Wrestling is sporting theatrics – The Glasgow Guardian
Wrestling employs many techniques used in theater and mime, making it a highly entertaining sport
“Why are you looking at it? You know it’s fake, right?”
That’s one of the most common things a person who’s never been privy to the allure of pro wrestling might say. Other things people might say are, “The punches don’t even land,” or “You can absolutely tell it’s fake.” Yes, pro wrestling fans are aware of that. That’s part of what pro wrestling is. It’s not a real sport. What’s going on isn’t really a match between two extremely jacked individuals (a large proportion of wrestlers are on steroids), but is best described as an extremely visceral performance. These are pro wrestlers. They are performers. Damn good ones at that. The acronym WWE stands for World Wrestling Entertainment and entertainment is the keyword to focus on here.
A core element of pro wrestling is what is known as “kayfabe”. This is essentially the commitment of all players involved in the pro wrestling spectacle to maintain the illusion of reality at all times. No one is meant to break their character and all wrestlers strive to make the spectacle seem as real as possible throughout the show. This means that rivalries between them, romances, backstage encounters, and interactions with fans are all portrayed in a compelling way to maintain the crucial element of kayfabe.
It is sometimes difficult for outside observers to separate reality from fiction. In 2004-2005, an erotic love triangle that consisted of wrestlers Edge, Matt Hardy and Lita came to light. Lita had been a romantic partner to Matt Hardy, but was found out in 2004 to have cheated on him with Edge. Despite the reality of the situation for the trio, it was implemented into the WWE storyline. The fans turned against Edge and supported Matt and the two fought several times. The matches were scripted, as is almost always the case in WWE, but like most gossip stories with a knack for catching the public’s attention, it was hard for fans to tell how much was real and how much was sensational gibberish .
Although it’s a script and the pro wrestlers are actually acting actors, the amount of pain they go through or the extreme athleticism and strength they display cannot be disregarded. The majority of wrestlers weigh over 220 pounds and are over 6 feet tall. They are spectacles of strength and height. It is common for a wrestler to run towards the ropes and perform a high-flying maneuver, using the momentum from the ropes’ elasticity and their weight. It would be difficult for the average person to do somersaults and front somersaults over the ropes to land on their back on another person. But these guys do it every week.
To add to the illusion of cold-blooded realism, wrestlers used to “blade,” meaning cutting themselves with a tiny blade that was either given to them by the referee or hidden in their hand wraps. This often happened after they suffered what appeared to be a massive chair shot or some other type of major damage to their face. This practice has now been discontinued since 2008 due to its somewhat cruel nature. What it says, however, is that these guys were dedicated to their performances; they strived for catastrophic perfection. Other common things you can see in pro wrestling are wrestlers being thrown off ladders, put through tables, put through tables on fire, thrown onto thumbtacks and hit with barbed wire sticks. Some more extreme forms of pro wrestling use TNT and firecrackers that explode in random places.
Pro wrestling is like pantomime. Pro wrestling relies heavily on audience and performer interactivity. Fans cheer, boo and shout chants depending on the action. Fan reaction greatly determines how a wrestler’s career will develop and shape; is he a good guy or a villain? The sounds of the audience tell everything. The chants shouted by the crowd have become iconic in the pro wrestling world, such as: B. screaming “What!” Any time a wrestler pauses mid-sentence. Fans often even get involved in the match themselves, giving the wrestlers weapons like kendo sticks, classical guitars, and even prosthetic legs. The many opportunities for audience participation make pro wrestling more interactive than most plays.
Against this background, it becomes clear that pro wrestling is a very special type of performing arts. It is one of the most extreme forms of theatre. The wrestlers play characters and their wins and losses are scripted. But the pain they go through and the dedication they have in their craft is really a thing to behold. This theatrical experience is certainly polarizing, but undoubtedly exhilarating.