Professional sports are widely considered to be an American institution, but are often overlooked by the intellectual crowd as a diversion when compared to creative pursuits like theater. Conversely, sports enthusiasts often dismiss theater as lacking the intensity that can accompany physical competition. One might think then that combining aspects from these worlds might result in a perfect hybrid form of entertainment, but it seems that two great things being better together works more effectively for candy bars than it does for sports entertainment—or as it is more commonly called, Professional Wrestling.
On the surface, it’s easy to see why both sides would dismiss this pseudo-sport as a pale imitation of either parent discipline. However, a more careful analysis can reveal the complex and surprisingly intelligent aspects that make sports entertainment a truly unique spectacle that can offer some of the best aspects of both theater and sport.
For better or worse, most observers get their first impressions of professional wrestling from the characters that create it—the wrestlers themselves. Typically adorned with muscles, sweat, and only enough clothing to avoid arrest, these men (and an ever increasing number of women) are tasked with performing all manner of stunts and feats in the ring. Although the days of trying to convince spectators that their matches are true competition are long gone, you’d hardly know it from the way the wrestlers conduct their business. Not only are they expected to flip and throw opponents around the ring in a way that appears to cause devastating physical harm, they’re expected to do it while both protecting their partner/opponent from injury. This strange dichotomy begs the question—is it harder to actually beat someone up, or harder to pretend to beat someone up?
As the wrestling matches unfold, the very best performers are able to tell stories through the back-and-forth struggle of competition. While traditional sports can achieve this level of drama, it’s typically only during the most intense games. By controlling the narrative of competition, pro wrestlers are able to leverage their spectator’s emotions at will. The very best performers aren’t known for their bulging muscles or their colorful spandex, but for their ability to elicit emotion from the crowd.
Yet for all the physical feats these athletes perform, and for all the creative storytelling they may achieve as they flip from rope to mat and back again, the real genius—and the reason I’ve been a fan for most of my life—is because despite the fact we all know that it’s just entertainment…or if you insist on being blunt, it’s all fake…the fans, the participants, the announcers, and the owners still pretend it isn’t. With a wink and a nod, we all willingly pretend that the underdog can win against opponents who might be twice their size. We’ll ignore that the hero has been beaten senseless, dropped on their head, and had their arm twisted from its socket in the hope that they can persevere. Despite the most brutal apparent beatings, we hold out for the good guy (or girl) to resurrect themselves through sheer force of will, and to ultimately win the day because that’s what we’d like to see from ourselves.
The fact that the action is scripted and the outcomes predestined has the same purpose in the wrestling ring as it does in any other fiction—it allows the players to execute their parts to their maximum potential and for enhanced impact on the audience. The same suspension of disbelief is effective in Hollywood, on Broadway, or in the case of the most recent political conventions, perhaps even in Washington DC. However, while I enjoy the scripted drama and faux struggle we can witness on screen or in the wrestling ring, our democracy isn’t supposed to be predetermined. Yet if the emails available at Wikileaks are to be believed, the DNC has much more in common with the WWE than voters should be willing to tolerate.
We accept the deception of pro wrestling because it is widely recognized as entertainment. We can choose to watch or ignore it at will, and the result on our lives will be largely without consequence. In sharp contrast, choosing to ignore the controversy that surrounds the Democratic National Committee and their leadership is a perilous choice that encourages further shady behavior from both major parties.
Perhaps worse than ignoring the collusion among Democratic party leaders, many political cognoscente are actively excusing the behavior that led to the shame filled resignation of the party's Chairwoman, Chief Executive Officer, Communications Director, and Chief Financial Officer. Pundits in blue seem quick to defend the actions of their party, citing the credible and decidedly unpleasant possibility of a Trump presidency as too serious a threat to risk.
I’m no pundit, but as a longtime fan of pro wrestling I say that painting Trump as an unstoppable giant is giving him more credit than he’s due. For his part, Trump is no stranger to the world of pro wrestling either. He’s made numerous appearances on WWE television and even played a part (albeit a lackluster one) in Wrestlemania 23. He’s a shabby excuse for a wrestling personality and a worse excuse for a political leader, so why would the DNC enhance his threat potential by undermining their own credibility?
When the DNC got caught stacking the deck against the greatest underdog in modern American politics, they lost credibility. Supporters of the party and indeed, democracy in general, were betrayed. This was not a case of building tension for a dramatic contest, this is—or at least is supposed to be—an important step in choosing our next president. Any excuse for subverting or even simply influencing the will of voters in the democratic primary process should be dismissed with the same contempt we hear for the constant flood of offensive and ridiculous sound bites from the Trump campaign. This isn’t entertainment, this is democracy. It's far too important to fake.
