soon. DDP is known for his

signature move- The Diamond Cutter.

Another of the crowd favorites in professional Wrestling is Sting. Sting is a

mysterious man who always has his face painted and wears a long leather coat. He is

often armed with a baseball bat which is wrapped with barbedwire. Sting is just one of

the many unique people that are involved in the spectacle of wrestling.

Professional wrestling is considered by many to be dumb or stupid because it is

fake. Television is by definition a release from reality. The crazy stuff that you see

going on in a wrestling match is always staged. People need to realize that this is fake

and that is why it is so attractive to the masses. It distracts you from reality just like

Seinfeld, or David Letterman. Does anyone really believe that someone could be hit with

a baseball bat and jump right back up and win a fight? One of the greatest entertainment

values that professional wrestling possesses is the fact that the wrestlers are in fact highly

trained actor-athletes. They spend hours in the gym and hours training for the fights -

practicing falls and maneuvers so that the audience gets a perfect show. Everything that

the wrestlers do is potentially dangerous and they are putting their bodies at risk. To

even become a professional wrestler you have to audition at a training camp. At these

training camps, everyone from former football players to plumbers try to break into the

scene. Each person learns how to take a fall and throw others around like ragdolls all the

while making sure that they are safe. To become a wrestler you must also have a

gimmick or something special that makes your act unique. Each person has a unique

identity or move or costume that makes them stand out.

Professional wrestling is not just an American phenomenon, either. Professional

wrestling, be it WCW or WWF, is broadcast all over the world in many different

languages. The second most popular language besides English is spanish. In many

Spanish speaking countries, where boxing was once king, WCW and WWF matches are

televised with spanish announcers, and radio broadcasts are in Spanish as well.

All in all, professional wrestling should not be looked down upon for being

violent, after this is the country that made Jerry Springer and Mighty Morphin Power

Rangers hit shows. Nor should it be looked down upon for being fake, instead it should

be praised for it s ability to distract us from the troubles of our nation. Even if it is just

for an hour or 2. Professional wrestling is nothing more than an entertainment venue.

While it may not appeal to everybody, it has influenced this country in a way that few

movies or television shows have. Just look around you as you wonder the halls and count

the shirts depicting Goldberg or Stone Cold Steve Austin.