Episode 10: Professional Wrestling!

This time the gang heads to Newark to see WWE Smackdown live! This is the first time any of them have seen professional wrestling live, and the most wrestling any of them had ever seen in their lives.

Why? Professional wrestling, love it or hate it, is massively poplular. With over 300 events per year and 36 million viewers in 150 different countries – people love professional wrestling! And the history of professional wrestling - goes back hundreds of years to Bunkum, Ballyhoo, sideshows, Punch and Judy shows, even Commedia Dell'arte! It pops up in the 40's in the USA, Mexico, and Japan. It's part of the beginnings of the history of television!

Gorgeous George in the 1940s

While various leagues existed across the US, World Wrestling Entertainment eventually consolidated them and now hosts events across the world and airs them on television – they even have their own subscriber based cable channel.

"The WWE is the AFL of wrestling"

Check out the stats on the popularity of wrestling at the Indeed Wrestling blog.

Memphis Wrestling TV Show:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW0GYDnPS2s

Memphis Wrestling Full Episode 08-14-1982 Nature Boy Ric Flair vs King Jerry Lawler. Watch Rick Flair play the heel.

Key Wrestling Terms

Heel (or the Villian) - In professional wrestling, a heel (also known as a rudo in lucha libre) is a wrestler who is villainous or a "bad guy", who is booked (scripted) by the promotion to be in the position of being an antagonist.13 They are typically opposed by their polar opposites, faces, who are heroic or "good guy" characters.

In order to gain heat (with boos and jeers from the audience), heels are often portrayed as behaving in an immoral manner by breaking rules or otherwise taking advantage of their opponents outside the bounds of the standards of the match.

Face (or the good guy) - In professional wrestling, a face, babyface is a heroic or a "good guy" wrestler, booked (scripted) by the promotion with the aim of being cheered by fans.1 Faces, traditionally, will wrestle within the rules and avoid cheating (in contrast to the heels that use illegal moves and call in additional wrestlers to do their work for them) while behaving positively towards the referee and the audience.

Not sure about wrestling?

Read THE WORLD OF WRESTLING, from Mythologies by Roland Barthes - yes, Barthes "got" wrestling.

Want to watch some movies instead?