World Wrestling Entertainment
So, what is it about World Wrestling Entertainment that I like so much? I hear critics
deride is as crass entertainment, not worthy of being on TV, scripted, fake, whatever.
Here's the thing about the WWE, as it's known (used to be WWF, until they were sued by the
World Wildlife Fund). Yes, it is scripted; yes, it is a man's soap opera; yes,
everyone once in awhile, you see some things that don't make a whole lot of sense. I don't really care.
I think that I have earned the right to comment on the state of the WWE. I started watching wrestling in 1969 when the names were
Chief Jay Strongbow, Bruno Sammartino, Gorilla Monsoon, Bob Backlund, and the Valiant Brothers. Nowadays, the names are John Cena,
Batista, the Undertaker, Bobby Lashley, and the Hardy Boys. In the middle we had Hulk Hogan, Yokozuna, the Iron Sheik, Sgt.
Slaughter, and the governor Jesse Ventura.
That's the first thing to notice about professional wrestlers today; most of them are very big, strong, and muscular guys. Those
who aren't muscular are fast and agile. The only athlete from the past who can match today's athletes in agility might be
Superfly Jimmy Snuka, and he was also muscular. The only ones who could have matched some of the physiques of today's athletes
were Superstar Billy Graham, Tony Atlas, and possibly Ivan Putski. Thing is, back then these guys were an anomaly; today, it's
the norm.
Want to talk about strong? The present WWE champion, John Cena has picked up men who have weighed over 500 pounds. Regularly,
there are 300 pound men who can catch other 300 pound men who leap at them in mid-air; that's just phenomenal. There are other
athletes, the ones who are more agile, who can leap almost the length of the ring, which is still the size of a boxing ring, and
do some of the most incredible moves that male and female gymnasts would be jealous of.
Next comes the women of today's wrestling. Back in the day, we had Mae Young and the Fabulous Moolah. Today, we have had four
women in the WWE who have been in Playboy, and all of them have been the biggest sellers for Playboy, even more than those with
famous actresses on them. Not only are they beautiful, but they're all very athletic.
The best thing about wrestling, though, is the smack they all talk. This has always been the case, and it's the same today. These
men and women get away with saying things that would get most people killed in today's world. And they're all good at it, the good
guys and the bad guys. It's changed somewhat from the past, though. Back then, the camera would spotlight each wrestler
separately, and they'd just spout whatever they wanted to say. These days, they walk up to an interviewer and either answer a
question or just rant away, but there's always a reaction on the interviewer's face as they're walking away. Still, this is a
great piece of acting, and it equals anything one might see on a Broadway stage, other than the singing, because it's live at the
time they're doing it, which wasn't always the case in the past.
And that's one more thing. If you've ever been to a wrestling event, the pace is fast, furious, and there's almost no wasted time,
except for the television shows. At a live show, the wrestlers come down to cheers or jeers, they battle in the ring, then they
leave and the next group comes in. No down time, no waiting around, and it all ends right when it's supposed to end. And, from
what I've seen, they can change up on the fly; if the show is running long, they adjust the later matches so they'll move faster,
and if it's running short, the later matches, which always feature the top draws at the time, will be extended so that the show
still ends on the mark.
And talk about work; these people work 320 days a year, traveling all over the country instead of being in one place. Sure, they
may only wrestle one match an evening, but they have to work out all the time, and I can attest that it's hard to do while on the
road for even 20 minutes, let alone two hours or so in a different city each night. Many wrestlers end up getting hurt, because,
even scripted, it's live, and it's physical, and then they'll have to miss a couple of months while they rehab. And there's always
someone waiting to take that person's place.
There are other brands out there, but the WWE dominates the market, and that's a testament to the owner and CEO of the WWE, Vince
McMahon, who's also a character from time to time on the show. I remember him as this little skinny young guy from way back when.
Now he's so muscular that he was on the cover of Muscle Magazine at age 60; wow! He's a master showman, and understands that his
wrestlers are a microcosm of the world. That being, the good guys aren't always so good, the bad guys are sometimes not all that
bad, the women are beautiful, and the little guy sometimes can beat the big guy.
And, maybe, that's the best lesson of all, and the reason that this, the WWE, is some of the best entertainment in the
world, no matter what the critics have to say. Personally, I prefer it over Ultimate Fighting
Championship any day. And they're not perfect, but they're always on the go, always ready to put on a show, even through tragedy. So, pick a show: Raw,
Smackdown, or ECW. It doesn't matter; they're all pretty good.
