John Burgoon

Wrestling needs respect

 Professional wrestling is the greatest form of sports entertainment in the world. If you're a wrestling fan, you know what I'm talking about. If you don't watch professional wrestling, then you probably believe the out-of-date stereotypes about it that it's immature, ultra-violent and corny. Well, this article is for all you in the latter group.
Nothing on television comes close to professional wrestling in terms of drama, acting, athleticism and sheer adrenaline-pumping, laugh-out-loud antics and stunts you won't find on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," "Ally McBeal" or "Monday Night Football."
Okay, I know many of you think of professional wrestling as "Hulk Hogan and the Macho Man Randy Savage sweating all over each other using bad headlocks for the 10 millionth time." That was the World Wrestling Federation in the 1980s. That was World Championship Wrestling in the 1990s.
In the year 2000, pro wrestling has become a huge production, a very mainstream and fine-tuned show that rivals other professional sports and TV entertainment. It's the ultimate male soap opera that women also love to watch.
It is not that the NFL, MLB, NBA or NHL are bad. It is just that when it comes to pound-for-pound entertainment value, the WWF beats them all. Let me give you a few examples to prove my point.
Professional wrestling was one of the first things to ever air on television. It was also the No. 1 spectator sport in the world at the turn of the 20th century. A century later, the World Wrestling Federation is selling out the Houston Astrodome for Wrestlemania X Seven, doing something the Houston Astros couldn't do in all their years there and garnering more than $3 million in ticket sales.
Last year, the combined ratings of the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling equaled MNF. This year, WWF's earnings are larger than the combined payrolls of the New York Knicks, Giants and Jets. Four and five nights a week, the WWF puts on tightly structured events at the largest revenues throughout the country. Madison Square Garden, the Arrowhead Pond and the Staples Center are just a few, and the World Wrestling Federation has sold out in all of them.
Professional wrestling combines Hollywood, Shakespearean drama, Broadway and Olympic gymnastics. It is every kid's comic book fantasy come to life to see these superhero-type men and women battling sinister villains in matches of strength, endurance and raw violence. Tables are broken, chairs are dented and even thumbtacks and barbed wire occasionally come into play, all in front of 20,000 cheering men, women and children.
Critics believe that this choreographed violence is childish and/or boring because it is "fake." Well, it is far from fake. In fact, most wrestlers retire just after they hit 40 because their knees, hips, backs and even heads are so banged up that they simply can't do it anymore. Professional wrestlers are the working-class superstars of professional sports and are without a doubt the greatest athletes in the world. They deserve so much more respect than they already receive.
Going to a professional wrestling event is like going to a Fourth of July celebration, rock concert and summertime action movie all rolled into one. There are no disappointments, no home teams and or inter-fan violence or animosity. Everyone is a winner. You can approach the wrestlers afterwards and they'll be glad to meet you with a picture and an autograph; I know, I've seen it. Try getting Bret Favre or Shaquille O'Neal to stand for a few hours after a game to meet with young fans; I know, I haven't seen it.
Now some of the people reading this may call me a fool to think professional wrestling will ever be on par with the NBA or the NFL. Well, call me crazy, but it will be. One day, mark my words, when these other sports franchises have run their courses and they either go bankrupt or meld into one large conglomerate of overpriced tickets, jerseys and athletes, professional wrestling will still be alive and well, just like it has been for centuries.

John Burgoon is a junior majoring in creative writing.

Copyright 2000 by the Daily Trojan. All rights reserved.
This article was published in Vol. 141, No. 65 (Tuesday, December 5, 2000), beginning on page 4 and ending on page 5.