http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxwdLJHf1LE&feature=fvst
By: Alex Torres & Cecibell Lowe
Art? Really now?
Although high athleticism, historically, is needed to hang in the world of professional wrestling, one should not forget it falls more in the realm of sports entertainment. The most successful performers have always been the ones who could combine their feats of athleticism and strength with a captivating presence, a firm sense of crowd psychology, and a strategic wedding to the Chairman’s daughter (seriously). Everything you see in the context of the wrestling storyline is called “kayfabe.” Kayfabe was once wrestling’s well protected secret, but due to the money shoots could make, the business is now a wide open book. Finishes are planned. Those personas you see may not be real. The feuds are all planned, a way to heighten the drama in the matches. Anything said outside of kayfabe is a shoot. The reason why we chose wrestling as an art is because in actually, because of kayfabe and the scriptedness of it all, it’s like a soap opera every week. Granted, excessive violence but there are mini-plots, the good guys, bad guys, plot twists, acting, good and bad acting really. The moves don’t always connect for safety reasons, just like gorgeous actors use stunt doubles to save their gorgeous faces. It’s all an act but a dangerous one because the risks wrestlers put on their bodies are real, making it a bit less soap opera and a bit more sport.
History Lesson Time!
Wrestling used to use the territorial system with independent federations working in their own areas. However, two things led to the collapse of this system: one federation decided to tour all over the world, which may not have been so crippling to the independent feds if it not for the same company’s decision to hold a massive event they could hold over pay per view in 1985. This company was the World Wrestling Federation (now known as World Wrestling Entertainment), and that event was Wrestlemania. Wrestlemania was a huge deal, with just under 20,000 fans in attendance (an unheard of number at the time), and over a million people watching at home, pretty much the largest PPV showing at the time.
Wrestling Has…Music Connections?
Rock Meets Wrestling.
This would also be a part of the Rock and Wrestling connection, part of Vince McMahon’s plan to get wrestling to have mainstream interest. Wendi Richter, the first recognized woman to dethrone the Fabulous Moolah’s impressive 28 year reign as women’s champion, was managed by Cyndi Lauper. Good ol’ Mr. T would be Hulk Hogan’s partner against Rowdy Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff. MTV would air matches during the build up to the event, Wrestlemania, which was held in Madison Square Garden.
Wrestling + NYC = ?
Wrestlemania would return to New York twice more: Wrestlemania X (1994) and 20 (2004). New York City is one of the most important places to hold wrestling events. From WWE to TNA to ECW to ROH and beyond, all wrestling feds have had significant history in NY. From smaller companies like Chikara where legendary Japanese Joshi Manami Toyota wrestled in Brooklyn as the main attraction, to companies like ROH that’ll hold iPPVs here, to the WWE, which’ll hold Survivor Series at MSG in 2011, it happens in NY.
