How To Love Pro Wrestling
I categorically reject the idea of “guilty pleasures.” If you love something, there is no reason that you should feel ashamed, especially if you’re being emotionally affected by a piece of art. Bear this in mind when I say one of my favorite mediums of entertainment in the world is pro wrestling.
Any time I tell people how much I love wrestling, the first thing out of their mouth is, invariably, “I can’t believe it! You like wrestling? I never would’ve guessed.” The implication, of course, being that a middle-class well-read college-educated white person is too cultured for the “lowest-common-denominator entertainment” of professional wrestling. How can someone be into French New Wave cinema and watch WrestleMania every year?
Well, I do it. And you can, too. But more than likely, if the idea of getting into the big muscle boy theater isn’t appealing to you, you’re watching wrestling wrong. And it’s not your fault; there are a lot of ideas in the public consciousness about what wrestling is and isn’t, and this turns a lot of people off to even thinking about watching it — people who I think would truly enjoy some of the unique phenomena that come along with enjoying such a unique medium. So I’ve made up a list of things to keep in mind and ways to approach the industry that can make you love wrestling as much as I do.
It’s not really about the wrestling
The go-to for most people when it comes to wrestling is, “Why would I watch that? It’s fake.” And if you’re coming at it from the same approach as UFC, or any other competitive sports, that makes perfect sense — because professional wrestling matches are famously all predetermined. But here’s the thing to keep in mind: it’s not a sport. Not even really close. It cannot be judged by the standards of athletic competition, because that’s not what it’s trying to be.
It’s a TV show. A TV show starring athletes presented in the format of a sport fight, but it’s serialized narrative fiction like anything else. It has writers, producers, directors, and actors. It has storylines, character arcs, and plot twists. Calling wrestling fake is like calling Breaking Bad or Spider-Man fake: yeah, no shit. That’s kinda the whole thing about stories, bud. Even setting aside the more absurd elements of wrestling lore, like the multiple dark wizards, monsters, and demons that have made their home in WWE, the show doesn’t present itself as a legitimate competition on any meaningful level. I called it “muscle boy theater” as a joke earlier but live theater is pretty close to what’s going on — just with a lot more synchronized chanting, half-naked bodybuilders, and powerslams.
Probably the better comparison when looking at the storytelling itself is to a long-running medium like soap opera or comic books. Most wrestlers portray the same character throughout their whole career, with histories spanning back decades and influencing new stories being told, often in different promotions from where the seeds were initially laid. Stories begin and end frequently enough that new viewers can hop in without feeling lost, but for those who have watched for years (or read up on the histories of their favorite stars on Wikipedia or whatever), many moments can become that much more engaging. And the characters, much like the matches and stories, also walk that line; a wrestler has to be a broad caricature whose role and allegiances can be easily understood by anyone, while still being capable of displaying the nuances and subtleties of a real person.
A lot of wrestling’s storytelling happens outside of combat in “promos,” which take the form of monologues (or dialogues) where wrestlers dramatically and charismatically tell the crowd, their opponents, or themselves how they’re feeling and what they want. The skill of “cutting a promo” can be as much or more valuable than in-ring skill for wrestlers, and many of the greats like CM Punk and Dusty Rhodes are known as much for their mic time as for their ring time. Not only that, but many promotions put a lot of effort into their promotional video packages before big Pay-Per-View (PPV) matches, which usually recap the proceeding feuds in an epic, cinematic fashion. Purely by nature of being around for so long, WWE has amassed a great deal of incredible video packages, which were actually the thing that got me into wrestling storytelling as a medium. Some of the greats from the last decade to get you started: Seth Rollins and Triple H’s feud at WrestleMania 33, CM Punk vs John Cena at Money in the Bank 2011, and Johnny Gargano vs Tommaso Ciampa at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans.
Pro wrestling is drama and storytelling at its absolute highest level. Remember what I said about guilty pleasures? With how absurd so much of wrestling can be — even (and especially) in more “serious” stories like those linked above — it can be easy to get defensive about watching something that truly doesn’t care about appealing to the standards of normal drama. Once you stop viewing that as a bug and start seeing it as a feature, that’s where the fun begins.
…the wrestling is great, though
So once you’ve bought into the fiction of wrestling (or “kayfabe,” as the industry parlance refers to it), it’s now time to turn your attention to the meat of the program: the in-ring fights themselves. As stated — and I cannot stress this enough — they are not genuine fights. Both wrestlers go into the ring knowing who is going to come out the other side victorious.
But since they know who’s going to win, and are much moreso working together than they are against each other, they can do some badass shit. The wrestling itself is incredible to watch; the smart, strong, and agile competitors of WWE (and other wrestling promotions, which we’ll get to in a bit) can do amazing and awe-inspiring things with their bodies. Corkscrew flips from the top of turnbuckles. Powerbombs and suplexes. Death-defying high-flying stunts. And that is seriously just the tip of the iceberg; every wrestler has a unique move set full of interesting finishers and signature moves. Letting yourself be entertained by the pure showmanship on display by the wrestlers is honestly one of the most fun parts of being a wrestling fan; not only are they incredibly fun to watch on their own, but they can add to the emotion of the aforementioned storylines as well. The story of a man stabbing his best friend in the back is all the more emotional when that backstabbing takes the form of throwing him into a jumbotron and kicking him in the head.
And depending on what you like most about the performances of wrestling, there is stuff out there to suit your tastes. Some combatants are known for their highly technical, mat-based moves and holds. Others prefer flipping and flying through the air in ways that challenge the laws of physics. There are even the sick fucks who indulge in no-rules hardcore deathmatch wrestling, where guys smash fluorescent light tubes over their heads and put each other through flaming barbed wire tables — on a slow day.
The visceral physicality of wrestling really makes it hard to draw simple comparisons, as it occupies a unique position between fighting, dancing, and storytelling. In many ways, professional wrestling is the world’s biggest performance art medium — and those who perform are most certainly artists.
Find a wrestler to latch on to
The easiest way to jump into wrestling is the same way that many recommend newbies jump into the world of comics: find a character you like and stick with ’em. Wrestling is an even better application of this philosophy than the world of comics, though; Batman has been written and drawn by hundreds of different creators over the years, but any time Kenny Omega has stepped into the ring, it’s always been Kenny Omega.
Luckily, many of the current biggest wrestling promotions upload highlights from their weekly shows, promotional video packages, and sometimes entire matches to YouTube, making it easier than ever to trace storylines back through recent months and dig into what any given star is up to at the moment. And once you’ve done that, as mentioned earlier, give ol’ Wikipedia a visit; unironically, the Wiki articles detailing the careers of pro wrestlers are some of the best-written and most thorough pages on that site. Plus, plenty of YouTube channels have made careers out of breaking down wrestling’s past and present in greatly entertaining formats, such as a personal favorite on the last few years in the career of AEW World Champion Adam Page. It’s honestly never been easier to become a fan of wrestling — especially considering how much good stuff there is out there right now.
Wrestling is more than just WWE
For most, wrestling is synonymous with World Wrestling Entertainment, Vince McMahon’s empire of dubious moral quality. And while WWE has remained the primary cultural institution in the world of wrestling for the better part of the last fifty years, the Internet and modern wrestling fandom has given us more options than ever.
To be clear: WWE is still the biggest wrestling product in the world, and many regularly enjoy it. Its production values, marquee talent, and institutional history carry a lot of weight, drawing millions of viewers. But in my opinion (and the opinion of many discerning wrestling fans), the product’s quality is far too inconsistent to be recommended unreservedly. For every incredible feud resulting in brilliant matches, there are a handful of unfunny, childish, cringeworthy moments, sometimes all at once. When it’s good, it’s great, but it’s not great all that often anymore.
For me, you can’t get better than All Elite Wrestling, the newest major promotion to make its name in the US and the first challenge to WWE’s monopoly since the failure of World Championship Wrestling in the early 2000s. AEW is made up of many established and rising stars from the world of American, British, Canadian, Mexican, and Japanese wrestling — and more than a few former WWE talents who jumped ship at the sign of another option. The promoter, Jacksonville Jaguars owner Tony Khan, clearly cares deeply about pro wrestling, and it shows through how passionate the fans and performers are at every turn. Truly can’t recommend AEW highly enough.
If you want a taste of other wrestling styles, Japanese puroresu is the next place I’d recommend checking out. New Japan Pro Wrestling is the country’s biggest promotion, rich in history with some of the greatest talents to ever step in a ring. With a major AEW crossover show planned for June, NJPW is definitely worth checking out for those who enjoy a harder-hitting, deliberately-paced style of performance and storytelling.
For as great as the major promotions are, there are so many incredible talents that aren’t contracted with any of them — definitely look into local indie promotions near you for a taste of the passion for wrestling held by so many around the world. Wrestling is truly made by its community, and a strong local wrestling scene will undoubtedly have its loyal fans.
And finally…
Just, like, have fun with it, dude
Wrestling is dumb. Lots of wrestling storylines are cheesy, and some of the moments are far more silly than they are badass or cool.
But when it works, there’s nothing better.
Here’s the thing about entertainment: it’s supposed to be entertaining! Anything, when you deconstruct it too far, becomes silly. The highest-grossing entertainment franchise in human history features several dozen professional actors digitally altered to portray characters originally conceived for kids in the 1960s. If you can lose yourself in the enjoyment of a Marvel movie, pro wrestling isn’t that unreasonable.
People wear their own t-shirts every time they’re on screen. Certain maneuvers are treated as deadly and devastating when they’re realistically nothing more than theatrics. Referees have the attention span of a golden retriever and the constitution of a sheet of paper. Wrestlers hit moves on each other which, if done in real life, would hurt the attacker more than the victim. But that doesn’t get in the way of what’s great about wrestling when you get into it.
I’ve been to a few live wrestling shows of varying size and scale, from local Kansas City indie promotions to WWE Pay-Per-Views. Depending on where you are, who you’re with, and the quality of the show, the experience can vary pretty widely, but at the core, everyone who pays to see wrestling is someone who loves watching wrestling. When you’re in the arena, you’re playing a role just as much as the dudes inside the ropes — cheering for the babyfaces and booing the heels, chanting along with those around you, singing the entrance music of your favorite stars. No one is worried about looking dumb or whether or not what they’re witnessing is “real.” They’re just getting lost in the emotion of the story being told — which is all the easier to do when the medium of the story is two dudes throwing each other into ladders.
Wrestling is the goddamn best, and I hope, for your sake, that you can love it as much as I do.
