Pro wrestling musings.
I've been watching pro wrestling for a long, long time.
But never in my life did I ever think I'd see pro wrestling fans - nay, AMERICAN pro wrestling fans, cheering on a transexual/crossdressing character over the macho womanizing guy that were once adored by the general wrestling public.
It's a big step up really. I found it very uplifting - they were booing the homophobic one - that was the really exciting bit. Wrestling is something that I have largely accepted by it's very nature has an element of base homophobia - gay characters are often the 'bad guys' or 'heels' - so seeing one that has never been on before instantly be recognized by the fans as the good guy is magic. In fact, the most exciting thing of all was - he/she was doing all the tricks that the heel gay/crossdressing/transexual/anyone of anything approaching an alternate lifestyle - pretending to feel up the other wrestler, getting excited by a lockup, etc... and then the other guy would invariably freak out - but the magic part was the crowd were booing/laughing at his opponent BECAUSE he was so scared of it. Spectacular.
Now, for some jocularity for anyone unfamiliar with pro-wrestling - a little history:
When a wrestler is trying to hype him or herself up on TV, they cut what is called a promo - basically a hype talk about him/herself, or ragging on another guy to obtain some crowd excitement about an upcoming match or indeed just the wrestler in question. Now, normally these are of the kind like "Wrestler A, I'm sick of your crap - when I, wrestler B, step into the ring with you, there's going to be no tommorow!" and the like (generally however with a little more finesse). This brings me to a man named the Ultimate Warrior.
The Ultimate Warrior was a seriously affected, seriously (and quite unnaturally) huge guy who was very popular in the late 80s/early 90s. He wasn't really all that talented, just big - but he had this insane sort intensity which I don't think can be reproduced without using major chemical stimulants. With this in mind - his promos are possibly the most bizarre thing one could encounter. For you lovely ladies and gents, I present you with a small, entertaining collection with a little added backstory:
But never in my life did I ever think I'd see pro wrestling fans - nay, AMERICAN pro wrestling fans, cheering on a transexual/crossdressing character over the macho womanizing guy that were once adored by the general wrestling public.
It's a big step up really. I found it very uplifting - they were booing the homophobic one - that was the really exciting bit. Wrestling is something that I have largely accepted by it's very nature has an element of base homophobia - gay characters are often the 'bad guys' or 'heels' - so seeing one that has never been on before instantly be recognized by the fans as the good guy is magic. In fact, the most exciting thing of all was - he/she was doing all the tricks that the heel gay/crossdressing/transexual/anyone of anything approaching an alternate lifestyle - pretending to feel up the other wrestler, getting excited by a lockup, etc... and then the other guy would invariably freak out - but the magic part was the crowd were booing/laughing at his opponent BECAUSE he was so scared of it. Spectacular.
Now, for some jocularity for anyone unfamiliar with pro-wrestling - a little history:
When a wrestler is trying to hype him or herself up on TV, they cut what is called a promo - basically a hype talk about him/herself, or ragging on another guy to obtain some crowd excitement about an upcoming match or indeed just the wrestler in question. Now, normally these are of the kind like "Wrestler A, I'm sick of your crap - when I, wrestler B, step into the ring with you, there's going to be no tommorow!" and the like (generally however with a little more finesse). This brings me to a man named the Ultimate Warrior.
The Ultimate Warrior was a seriously affected, seriously (and quite unnaturally) huge guy who was very popular in the late 80s/early 90s. He wasn't really all that talented, just big - but he had this insane sort intensity which I don't think can be reproduced without using major chemical stimulants. With this in mind - his promos are possibly the most bizarre thing one could encounter. For you lovely ladies and gents, I present you with a small, entertaining collection with a little added backstory:
Click to view