No Way Out 2012

Ben:

This is just going to be a very brief write up of my opinions of last night's PPV. I've just got done watching it and need to pump this baby (yeah, I talk like this) out before Monday Night RAW.

I didn't watch the Pre-Show. From what I've read it didn't matter. However, the fact Otunga left of his own accord and not via an ambulance makes me question why he didn't come to Show/Ace's rescue in the main event.

1. Sheamus Vs Ziggler (WHT)- I really enjoyed this match. I think I probably enjoyed it more than the originally booked Sheamus Vs Del Rio match. I think some people may have found it a little awkward in places. It's hard to argue against that but I actually didn't mind that - some of the transitions were scrappy but I think it lent to making the match feel a bit different and, in a way, realistic. I think if anyone used that criticism and then recommended a GAEA match to you, I'd call them a hypocrite. I personally really enjoyed the ground based, chin lock stuff. It reminded me of some of the really old wrestling I've been watching of late (Buddy Rogers, etc).

I like that Ziggler kept the rubber ball style selling to a minimum in this match. It really helped to make him look good.

At points I believed Ziggler could win, such as with the Top Rope X Factor and the DDT that Sheamus took like a champ.

I really liked pretty much everything about it. I liked the allusion to the Wrestlemania 18-second match at the start. Sheamus even seemed quite intense and aggressive during the match. Wish he wouldn't grin so much on the way up the aisle, a bit more selling on the way out'd be nice. ***

2. Santino Vs Rodriguez (Tuxedo Match) - The Tux match should really be left to those who aren't actual wrestlers, imo. I like Rodriguez but I don't think even his silly mannerisms could save this match. I was really glad to hear the boring chant. The Cobra on the foot joke was nice, the Alberto pants joke wasn't (though I think Lawler may have shat himself, he found it that darned funny). If Alberto pants is embarrassing, why'd he wear them to a match with this stipulation? 1/2* for the Cobra bit.

3. Rhodes Vs Christian (IC) - Good match. Really enjoying Christian's three finishers. It's rare that someone can get over two moves as finisher's properly but Christian has done so with three. Rhodes kicking out of the Killswitch might suggest that is on the out as a match ender and will become like the Angle Slam. I hope not though, as it is one of two moves which is very clearly a Christian move (the Diving Reverse DDT being 'tother). The Spear (Edge) and the Frog Splash (Eddie) are both tributes to good friends, but I don't think his Splash looks marvelous and I buy Rhyno and Goldberg doing a Spear more than Christian. However, he's got them over. Well done him.

Overall, this was a solid outing for both. The crowd seemed really nonplussed by the whole thing until the closing sequence - which was really tip top reversal shiz. Those types of sequences work when all the moves the wrestler's have gone for are potential Finishers. Nice Match, **1/2

4. 4 way tag to determine #1 Contenders - Prime Time Players Vs Usos Vs Colons Vs Gabrial/Kidd. I liked this match was on PPV. Crowd was a bit quiet bar the spots - the Kidd on Epico (I think) Hurricanrana from the top to the outside being a prime example. I actually really enjoyed the PTPs move set. I loved that there was a storyline built in surrounding AW and him turning on the Colons. This creates a feud within the division which doesn't directly involve the titles/the champs. It makes the division seem more worthwhile (although this feud is probably just to make time for R Truth to return). Anyway, the match was okay. This stipulation is very Attitude Era so it was a little nostalgic (you can imagine the APA, Kai En Tai, Too Cool and the Headbangers being in this match). I liked it. It wont make the top 25 matches of the year or anything but it did it's job nicely. **

Triple H time - HHH came out, challenged Brock to a match (if he accepts, he's an idiot - HHH should just say "I'll counter-sue for assault if you don't drop the charges and wrestle me). Hopefully Brock will accept though as this might actually shunt Cena off top billing for the first time in a billion years (or thereabouts). This was basically a RAW segment filling up the time. When you cannot fill a PPV with action, there is little hope for 3 Hour RAWs.

5. Layla Vs Beth (Diva) - Pretty poor match. Layla can have a decent match but this was a pretty dull showing. Some poor comedy, some elongated rest holds. Was what it was. It wasn't a complete sham, just forgettable. I think someone else should have been in place of Beth because Beth should be a dominating monster, not a comedic twit who is bothered about a woman dancing about with her headdress. *

6. Hunico Vs Sin Cara - Poor. Hunico tried his hardest but Sin Cara just sucks. Considering he was worked over the whole match he managed to generate zero sympathy. This, I think, is in part to do with his mask. It has no mouth or eye holes. He cannot express and is not good enough at doing so with his body. Secondly, we have no idea who or what he is. Why is he a face? What's he ever done to make me like him. Hunico's matches Vs Justin Gabriel are PPV worthy and this is SuperStars standard. Something is backwards here. I don like Hunico's SchoolBoy Lift Slam. 1/2*

7. Punk Vs Kane Vs Bryan (WWE) - Top notch match. Kane and a love interest in a Bryan/ Punk storyline just sounds like something that ought to not work and would dilute their feud but I think it is nice little addition. The story has developed further, the in ring action was a great deal of fun. I don't think it was a match that would knock anyone's socks off but it really was the match of the night. A great showing for all involved. Should have been the main event...again. ****

8. Ryback Squash - fine. RAW match though.

9. Cena v Show - I can't even be bothered to write about it. *

Overall, it came across as a really good episode of RAW rather than a PPV of any worth. Story's were started or progressed, there were a couple of very good matches but no belts changed hands, there were 9 matches Ryback, HHH Speech, Hunico Vs Sin Cara, 4 way Tag (which was announced a half hour before the show or something), Beth v Layla and the Tuxedo match all came across as TV show matches.

Overall rating, 4 out of 10 due to the three good matches being worth it, and some positive work in the tag division.

Steve's Top Five WrestleManias

Ok, top five Manias, in chronological order, based on the whole show, and an indication of my personal favourites rather than claiming they were the "best":

Wrestlemania IV:

 

Tournaments are great. This theme makes IV stand out amongst all the early Manias that were generally lacking in legitimate match quality. Whilst booking it differently would have made the show that much better (ie. not eliminating Ricky Steamboat in the first round, thus forcing Savage to go through a rematch against his greatest opponent en route to the final) the whole show told a compelling story from start to finish, culminating in Randy Savage being elevated to the top as a legitimate babyface champ. The fact that the whole thing also perfectly set the seed for the story that would headline Wrestlemania V makes it even more impressive, as it would be nearly a quarter of a century before WWE would present a single storyline that would incorporate consecutive Mania main events again.

It's often forgotten that this show also had some memorable moments outside of the tournament, with Bret Hart getting some early singles exposure in a battle royal that he got double-crossed out of by Bad News Brown, and Demolition taking the tag titles from Strike Force, setting the scene for their breakup and the emergence of Rick Martel's "Model" character.

If nothing else, this show deserves credit for having the bravery to take both Hogan and Andre out of the running early on. Going into the show, nobody would have predicted that the final wasn't going to involve either of these two (presumably Hogan), and using their grudge feud to clear the way for elevating both Savage and Ted DiBiase was inspired booking.

 

Wrestlemania VIII:

 

This one isn't often mentioned as one of the best Manias ever, a fact that's understandable considering we're talking about a show that included a throwaway 8-man tag, a tag title match ending in a countout, Owen Hart pinning Skinner in under ten seconds, a 4 minute Tatanka squash and a main event ending in a DQ. However, as a child I watched this one on VHS more than any other show, and seeing it more recently I still think there is plenty to enjoy.

This was the first Wrestlemania in 5 years to be held in a huge venue, and the visual of 62,000 screaming fans packed into the Hoosier Dome gave a big event atmosphere that had probably been missing. Strangely, this show didn't seem to suffer the same issues as modern dome shows with regards to crowd noise being lost in the cavernous building, as the crowd was audibly red-hot throughout the show. Whatever they did to mic up that building, they did it right (incidentally making TNA's inability to do the same with technology 20 years more advanced, and a building a tenth of the size, even more embarrassing). The aural delights are compounded by the always wonderful commentary team of Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan. These two had an incredible ability to be entertaining comic characters in themselves, whilst still managing to add focus, hyperbole and context to the matches, and may be the finest commentary team of all time.

I've always loved the opener, as Shawn Michaels had his first Mania singles match against Tito Santana. The match wasn't exceptional, but Tito knew how to work as a babyface and Shawn's bump-machine heel character was so good that it would begin to change the WWE's entire style over the next few years. 

Whilst The Undertaker's Streak started the previous year in a squash against Jimmy Snuka, this year's grudge match against Jake Roberts can be seen as the earliest sign of Taker's invincibility at the biggest show of the year. Jake's DDT was the most over and feared finisher in the business at the time, and seeing the Deadman kick out of TWO of them put Taker over as a babyface like nothing else could.

The Bret Hart vs Roddy Piper match was simply one of the greatest Mania matches of all time. A story so simple it feels complete watching just the pre-match interview and the match itself, yet one that is utterly compelling. Any wrestler who wants to learn the psychology of a babyface match, a brawler vs technician clash-of-styles match, or simply wants to learn how to use body language and facial expressions to sell a story to a crowd of any size has no excuse to not watch this match.

Whilst it's hard to argue that this shouldn't have been the show that gave us a Hogan vs Flair dream-match (really, the fact that WCW had the opportunity to put that on PPV for the first time is unforgivable), the reality is that the match itself would almost certainly have failed to be as good as what we got. Flair vs Savage is quite simply one of the finest examples of an emotional sports-entertainment grudge match you'll ever see. Ric Flair is the perfect heel champion here, bumping, bleeding, cheating, strutting and wrestling like no-one else can, whilst Randy brings more intensity and fury than anyone wearing bright yellow tassled lycra has any right to bring. The Miss Elizabeth angle (and great selling) allowed Randy to generate incredible sympathy, which goes some way to explaining the absolute MONSTER pop his eventual victory received. Absolutely brilliant stuff.

The other half of the "Double Main Event" is remembered as a bit of a disaster. This is probably not surprising considering the convoluted booking, the botched DQ finish, the involvement of Papa bloody Shango and the fact that neither the Hulkster or Sid are exactly Lou Theszmoveset looked like it could kill you), Hogan's selling was top-notch, the crowd were clearly into the match and the Ultimate Warrior run-in got another enormous pop to end the show. Best Wrestlemania main event ever? Of course not, it was barely in the top three matches of the night, but I think there's a lot more here to enjoy than it gets credit for and twenty years later is one of the more memorable main events in Mania's history.

Wrestlemania X-7

 

I considered Wrestlemania XII for the list because I'm such a mark for the Iron-Man Match and I didn't want to be too biased toward recent shows. However, I cannot in good conscience praise a PPV with only 2 noteworthy matches (the Piper vs Goldust "Back Lot Brawl" was a lot of silly fun). Incidentally, this is the same reason why Wrestlemania X gets ignored.

Talking about Wrestlemania X-7 seems unnecessary, so often is it cited as the greatest show in the history of the WWE. Quite frankly the praise is completely justified, as this show probably represents the very peak of the company's business with the roster, creative team and production team all firing on every cylinder to provide a blueprint for what a Sports-Entertainment spectacle should be. If you wanted to show any doubters that professional wrestling was a big deal, you would have sat them down to marvel as 68,000 fans going out of their minds for 3 hours, with a production setup that made U2 gigs look understated and cheap. Every match on the card was there for a reason, and everyone on the roster was over. Never before, and never since, was the term "Superstar" such an appropriate term for anyone who was a WWE wrestler. Watching this thrill-ride of a show, perhaps the only weakness is the finish of the main event as (with hindsight) turning Steve Austin heel in Houston and aligning him with Vince McMahon was an act of astonishing stupidity. Many people cite this decision, alongside the ascendance of Stephanie McMahon to the head of creative, as major reasons why the company never quite reached this level again. Regardless of whether that is the case (and it's extremely debatable), on the night the finish did nothing to detract from a quite remarkable show. If anything it left the audience with every reason to believe the following year would be unmissably fascinating, with the McMahon's purchase of WCW surely about to begin the most eagerly awaited angle in history, and Stone Cold Steve Austin making the biggest heel turn since Hulk Hogan. History shows 2001 didn't work out that way, but that's not Wrestlemania X-7's fault, and this list would be farcical without it.

Wrestlemania XIX:

 

If Wrestlemania X-7 was the peak of the attitude era, Wrestlemania XIX was perhaps the event that showed that there would be life after the Monday Night Wars.

If this show didn't quite hit the heights of X-7, it's probably due to the first four matches being somewhat rushed considering their potential. Matt Hardy and Rey Mysterio had a nice little opener for the cruiserweight title, but at under 6 minutes these two were never able to truly showcase their abilities. Trish Stratus, Victoria and Jazz all had in-ring abilities to put the vast majority of today's Divas to shame, but a 7 minute Triple Threat match leaves very little opportunity to create a true "Wrestlemania Moment". The bout between Team Angle (Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas), Los Guerreros and Chris Benoit & Rhyno highlights a tag division that 2012 would truly benefit from (especially notable considering RAW had a completely separate tag division at the time), and giving them more than 8 minutes would surely have allowed these great workers to make some magic. As it stands, these were all decent matches so any "what might have been" criticism is probably a little harsh. This was probably the first Wrestlemania that would have benefited from WWE's later switch to a 4 hour show (without having to resort to the sort of complete dreck they throw in to pad the show now).

As for why this show was great, the second half of the show provided a card that would stand up against any other. Shawn Michaels' Wrestlemania return was an instant classic. Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon had the kind of precisely booked, surprise filled and entertaining brawls that only WWE have ever been able to pull off with supposed "non-wrestlers". The Rock and Steve Austin finally ended their rivalry with something of a Greatest Hits match that was as good a tribute and sendoff to the Attitude Era as anyone could hope for. Finally, Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar overcame Angle's major neck injury, and Lesnar knocking himself out before the finish, to give Wrestlemania its most athletically legitimate main event ever. To see an Olympic Gold Medalist and a former NCAA Champion (not to mention future UFC World Champ) go 20 minutes in front of 54,000 rabid fans showed just how far the in-ring product had moved on since the era of Hogan and Andre.

Whilst the Undertaker/Jones vs Big Show/A-Train and the HHH vs Booker T matches were ultimately disappointments, you would be hard pressed to put on a 3 hour broadcast with a better product than this show had. If that isn't reason enough to put it in my top five, the sudden and inexplicable proliferation of rolling prawn holds in the matches surely seals the deal.

...

Somehow knowing you've only got one more pick makes a final decision that much harder. There are a lot of "modern" Wrestlemanias that I've loved for various reasons. Wrestlemania XX was my first in person, at the greatest arena in the world (MSG), and featuring the most genuine feelgood ending in the history of the business, with longtime friends and underdogs Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit standing on top of the business as world champions, sharing the moment with each other, their families and 18,000 fans shedding more tears than such a testosterone-fuelled pursuit should produce. Events that followed have obviously soured this moment somewhat, but at the time it was like the wrestling gods were smiling on the hardcore fan like never before. Sadly a bland undercard hurt the show.

Wrestlemania 21 had Shawn Michaels vs Kurt Angle and the birth of Money In The Bank, but the main events were completely forgettable.

Wrestlemania 23 was a strong card from top to bottom with an excellent main event in HBK vs John Cena, but there's nothing about the show that stands out as a true "Wrestlemania Moment".

Wrestlemanias 25 and 26 gave us the HBK vs Undertaker series, possibly the greatest pair of matches in the history of the event, but this excellence is spread too thinly to feature here. 

 

With a lot of strong cards and spectacular events in the "20s", one stands out as clearly the finest modern Mania:

 

Wrestlemania 24:

 

This show has everything that makes Wrestlemania the event that anchors the entire wrestling calendar. Huge crowd, spectacular venue, incredible production and a card fit to burst with great action, hot feuds and fascinating attractions. With so much to focus on, from the fun Finlay/JBL brawl to open, probably the best of the Money In The Bank matches, a strong triple threat match between HHH, Cena and Orton, a perfectly booked and entertaining celebrity attraction in Big Show vs Floyd Mayweather to a phenomenal main event as Undertaker's streak is too much for Edge, there is one match that stands alone.

The "Career Threatening Match" between "Nature Boy" Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels is, quite simply, the finest example of professional wrestling as narrative art you are ever likely to see. Both men have had matches that were technically better, as you'd expect when their combined age was over 100, but if you want to show somebody why professional wrestling can tell a story in a way that no other medium can then you show them this match. The video package that precedes it shows non-fans just how big a deal "Naitch" has been for the last 30 years, whilst presenting HBK as the guy who went from idolising Flair to being the best in the world himself. The "Old Yeller" reference in the feud was the most inspired piece of writing I have ever seen in wrestling, somehow managing to turn two men in lycra pretending to fight into a heartbreaking story of mortality, pride, respect and, ultimately, love. If this sounds somewhat grandiose, take another look at the moment when this fusion of scripted story and 30 years worth of real life; memories shared with millions of fans around the world, boils down to the moment when Michaels speaks for us all as he clearly mouths "I'm sorry, and I love you" to his hero before delivering the final blow. No other art form blends reality and fiction in quite the same way, and it has never before been done with such perfect circumstance and execution.

Seeing Ric Flair take his final bow, and the genuine outpouring of emotion from everybody present, it was a moment that couldn't have taken place anywhere but Wrestlemania. If WWE had cancelled every other match on the show but this one, Wrestlemania 24 would still be one of the greatest of all time.

Wrestling Natters Ep. 4 - Steve's (typed) thoughts

I really think I need to watch the show again sometime, I think the combination of being utterly deflated by the booking of the first hour, being very tired in the not so early hours of the morning and naturally needing to keep the volume fairly low (in order to not be complete arses and keep Louise awake!) and therefore not getting the atmosphere quite so well may have led to me judging the second half of the show harshly. This is not to say the show was without significant problems, it really was. I'd just be interested to buy the BLU-ray (mostly for the HOF ceremony) and see what I think on second viewing. With that in mind:

Bryan vs Sheamus

A complete error of judgement. I like Sheamus a lot but creative has let him down with this push. There's been no momentum behind it and it's come across as forced, leading to him getting booed at Mania during his entrance. Not his fault, and a real shame. Meanwhile, Bryan has evolved his character into something that genuinely stands out. These two could have had a real mood-setting opener with the powerhouse vs sneaky technician dynamic. Instead the crowd and home audience gets slapped in the face having paid for the most expensive broadcast in all of entertainment. The only upside of this is that I think WWE got the message, and hopefully this will lead to good things for Bryan.

Kane vs Orton

Exactly what I expected. Would have been fine other than it really needed to bring people up after the Bryan debacle. Orton hasn't meant less in a long, long time, which is ironic as I think he's never been better.

Big Show vs Cody Rhodes

Meh. Show gets his moment by winning a belt that was last actually defended in 1974. No drama in this at all, and still failed to bring the crowd back up.

Divas match:

Frigging awful. There is a good divas division in the company now. Beth is awesome, but even Kelly and Eve are pretty decent in the ring nowadays, and watching them all selflessly doing everything they could to protect a celebrity that absolutely nobody cared about was just sad. Kudos to them and I hope they get something better to do next year.

Hell In A Cell:

I saw this very differently from Ben. Phenomenal part 2 to last year, that actually makes me look back on that match more fondly. They will never make the streak look more under threat again, and the facial expressions, psychology, timing and selling from all three guys was above and beyond what anyone else on the roster is capable of. This was special, and the visual of Taker and Michaels helping Hunter to the back was an unexpected and beautiful end to a very long story.

Team Terry vs Team Jimmy

Exactly what it was supposed to be. I didn't care much but it didn't suck and gave about 16 people a spot on Mania in a segment that had storyline significance. Fine for what it was.

Punk vs Jericho

This is where I think fatigue was killing me. I'm pretty sure this was a great match between two of my absolute favourites but I just never got into it. Needs a second viewing.

Rock vs Cena

I think the abysmal Brodus Clay segment and the horribly misjudged music segments finished off my enthusiasm before this match even started. Such a shame because they seemed to be working hard and I've been looking forward to this match for a year. All I remember is the appallingly applied sharpshooter and STF pissing me off more than usual. Second viewing required.

Things are looking god following RAW, Rocky wants the WWE title, Punk vs Jericho heated up further, A-Train/Tensai gives the roster some added depth, there was a sign that Bryan isn't about to be buried, Del Rio is back...oh yeah, and Brock Frigging Lesnar has signed for a year. Interesting times ahead...

Wrestling Natters Ep. 4 - Ben's thoughts

Wrestling Natters Ep. 4

Wrestling Natters 16.3.12

http://yourlisten.com/channel/content/118586/Wrestling%20Natters%20Ep%203

Delayed 28.2.12 Show

The second Podcast...A bit longer than planned. Lesson learned: Don't review episodes of Raw. Here it is:

The Performative aspects of Professional Wrestling in its mediated form (television) and its fans.

Ben:

Back when I was at University studying Media Production I figured out a way of crowbarring my love of wrestling in to projects on two occasions. One was a documentary film which I directed, presented and edited about British Wrestling. It wasn't great and I don't know if I even have a copy (and if I do it is on VHS). If I do ever find it and convert it to an uploadable file, you will be the first to know. The second time was in my final year disseration. Again, I don't have a copy of the final product (I didn't pick up a copy before leaving - though I think it might still be available in the Lincoln University library) but I did get a friend to check it over and she kindly emailed me her annotated copy of one of the drafts. What I present to you here is her copy, with the annotations removed. I believe this was the draft before the final one. It also didn't have completed footnotes or the bibliography. I have not reread it, so there may be some nonsense within it but I hope you find it an interesting read:

The Performative aspects of Professional Wrestling in its mediated form (television) and its fans.

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) pays its on-screen performers $22,376,000¹ per annum and up until the 3^rd March this year (2007) its flagship show WWE RAW has achieved an average Neilson rating of 3.93² in the USA, that is 3.93% of the television households of the USA tuned in. Its annual WrestleMania event has sold 63,000 tickets (over $5,000,000's worth) to people in 22 countries³. It is interesting that, in spite of these facts, there does not seem to be a definitive study of wrestling fans. In fact, academia has neglected professional wrestling as a whole⁴. There are two reasons why so little has been written about wrestling fans. The first reason is that professional wrestling is seen by many academics, including some who enjoy wrestling, as “disreputable”⁵ due to its fakery. Although the fakery is integral to wrestling being what it is, fans and wrestlers are frequently called upon to defend their decision to watch or participate in wrestling against those who use the word 'fake' in a derogatory manner. For example, the introduction to “Steel Chair To The Head” by Nicholas Sammond is called “Introduction: A Brief and Unnecessary Defense of Professional Wrestling”⁶. Second generation professional wrestler Jeff Jarrett, clearly tired of being asked about wrestling and its fakery, says, “For those who believe you don't need an explanation. For those who don't believe no explanation will do.”⁷ The second reason little is written on wrestling fans is that fan studies themselves have been seen as disreputable, with suggestions that the academics involved in such studies romanticise the fans and “put them on a pedestal as subversive and oppositional readers”⁸.

It was difficult to find resources on both the topic of professional wrestling and fandom. There are good existing fan studies not focused on wrestling which have been helpful. These non-wrestling fan texts are a good frame of reference for what a fan study should be. They have helped me see where wrestling fans differ from other fans, as well as pointing out ways in which they are similar. However, “Textual Poachers” and “Adoring Audiences” were both first published in 1992, making their observations of fan communities and technology out-dated. “Knowing Audiences” was a helpful resource but it must be noted that this book is about audience. Audience and fan are not the same. Out of the little academic writing on professional wrestling there is, “Steel Chair to the Head: The Pleasure and Pain of Professional Wrestling” and the dissertation “The Operational Aesthetic In The Performance Of Professional Wrestling” were among the most helpful. “Steel Chair to the Head” is a book of fourteen wrestling related articles, most of which were helpful to some degree (with the exception of the articles about the social importance of masked wrestlers in Mexico). Roland Barthes’ “The World Of Wrestling” is a most valuable source for studying wrestling and is quoted in ten of the thirteen other articles in this book. However, as it was written in 1957, some of its observations are hard to apply to contemporary professional wrestling fans. In addition it is important to note that “The World Of Wrestling” was written about wrestling in France which is not a nation that has a large national wrestling product like North America⁹. Although Barthes defines wrestling as “not a sport”¹⁰ his perspective is from before the inner workings of professional wrestling were understood by a significant proportion of fans, thus his text largely ignores fans that I will later describe as 'Smart'. Despite Barthes' 1957 essay, “Steel Chair” does contain more updated perspectives. However, it still is mostly ineffective at discussing the impact of modern technology such as the internet¹¹. Sharon Mazer's article “Real Wrestling”/ “Real” Life has been very helpful. Her attendance at professional wrestling training sessions¹² has enabled her to gain a good level of knowledge of how wrestlers try to communicate with the fans, how the fans communicate with the product and the effects of that communication. “The Operational Aesthetic In The Performance Of Professional Wrestling” has a section on the history of professional wrestling which supports almost everything in the documentary “Body Slam”. Lipscomb III also has sections about fan participation at events, analysis of five different websites, Backyard wrestling, and wrestling on television, all of which link, in some way, to my dissertation. However, attention must be drawn to a few things. The article uses unreliable sources such as “The Complete Idiots Guide To Pro Wrestling” by Lou Albano and Burt Sugar, which is derided and includes several inaccuracies, such as incorrect names¹³. Furthermore, the thesis itself has some large errors in factual information in regards to professional wrestling.¹⁴

Like some other writers of academic texts about fandom, I have had to take into account my own fandom¹⁵. However, my own fandom has been especially useful in gaining the trust of the wrestling fan community. Wrestling fans, especially those that take part in Backyard wrestling¹⁶, as well as fans in general¹⁷, are wary of outsiders. Through my knowledge of wrestling facts, terminology, up to date rumours and, most importantly, it would appear, a respect for the wrestlers and the wrestling industry¹⁸, I became a trusted member of multiple online wrestling communities (including, but not limited to, UK Backyard Wrestling, WrestleCrap, Wrestling Gamers United) as well as attending a meeting and a wrestling screening by the (currently unofficial) University of Lincoln Wrestling Society. It must also be taken into account that if I were not a fan myself I would not therefore be without bias.

Traditionally there are two types of wrestling fan. Customarily, a Mark is a wrestling fan who accepts what is presented to them as fact (or that it is a “shoot” as opposed to a “work”). A Mark believes that the fights are legitimate and the storylines are truth. Since at least 1989, when Vince K. McMahon, owner of WWE, supposed self-made billionaire¹⁹ and the most powerful man in wrestling, admitted that wrestling was not a sport Marks have changed²⁰. Those who believe wrestling to be real are often very young children. However, someone who does not know the inner workings, I would suggest, could also be considered a Mark. For example, someone who believes that all blood in wrestling comes from blood capsules would be considered a Mark, as a Smart (the second type of fan) would know that wrestlers 'blade' (the act of cutting oneself with a small razor to create the illusion of an injury caused by a wrestling move²¹). Marks would also not know the reasoning behind booking decisions or the reasoning behind what happens in the ring (ring psychology). Marks will usually cheer for the wrestlers that are 'faces' (someone intended to be a fan favourite) and boo the 'heels' (villians).

Smarts²², on the other hand, know about the inner workings of the wrestling business. Smart fans like wrestlers based on athletic ability, believability, 'mic skills' along with other criteria such as an innovative move set or willingness to take 'bumps'. Smarts will applaud what they consider to be good booking as well as good in ring performances. They will also criticise certain promoters for pushing wrestlers they deem unworthy, for example Smarts criticising Vince McMahon for pushing wrestlers based on their physique or look above their wrestling ability²³, poor or tasteless storylines²⁴ and poor gimmicks²⁵ (wrestling parlance for character, although the word gimmick is used in other ways within wrestling terminology, see glossary).

However, the terms Mark and Smart are both false labels. There are inherent flaws to these labels because there is a large cross over. There is no single moment of enlightenment, rather there is a gradual learning process. The word Smark or Smart-Mark is often used and it accurately describes every fan other than the wrestlers themselves (considered Smart²⁶) and young children who believe wrestling to be true (Marks). There are, of course, non-fans who know nothing about wrestling but I would not describe them as Marks as to be a Mark you must also be a fan. The labels Smart and Mark are also problematic because they are based on a fan’s definition of themselves. There is no one defined set moment when a Mark fan becomes a Smart fan. It is based on self-definition and thus problematic. A Mark can know what a Smart fan is without labelling themselves as one. However, some would argue that to be aware of two types of fan would be to be aware of some partial understanding of the inner workings and would make you a Smart.

Due to the multiple different definitions of these terms from various sources and their inherent flaws I shall come up with my own definitions for the terms as a way to differentiate types of fan. Hereinafter, Smart will mean not only someone who knows that wrestling has predetermined match endings with written story-lines, and has a knowledge of the inner workings of wrestling. To be a Smart a fan must also be someone who has actively pursued further knowledge of the wrestling industry and who has had opinions on the booking of wrestling matches and story-lines based on what would make sense for a promotion as a business. Marks will be considered people who have not actively pursued knowledge of the inner workings of the wrestling industry and who accept the product that is given to them.

Due to the lack of literature in this field a large proportion of my research has been conducted from texts written for and by fans. These include magazines, wrestling web sites, wrestling autobiographies and books written for fans about the inner workings of wrestling. Although I am aware of the possibility of bias within these texts, especially autobiographies, I feel that they are important. Wrestling autobiographies are biased to the opinion of the author but they verify the inner workings of wrestling, as do books like “Turning the Tables: The Story of Extreme Championship Wrestling.” As I have mentioned previously, very little has been written about wrestling websites, because of this it was necessary to look at wrestling websites to be able to write about fans interaction with them.

Due to the lack of sources I felt it necessary to conduct my own interviews. I organised a focus group which was attended by six fans. These fans came from the (currently unofficial) University of Lincoln Wrestling Society, which is a group of Smart fans. I also conducted a one to one phone interview with a wrestling fan and sent out questionnaires online. Due to my interviews being with, and the majority of questionnaire replies coming from, Smarts, my research is going to be skewed to the perspective of Smarts more than Marks. Smarts are more easily identifiable as fans through their usage of wrestling message boards and naming wrestling as an interest in their biographies. Smarts could be seen as the 'true fans' and Marks merely 'observers'.

Chapter One: Motives for (TV) professional wrestling fandom

John Fiske states that fandom is “associated with the cultural tastes of subordinated formations of people, particularly those disempowered by any combination of gender, age, class and race.”²⁷ He argues that wrestling fans are working class²⁸. The characters portrayed as villains are often authority figures, for example Lord Alfred Hayes, whose name, dress and accent “all parody the traditional English aristocrat”²⁹ and is a “carnivalesque metaphor of social power and status...there to be laughed at.”³⁰ This example is quite old but currently World Wrestling Entertainment has a wrestler named Lord William Regal who is very similar; claiming to be knighted (social power), speaking in an exaggerated posh accent (status), and recently seen slipping around in tomato ketchup and mustard (there to be laughed at)³¹.

Another noticeable thing about wrestling fans is their age. The age range of wrestling fans is very broad, however there is a large portion of fans who 'grow out' of wrestling³². This again suggests fans are disempowered. Those disempowered by age get older and are therefore no longer disempowered. This is seen more in young Smart fans, as Marks do not engage so much in fan communities and do not look to learn about the inner workings. Marks do not wish to use knowledge of wrestling to prove their worth. Or, as John Fiske would put it, they do not use “Popular Culture” to fill in the gaps left by “Legitimate Culture”³³.

I would suggest that not all wrestling fans are low achievers and that this idea about wrestling fans is, to some degree, outdated. Fiske wrote about wrestling in “Understanding Popular Culture” in 1989, before the inner workings of the wrestling industry were as well known as they are now. Before the plethora of “Shoot interviews” (interviews that break 'kayfabe') and wrestling documentaries were released in the late 1990s to the present day, wrestlers rarely broke 'Kayfabe'. This has possibly led to a wider audience appreciating wrestling from a new perspective. Never before have the fans been so visibly rebellious as they are today. It is now not just a case of the crowd cheering for a working class wrestler and booing the evil foreigner, but an appreciation of athleticism and 'ring psychology'. Crowds are wanting more three dimensional characters as opposed to the cartoon characters of the past. An example would be the Raven/ Tommy Dreamer feud in ECW, 1995. Raven hated Dreamer who was his childhood friend. Beulah McGillicutty, who was another “childhood friend” fell in love with Dreamer at a summer camp. However, at the time she was fat and was rejected by Dreamer so she slept with Raven. When this feud was underway McGillicutty (now attractive and slim) was introduced into the 'angle' and was sided with Raven. Sometime into the feud she announced she was pregnant but, shockingly, with Dreamer's child. She sided with Dreamer. Raven, a grungy loner, would be expected to be the good guy in this feud, and Dreamer, a 'jock,' the bad guy. This was not the case. Due to different factors, such as Raven playing the character of a whiner who surrounds himself with “flunkeys” such as Stevie Richards and the Blue Meanie, the fans wanted Dreamer to win, so this was based on more than just good versus evil, working class versus middle class, good looking versus ugly or 'jock' versus loner. The fans cheered for Dreamer because they liked his character’s persona and as a character he pledged allegiance to the ECW (claiming that Raven would go where the money was)³⁴. Also, to suggest that wrestling fans cheer the working class and boo the upper class ignores the fact that wrestlers are constantly 'turning' (that is, changing from 'face' to 'heel' and vice versa). Although William Regal is currently a villainous heel and has been for the majority of his career, he has also spent a large period of time in the role of the 'face'. Indeed, he has formed alliances with a former “foreign menace”³⁵ Yoshihiro Tajiri and the 'loveable' simpleton Eugene Dinsmore in the past, where he has played the role of a kind gentleman.

The original reason for wrestling's fakery was not to make it more exciting than boxing or to guarantee shows would go their advertised length, in fact length was actually a problem before the Great Depression because matches lasted up to several hours. The original reason for wrestling being fake was so that unscrupulous promoters could con the gambling spectators³⁶. However, wrestling continued being rigged even after gamblers began being suspicious and gambling at wrestling became uncommon. Fans actually feel that knowing about the fakery is “liberating rather than constraining”³⁷. Through interviews, questionnaires and perusing internet wrestling forums it has become apparent to me that wrestling fans watch wrestling and enjoy specific genres of wrestling and different wrestlers for varying reasons. Before I go into more detail about these findings, I will first look on a much broader scale at why people watch wrestling.

One argument for why people watch wrestling is a desire for the “dramatic re-enactment of rituals”³⁸. It can be stated that wrestling is 'on a loop' in that it is just a perpetuation of the same stories over and over again, with different characters. This is comparable to generic film types (action films, romance films) and television shows³⁹ (soap operas). Whilst I partially agree with this in terms of the story-line element, fans do react very well to story-lines that are of a more innovative nature⁴⁰. However, no matter what happens within a story-line, it must culminate in a match. The fact that all story-lines must culminate in a match does mean that all story-lines have a samey quality to them. If a story-line is seen as successful it will be repeated⁴¹. In this respect it is a re-enactment of rituals. However, within a match fans often prefer things to be changed, criticising wrestlers like Steve Blackman for only having one match⁴². Having said that, when wrestlers such as Hulk Hogan or Steve Austin return from long hiatuses fans are often said to be disappointed if they don't see Hogan’s famed 'Atomic Legdrop' and gesturing or Austin’s 'Stone Cold Stunner' move⁴³. Wrestlers try to get their trademark moves 'over' (ie make the move seem reputable to the fans so that they react well to the moves). So, it would appear that people like repetition within matches in terms of 'trademark/finishing' moves but people like matches to be sequenced differently and the inclusion of different or new moves to a wrestler’s repertoire occasionally to stop things becoming “stale”⁴⁴. People enjoy such repetition because it helps them feel part of a society as it gives them something to share. In the words of Michael R. Ball, “[it] helps us identify ourselves as members of a common people, so it's extremely important.”⁴⁵ Wrestling is as repetitious as it can be, clearly noting that people enjoy knowing what is going to be said during promotional interviews hence the use of catchphrases and the repetition of moves that people like. Catchphrases, as well as physical gestures, are very popular among fans because they make people feel part of large social group. I, as well as William Lipscomb III, have heard people use wrestling catchphrases in everyday conversation⁴⁶. Wrestlers and promoters also realise they cannot show the exact same thing as the fans would grow bored. So, people enjoy the repetition because it allows them to be part of the aforementioned “common people” but they also like the surprise and excitement of when something new and interesting happens. This is comparable to televised soap operas. To illustrate this idea I shall compare WWE to classic British soap opera Brookside. Both Wrestling and Soap Opera repeat story-lines, for example WWE has had multiple story-lines where a wrestler who has broken his arm has worn his cast well after his arm has healed and used said cast as a weapon. In Brookside there were repetitious story-lines about debt and affairs. Occasionally both Wrestling and Soap Opera have come up with an interesting and new story-line that has garnered more viewing figures and media attention. WWE's boss versus employer feud between Vince McMahon and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin is seen as unique when it first happened and helped WWE get better ratings than World Championship Wrestling⁴⁷. Brookside had the UK's first pre watershed lesbian kiss⁴⁸ which got the show a lot of media attention⁴⁹. WWE and Brookside have also had their detractors when they have used story-lines audiences felt were in poor taste, such as the story about incest between siblings in Brookside and the comments made by Randy Orton about the late Eddie Guerrero in WWE. Although repetitious, WWE does not give their audience identical matches. The moves used within a WWE match and the order in which they are used tend to be different from match to match. In a similar way, although Brookside had several similar story-lines, the dialogue was never the same twice. Wrestling moves within a match are arguably the equivalent to the words within a dialogue in a Soap Opera.

This explains why people watch wrestling, but also why people enjoy any repetitious form of entertainment. I shall now look into what makes people watch wrestling instead of, or as well as, soaps and movies. Through my questionnaires I have discovered that many male wrestling fans believe that there is an innate desire to witness violence⁵⁰. Whether or not this desire for violence is innate or not, and whether it is something seen more commonly in men is a long and interesting subject tackled by Allen Guttmann, but too complex an issue to discuss in depth here. It is fair to say that violence does appeal to a large portion of the population⁵¹ and violent legitimate sports are the oldest in the world⁵². However, multiple modern day wrestling fans’ morals stop them getting the same enjoyment out of competitive combat sports⁵³, or because they find competitive combat sports to be boring⁵⁴. It could be said that the violence within professional wrestling is actually as or more real than competitive combat sports due to there not being stoppages for injuries⁵⁵ (with the obvious exception of paralysis⁵⁶ or death). There is also no guarantee that combat sports will last any length of time whereas wrestling events will last the advertised length, which accounts in part for the negative reaction to ECW December To Dismember which only lasted 2 hours and 15 minutes (approx.)⁵⁷. So, one reason why people are fans of wrestling rather than legitimate combat sports is because it is violence with restraint, with the emphasis on entertainment rather than winning or losing and is seen as value for money in terms of how long it will last when compared to other competitive sports.

Fans also mentioned emotional connection to the wrestlers. This is also mentioned in wrestling autobiographies⁵⁸, training videos⁵⁹ and a wrestling training seminar that I attended⁶⁰. One major difference between professional wrestlers and actors or sports personalities is that there is a mix of real life and character. Many wrestlers go by their real names or use their character name more than their real names in social situations⁶¹. When asked what makes a good wrestling character, wrestlers often reply that the character should be the real person with “the volume turned way up”⁶². This mix of real and faux is also a reason for some criticism when it comes to “taste”, or lack there of, within wrestling. When Brookside had a story-line about incest it was not particularly well received. However, WWE owner Vince McMahon openly admits in his autobiographical DVD McMahon that he wanted to be involved in an incest angle. He put it to his, then pregnant, daughter Stephanie that when she give birth it be announced that he is the father. Stephanie turned this down. Although Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon and the rest of the McMahon family play characters, due to the characters sharing their real life names and relations these risqué story-lines are received negatively by Smart fans who feel these types of situations re-enforce the negative stereotypes of wrestling fans and find admitting to being a fan to be embarrassing⁶³. Many Smart fans dislike 'gimmicky' characters such as “Mantaur”⁶⁴ and “The Boogeyman”, although there is an ironic knowingness amongst the Smarts who congregate on the WrestleCrap forums to laugh at such unrealistic characters. One fan account claims his biggest emotional reaction to a wrestling story-line was Chris Benoit winning the World Heavyweight Championship, thus accomplishing his dream after 18 years as a wrestler. The fan says the emotional attachment was not forged because of the story-line feud with Triple H and Shawn Michaels, but rather because of Benoit’s “real life”⁶⁵ struggle for respect in a business dominated by “big men”⁶⁶. However, promoters realise that fans react more to real life events. Heels often make derogatory comments about the city they are wrestling in and the local sports team’s short-comings⁶⁷. They also include bigger world events, for example Sgt. Slaughter siding with Iraq during the Gulf War and more recently, Muhammed Hussan, who played a character that the television network deemed to be too close to a terrorist and had pulled⁶⁸. Wrestling also incorporates real life feuds. Often times wrestling fans are more interested in the “meta-narratives”⁶⁹, that encompasses the real life reason for the things that transpire within wrestling’s narrative. Toepfer talks about the Triple H/ Mick Foley feud being about Foley's real life injuries and imminent retirement more than the feud itself⁷⁰. More recently Adam Copeland (who plays the character Edge in WWE) had an affair with Matt Hardy's (another WWE performer) long term girlfriend Amy Dumas (Lita). WWE realised that because people knew that this affair had taken place through wrestling news websites and Matt Hardy's personal website it would draw people in. The character Lita was married to the wrestler Kane so the story-line was slightly confusing but the crowd were informed that the feud with Matt Hardy and Edge was real. This is what is called a Worked-Shoot. During their first match of this feud Edge won by knock-out (which is rare in professional wrestling) via a stamp on the head rather than one of his trademark wrestling moves. This gave the match an added sense of legitimacy as the wrestlers seemed to really hate each other, not scientifically exchanging holds but brawling and not performing many moves that seem to involve much co-operation. They also worked 'stiff' (hit moves/strikes with legitimate force) to add authenticity. Fans connected to this feud on an emotional level because they believed Matt Hardy to be legitimately wronged and Edge to be a real life Heel. However, there is a lot of scepticism on the part of wrestling fans when the real is introduced to wrestling. There are often conversations between wrestling fans about the validity of certain angles, matches and even individual strikes. A prime example of wrestling fans scepticism, and one of the few examples where I can say that it was definitely a 'shoot', is the reaction to the tragic in ring death of Owen Hart. Owen Hart fell 78 feet from a catwalk above the arena as he was about to make an elaborate entry in to the ring⁷¹. Due to a history of fakery, including a similar stunt where the wrestler 'Hawk' attempted to commit suicide by throwing himself off a high platform, the fans believed this too to be fake. Fans were heard laughing at first because they thought it was a comedy moment, as Hart was playing a comedic role at this point in his career. After multiple medics and backstage crew ran to the ring and performed CPR on him before removing him some fans believed this to be a poor taste angle, including one heard saying, “This is f---ing fake”⁷². Fans enjoy when they believe the fake to be real, but to achieve this they have to run the risk of the real appearing fake. “Wrestling has become so good at creating the illusion of disaster that when disaster does hit, it's very difficult to tell the difference”⁷³.

Ien Ang declares that people were fans of the soap opera Dallas because of its “emotional realism⁷⁴” as opposed to its actual realism. Wrestling fans realise that wrestling is almost otherworldly. Although wrestling acknowledges real world activities the action almost always takes part within the television shows. Occasionally we see something that has happened outside of the confines of the arena and timeslot of the television show, such as Latin American Xchange attacking Brother Ray's uncle in his pizza parlour⁷⁵. However, this is rare. Wrestling fans, therefore, connect to the angles due to their emotional realism as opposed to their actual realism, otherwise crimes such as assault and rape would not go unreported⁷⁶ and 140lb men would not be able to defeat 350lb men in a contest of strength⁷⁷.

A reason why Marks watch wrestling and attend events is to witness ‘freaks’ in a very similar vain to Freak Shows at circuses at the turn of the century. The WWE employ two wrestlers over 7 feet tall, one of whom is announced as weighing 500lbs. Some wrestlers are incredibly muscular (Scott Steiner, Chyna), some are Little People (Hornsquaggle), some have mutilated their body (Mick Foley), some suffer from diseases that cause their appearance to be unusual (The French Angel¹, André the Giant², Zach Gowen³). Smarts, although they often understand the appeal of seeing a “giant”, often dislike them as wrestlers as they believe them to be less good at wrestling. Wrestling is often compared to the circus due to the similarities of certain wrestlers to traditional Circus characters such as the Clown, the Acrobat, the Ring Master and the Strongman.

So, the potential reasons for professional wrestling fandom are multiple. Fans enjoy the sense of community they gain from knowing what catchphrases are coming up and what move might signal the end of a bout. They may be entertained by televised wrestling because of the feats of athleticism and strength. They could relish watching wrestlers in the same way people viewed freaks in old fashioned circuses. They almost certainly take pleasure in the emotional connection with the characters.

Chapter Two: Fan talk and its effect on (TV) wrestling

Many Smart fans of televised wrestling, like fans of other mediums, participate in fan talk⁴. Although some fans do not enjoy discussing wrestling on the internet⁵ a very large portion of Smart fans do. A generic search for “professional wrestling forums” (within quotation marks) on the search engine Google found 43,200 sites. The forum www.wrestlingforum.com has 160,523 members⁶. The internet is a very important source for wrestling news and conversation. At the time of writing, “WWE” is the seventh most searched for term on the Yahoo search engine⁷. Through forums and websites Smart fans openly critique wrestling promotions and wrestlers. This, along with how the audience react at live events, has the power to change story-lines within televised professional wrestling. Through fan discussion, fans can talk about what is good and bad about various wrestlers and promotions and then attend events and let their opinions be known via chants and crowd signs at wrestling shows. Fan reaction is seen by many to determine which wrestlers get 'pushed' and whether a wrestler is a Face or Heel. Before Kayfabe was broken by Vince McMahon “decisions as far as [whether you're] a good guy or a bad guy I think often came from... [the] promoter. Now the people decide who is good and who is bad.⁸” Vince McMahon himself became a wrestler because he knew he was a disliked character and people wanted to see him beaten up⁹. The most famous case in WWE's history of the fans having an effect on the product was their hostile reaction to Rocky Miavia. The fans, seemingly tired of two dimensional happy Face characters being forced on them by the WWE, started to chant “Rocky Sucks”¹⁰ and hold aloft signs that read “Die Rocky Die”¹¹. Maivia disappeared briefly and returned as a cocky Heel and became one of the most hated Heels and, subsequently, popular Faces of the 'Attitude Era'. However, Vince McMahon does not like to admit that the fans have any control over his product, claiming that he knows what the fans want more than they do¹². He has been known to take power away from the fans (making them a “powerless elite¹³”) by having the fans signs removed¹⁴ and dubbing over the fans chants when the events are not live¹⁵ (Smackdown!, reruns of RAW and ECW, recap shows such as Afterburn and DVD releases). This is comparable to Tim Burton's views on the fans of the Batman comic books who were worried about Burton's big budget Batman movie. Burton, like McMahon, wants his product to appeal to the masses, not to the fans because there is too much money involved. There is a history of wrestlers deemed unworthy by fans being pushed, for example Mark Henry who has been with WWE for eleven years and has been involved with main event feuds. However, fans do not understand why. Smarts see him as slow and unimproved since his first year, and from a business standpoint Steve Austin’s merchandise outsells Mark Henry's “two million to one.¹⁶” Despite this lack of success, Mark Henry continues to be pushed when he is not injured. The most unique example of the bookers of WWE going against fans would be the case of John Cena, a wrestling rap artist. Cena is strongly disliked by a large portion of the very vocal Smart fan community for several reasons. These reasons include being poor at wrestling¹⁷, his promos seeming very similar to the Rock's¹⁸, and a limited move set including a weak looking finishing move¹⁹. A large number of the male Marks also dislike him, believing him to be a “pretty boy”²⁰ and not much of an aggressive attitude²¹ (though this opinion has started to wane somewhat). He is liked by young members of the audience and female Marks. Although he was not turned Heel in spite of loud booing being heard at live events when Cena was wrestling, WWE turned this into an angle. John Cena would acknowledge the crowd disliking him but never turned into a Heel. Involving the fans in this way is unique and puts them in a position where they want to come to shows to “have a tiny speaking part.²²” Fiske states that “Fan magazines often play up to and encourage this sense of possession, the idea that stars are constructed by their fans and owe their stardom entirely to them.²³” Face wrestlers often play up to this during their promos²⁴, whereas when they turn Heel they talk about how they were hindered by their pampering to the crowd²⁵.

Fans, especially Smarts, strongly dislike inconsistencies. Wrestling is performed in front of a large, live audience who are acknowledged by the wrestlers, there are commentators and cameras that are also acknowledged. Due to the presentation of professional wrestling as a sport, Smart fans dislike wrestling being presented as though it were not as real as any other live sporting event. During Hulk Hogan’s feud with the Warrior in WCW (World Championship Wrestling) Hogan started seeing the Warrior in his thoughts. However, these thoughts were shown on screen, in that when Hogan looked in the mirror and saw a vision of the Warrior behind him, the audience too could see him¹. This was not only disliked by fans, it was also heavily mocked². As well as this, characters have been known to tell other people secrets in front of a camera and then the scene shown to the live audience at home and in the arena on the TitanTron screen³.

Other forms of inconsistency bother fans, such as story-lines that do not have endings. For example Booker T started receiving mysterious letters. After a matter of weeks these stopped and were never mentioned again. As well as such 'dropped angles' are angles that do not make any sense. After Vince McMahon ran Steve Austin out of the WWE he began to worry about the Undertaker. McMahon turned from a Heel to a Face and gave Austin his job back. Stephanie, Vince's daughter, was kidnapped by the Undertaker. Undertaker explained that he had done this because a “higher power” told him to. Austin sided with McMahon until it came to the day when the “higher power” would be exposed. The “higher power” turned out to be Vince McMahon. Vince still hated Austin and had given him his job back for seemingly no reason. Fans disliked this⁴. The reasons fans dislike these inconsistencies is not just because they make suspension of disbelief harder but because it reaffirms the negative assumptions about wrestling. This is mirrored in Smart fans’ opinion of homosexuality within wrestling. Although sexuality does not hinder wrestlers’ careers⁵, they rarely play openly homosexual characters. Homosexual male characters within WWE have never been subtle or played by actual homosexuals. These characters often wear make-up/elaborate face paint and move in overtly effeminate ways. Although some homosexual characters have got over as Faces, homophobic chants are aimed towards certain wrestlers, including at Total Non-stop Action's most recent pay-per-view where the debuting HeartBreakers who were representing the post-feminist character Christy Hemme received a “You suck dick!” chant. Smart fans are quite often ashamed to attend wrestling events due to the homophobia and anti-feminist standpoint of the current 'Big Two' promotions in America. Fiske talks about fans taking part in “semiotic productivity”⁶ he describes how “Madonna fans... made their own meanings of their sexuality rather than patriarchal ones”⁷, whereas in wrestling, especially the WWE, stereotypes are largely perpetuated and rarely challenged. For example, William Regal, the English gentleman, whether face or heel, speaks in a posh voice, uses long words and dresses smartly.

A small, but I would suggest important, backlash from the wrestling fans, and indeed wrestling journalists, who, it could be argued, are simply fans who have converted their “popular cultural capital” into “official cultural capital”, has occurred in relation to the wrestler Jeff Jarrett. Jarrett, TNA’s top heel, recently went on a sabbatical. Jarrett helps run the company as well as being a wrestler, which the Smarks have always known. However, this had, until his pre-sabbatical speech, never been mentioned on a TNA television show. However, during his speech he mentioned that he was tired because he had been “carrying the company on his back for four years”⁸. This was not news to the Marks but they did not accept it. To them it was “character rape”⁹. This admission to being a member of the TNA board went completely against his current character. The character of Jeff Jarrett had been responsible for stopping the crowd favourites from winning the world title, and he attempted to get out of matches he is now suggesting that he booked in the first place. Wrestling fans expect wrestlers to turn, but not when it means a complete change of character for little to no reason.

Unlike Marks, some of whom do not even know that there are promotions other than WWE, Smarts often have a vast knowledge of other promotions. That is why when WWE or TNA signs a wrestler from the independent or international leagues Wrestling fans get excited, but also concerned. In the same way that the fans of the 2000AD comic book series lowered their expectations when they heard there was a big blockbuster film being made about Judge Dredd¹⁰, wrestling fans expect wrestlers going to the WWE to not get their “desserts”. This is one of the things that wrestling fans discuss at length. They become concerned with the idea of repackaging of the former “indie” wrestler, as well as if he will be forced to 'job' (lose) to wrestlers they consider inferior. They also debate whether the wrestler fits the WWE style of wrestling, noting that WWE has less bumps per match but wrestle more shows.

The dialogue between Smarts and wrestlers is interesting. There appear to be two schools of thought when it comes to wrestlers’ opinions of the Smart community. There is one that I will describe as Old School and one that I will describe as New School. The wrestlers with an Old School attitude (Konnan, Triple H, John 'Bradshaw' Layfield et al) feel that Smarts miss the point of professional wrestling. For them wrestling is “mindless entertainment”¹¹. JBL has been very negative about what he describes as Internet fans¹². These wrestlers with an Old School attitude do not believe that the fans can understand the inner workings of wrestling because they are not themselves wrestlers and have never run a successful wrestling promotion. They also believe these fans place too much importance upon wrestling. Wrestlers with New School attitudes themselves (Matt Hardy, Rob Van Dam) understand the wrestling fans’ interest in the sport. It should be taken into account that the pro-internet fans wrestlers are often the ones who the fans feel are held back or deserve better since being signed¹³ from smaller promotions. The anti-internet wrestlers are often main eventers or wrestlers of the past generation of wrestling who were around before the internet was popular and documentaries had not been made exposing the industries secrets.

Within the internet fan community, wrestling fans talk about Marking Out. Sharon Mazer points out correctly that these moments are those which Smart fans enjoy the most¹⁴. However, I would argue that these moments are not necessarily when the viewer is 'conned' into believing the wrestling is real. This can be part of it, but it also includes matches that achieve something the fan has wanted (Benoit winning the title). It is less about being made to believe the fight is real but more about forgetting the fight is 'fake'. By this I mean the fans realise what a legitimate fight looks like (mixed martial arts such as UFC which consist of strikes and ground based submission holds) and these legitimate fights do not necessarily resemble a match or a moment that a fan will mark out for. However, a wrestling match filled with errors (such as Rico calling for Jeff Hardy to “hurry up”¹⁵) bring their attention to the fact the fight is not real. Fans also Mark Out for wrestlers and moves that they enjoy and have not seen in a great while. I have also heard the use of the phrase Mark Out applied to other areas of life when talking about childhood memories (“I saw Wizbit yesterday and I Marked Out!”¹⁶). The third way a fan Marks Out is for a particularly impressive move, especially one that endangers the performer. Mazer describes how fans chant “Holy shit!” at these moments. She claims “Holy shit” translates into “you made me believe” but I would argue it translates more to “you have just performed a move that endangered you for my entertainment and I am grateful.”

A number of Smart wrestling fans and also wrestling personalities hark back to a more innocent time. They, like the Batman television show fans of the 1960s, remember their era of television being more child friendly¹⁷. A large portion of the fans I interviewed suggested that there are a number of televised wrestling angles that are “tasteless”.

Chapter Three: Rewriting the texts – creation and editing

Although wrestling Smart fans are often seen as hyper-negative internet geeks¹⁸, they do not just passively consume what is given to them. They not only make comments about how the products can be improved through dialogue with each other¹⁹ and the wrestlers²⁰ via official websites, social networking groups, fan signs and chants, but also edit and create alternatives. With the invention of video and now DVD people have been given the option to fast forward or skip sections. This is the most basic form of editing that a fan can take part in. Others, before peer-to-peer file sharing started playing a major role, traded and sold wrestling tapes for a profit. Along with wrestling events and television shows compilations were also sold. A tape trader would take what s/he considered to be the best matches by a certain performer or promotion and place them on a video tape. They would also make tapes based around a single feud. Now, however, the power of editing has shifted to the Smart fans. As with tape trading, peer-to-peer file sharing of copyrighted materials is illegal. However, from the fans stand point it is a lot safer than buying from a trader because no money changes hands. The fans, via forums, conduct polls with each other to create lists of the top 100 matches, feuds, events, etc²¹ and upload them for sharing. Other people upload professional quality compilation DVDs of their favourite wrestlers best matches²². Some others make compilations of the worst in professional wrestling (know as WrestleCrap) for the sake of humour. The humour that is taken from WrestleCrap tapes is very self congratulatory in that the viewers often believe they could have created better gimmicks or had better matches²³.

Another form of editing is seen commonly on video streaming sites such as YouTube. The editing of music videos is common, and is used heavily within wrestling. There are even subgenres of music video. Some of these are known as 'Desire' videos, which are based on the videos created by WWF/E which were based around showing impassioned faces of wrestlers after winning belts or whilst in 'pain'²⁴, 'Botch' videos which show wrestlers making mistakes such as falling over, poorly executed moves, getting legitimately injured or being heard saying something they should not²⁵, as well as the aforementioned WrestleCrap, and Best Of's in music video form. However, WWE material is often removed from YouTube and similar sites due to copyright infringement²⁶. This seems to be especially the case with whole matches, which have the potential to be released (or are already released) on DVD at some point.

Within the file-sharing professional wrestling fan groups there appears to be a fairly clear hierarchy. This is possibly true of all the professional wrestling fan communities but especially of the file-sharers and those on message boards. There are several stages of file-sharing wrestling fans. There are those who have a 'low ratio' (meaning they download far more than they upload), who often appear to be Marks. Due to their lack of uploading, knowledge of wrestling and computer literacy they are semi-regularly belittled and often banned. Although I cannot be certain it would appear that these people are usually very young. At the other end of the scale is the knowledgeable, computer literate uploader. They are often the ones who arrange the polls, create DVDs, answer people’s questions and, probably most importantly, have the largest wrestling video library.

What would be very difficult to do through editing is come up with compelling story-lines and reasons why certain wrestlers are feuding. However, wrestling fans (both Marks and Smarts) do attempt to come up with their own story-lines and characters. They engage in a form of 'role-playing' which takes place in imaginary wrestling companies called 'eFeds'. People create their own characters and write their own story-lines and even matches. There are no set rules for how to run an eFed. Efeds (e-wrestling or fantasy wrestling) are very popular, although not as popular during the 'boom period' of professional wrestling in the late 1990's. A search on the search engine Google for ‘eFeds’ displays 154,000 sites. Some eFeds use video-games for their matches which is a reason why a large portion of people enjoy the 'CAW' (Create-A-Wrestler, sometimes called Create-A-Superstar) features in certain games. Efeds that use video-games often simulate matches (computer controlled character versus computer controlled character), which partially misses the point of professional matches: it is rigged for the purpose of entertainment.

It is fair to say that to engage in the previous examples of wrestling related productivity would make you a wrestling fan. However, participating in the act of Backyard Wrestling, especially during its most prominent era, does not necessarily make you a fan. Backyard Wrestling is a form of wrestling almost always performed by untrained grapplers. The fighting usually takes place in a backyard or a public park, although other areas such as beaches, forests and indoors, occasionally occur.

Within the professional wrestling fan community opinions on Backyard Wrestling greatly vary. During the mid-to-late 1990s, during the height of Backyard Wrestling’s popularity, the 'Hardcore' style was very prevalent in wrestling²⁷. 'Hardcore', and its even more violent 'Deathmatch' and 'Ultraviolent' variants, are forms of wrestling that allow the use of weapons. In fact, this style of wrestling has no rules at all. This form of wrestling includes a lot of wrestlers being involved in legitimately dangerous matches. These matches include, but are not limited to, matches where the ropes are replaced with barbed wire²⁸, matches where the winner must throw his opponent through a table that is on fire²⁹, matches where small explosives are attached to wooden boards³⁰, matches where the ring is surrounded by strip-light bulbs (light tubes)³¹ and matches where the fans bring weapons with them to hand to their favourite wrestler³². This genre of wrestling is unpopular with a large portion of the wrestling fan community, noting a lack of 'selling'³³ or 'ring psychology'³⁴ to the matches. However, this type of wrestling was very popular in the 1990s due, in part, to its authenticity. Marks were legitimately confused as to whether or not wrestlers such as New Jack and the Headhunters were fighting for real.

Jackass and, what the detractors call “Garbage wrestling”, have similarities in that they both involve elaborate stunts and feats of enduring physical pain. Due to the similarities there was a large cross over in terms of fans. Traditional professional wrestling fans attempted to distance themselves from Backyard Wrestling fans. Some may do this to add legitimacy to themselves in the eyes of the professional wrestlers³⁵, as wrestlers are often angered by the idea of Backyard Wrestling as it is dangerous. There is a fear, though less so than in the 90s, that some tragic event will happen in backyard wrestling and it will reflect back on professional wrestling³⁶.

However, within Backyard Wrestling fandom there are, again, two factions. One is the aforementioned hardcore Backyard Wrestlers, the other is Backyarders who seek legitimacy themselves. Often these Backyarders feel that BYW is portrayed badly³⁷. They believe that the Hardcore Backyard Wrestlers get all the publicity because it makes for a better story³⁸. Some of these Backyarders cite the fact that they cannot attend legitimate wrestling schools because they do not live close to one or cannot afford it³⁹. Others, such Gino 'Justin Sane' Hynes, are in the middle of their professional wrestling training and claim that they perform Backyard Wrestling because of the passion of it.

The whole phenomenon of Backyard Wrestling has spawned two video-games, which include computer generated versions of trained professionals such as New Jack and Vampiro in a Hardcore Backyard Wrestling match environment. It has also given us the Backyard Wrestling videos/DVDs. These are professionally released compilations of violent and dangerous stunts and matches. Backyard Wrestling federations themselves have released not only their own videos but also their own merchandise. Although these likely do not sell well now, there is some degree of fame and money to be had from wrestling fandom. The day before he made a special guest appearance at Courageous Championship Wrestling's “Frontline”⁴⁰ show in the summer of 2006, Backyard Wrestler “The Nature Boy” Steve Farrell received money off a wrestling toy from Kerrisons Toy Shop in Great Yarmouth. At this event he wrestled JN Pheonix and after the match signed autographs and took pictures with many of the Backyard Wrestlers and the audience. Farrell also sells an Ebook of his life story, centred around his 'career' as a Backyard Wrestler. Steve Farrell, along with some others from NAW, are wrestling in Vancouver, Canada currently which made it into the local news in Newcastle⁴¹.

Wrestling video-games are another area where Wrestling fans have made money from their expertise. Although some give away their product for free, for example Home Brew Wrestling, some also charge. These people are not seen as “hucksters”⁴² as might be expected. Matt Dickie is often seen in a negative light although this is not because he charges for his games but rather because people see him as being arrogant. Adam Ryland was signed to a video-game making deal after the continued success of his wrestling booking simulator. The yet to be released Pro Wrestling X has over a hundred pre orders⁴³ in spite of it being the manufacturers first game. Through over 400 letters from professional wrestling fans who want this game to be created, the makers were able to ensure a grant from the Canadian government⁴⁴. However, they may not be viewed as hucksters because creating video-games means they use legitimate cultural capital rather than a replacement for this capital, i.e. the knowledge used to create a video-game is usable in another arena (creating non-wrestling games).

Conclusion

Throughout this article I have suggested that there are two ways in reading televised wrestling. The first method of reading it is the way in which a Mark, or a Smart playing the role of a Mark, would read it. This way of reading accepts what is presented to them by the script writers. This is the intended reading of the text. The second is based on the real world as opposed to the world constructed by the promoter(s). This method is almost impossible to take part in if you have no access to the internet. Through various professional wrestling news sites fans can find out about recent backstage stories. The stories they get from these sites allow the fans to forge opinions away from both the wrestler’s ability and his current story-line. Wrestling fans, for example, knew that WWE and ECW champion Rob Van Dam would lose his title belts not because of lack of talent or because it was integral to his current story-line, but because he and his ECW co-worker were caught in the possession of illegal drugs. This allowed fans to make signs referencing the incident. A commonly used example is the match between Goldberg and Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XX (March 14^th, 2004). Both wrestlers were known to be leaving by the Smart community straight after the match. The audience booed and jeered throughout the entire match, only reacting positively to special guest referee Steve Austin hitting his finisher on both participants. This startling show of knowledge shows that the current batch of wrestling fans are at the Smart end of Smarkdom, to coin a phrase. The WWE dislikes the news sites but has had to accept them, and is currently attempting to make their own website (WWE.Com) more of a news site itself. The Smart fans, however, do not trust the news at WWE as it is WWE's prime directive to 'work' the audience.

I have also attempted to point out the hierarchical pattern of wrestling fandom. At the high end is the Smart who believes that wrestling is of some social importance and thus should have more interesting characters and less negative stereotypes. This Smart has a collection of wrestling footage that dates back many years and spans not only promotions but also continents. At the other end of the scale is the maligned Mark who takes everything at face value and chants along with the rest no matter what the words. Marks believe WWE to be the best wrestling promotion simply because they lack knowledge of other promotions.

However, my research is not without its faults. It is obvious that Smarts, who are sometimes referred to as the Internet Wrestling Community, are more likely to use the web, therefore it is more difficult to get a true idea as to the thoughts and opinions of Marks. Smart fans write articles, attend live independent wrestling events and congregate to the news sites and forums to discuss the meta-narratives of wrestling. We can tell a lot of what Marks don't do but finding out what they do is a much more complex task because there are almost no true Marks, only low end Smarks, and they tend to not define themselves as such. Also, when conducting a focus group, the group will never be able to act completely as they would and might even adjust their answers so as not to offend. There are also flaws with questionnaires. I attempted to minimise falsehoods by performing multiple research methods.

In the future more research could be done to prove or disprove my claim that wrestling fans’ effect on the product is absolutely unique to the medium of wrestling and if that is the case I believe that the subject deserves a lot more attention from academics than it currently receives.

1******

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5Fighting Spirit

6The adoring audience – the cultural economy of fandom, j. fiske p37

7ibid

8October 26, 2006 TNA iMPACT

9??

10JD book

11Konnan??

12JBL??

13Rob Van Dam from ECW after WWE bought it out and Matt Hardy after his brief hiatus after talking about the Copland/ Dumas affair on the internet, for example.

14Mazer

15WWE PPV

16Appendix

17Look it up!

18******

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20******

21PWTorrents forum

22J&M Productions - PWTorrents

23The adoring audience – the cultural economy of fandom, j. fiske pp 40

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40http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRX_4-zJJnA

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