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Editorials 
Strange Bedfellows: Pro Wrestling and Video Games
- By Brett
Fulesday
There are uphill battles, and there are uphill battles. And believe you me, this sucker’s the equivalent of TR and the Rough Riders (not to be confused with KC and the Sunshine Band) plowing up San Juan Hill.
Why?
Two words: pro wrestling.
* sound of mouses clicking the “Back” icon en masse *
Now that we’re alone, I’ll clue you in on a dirty little secret: I’m an unabashed fan of pro wrestling. It’s true, it’s true; been this way since Wrestlemania VI in ’90, I tell ya.
Yes, I know that pro wrestling is scripted (not fake – big difference).
Yes, I know that society raises a collective middle finger to those who watch the sport.
Yes, I know that if I had credibility at the beginning of this article, then I have already lost some.
BUT, I don’t care. Not in the least. I understand the risk that I take in proclaiming my partiality toward wrestling. Yet, I write this editorial to illustrate that, in the grand scheme of things, fans of professional wrestling and video gamers are roommates in the Noah’s Ark that is life.
What exactly is the tie that binds professional wrestling to video games (excluding the fact that THQ and EA produce wrestling video games)? Actually, a couple of ties exist, each of which is elaborate in nature; however, because this is not a term paper, I shall try to be as general – and, yet, as detailed – as possible, if that’s possible.
First, the Internet has revolutionized both the video game and the wrestling industries to the degree that classified information no longer exists. Given that GameCube’s purported release date is still seven months away, think about how much you know regarding GCN’s launch compared to the Super Nintendo’s launch. And do you know why we know so much?
Competition. Because of the glut of sources of video game information, a site or a magazine needs to establish its identity. Hence, writers expend more energy searching for “exclusives” than did Juan Ponce de Leon in his search for the Fountain of Youth.
The wrestling industry, meanwhile, no longer has skeletons to hide, for all closet doors have been ripped from the hinges by Keller, Meltzer, Scherer, and several others. Do you know why?
Again, competition. The downfall of Ted Turner’s onetime guilty pleasure has been chronicled on the Internet, all in search of a wee bit larger slice of mindshare pie. Moreover, consider that Tuesday nights have become as important as Monday nights for wrestling fans – all because of the Internet. Why? Because websites post SmackDown! results.
“So what?” you might query.
Well, running a show live makes for an edgier telecast, in that one cannot do retakes if, for example, an interview comes across poorly. Thus, announcers can use that lure of “anything can happen because we’re live” to help sell the action to wayward viewers (and, thus, increase ratings). For canned shows, however, that element of surprise is missing.
Second, regardless of the fact that video games and professional wrestling have become Big Business, outsiders still frown upon both industries. A May 10, 1999, article in Time discussed the merits of video games. One quote that struck a nerve came from Maryanne Culpepper, a mother of a then 17-year-old: “[Interactive media] is a culture that they [children] just slip into.”
Although Culpepper did not specifically comment on the video game industry or on individual titles, her mention of video games signified that she disapproved of certain aspects in the industry. Yet, one must still remember that she compared the video game industry to a cult. While Culpepper, in her comment, did not object to her son’s fixation on video games, she hardly gave the industry a ringing endorsement.
Professional wrestling, meanwhile, needs no introduction. To those non-fans, wrestling and Vince McMahon personify evil. In a May 1999 issue of U. S. News & World Report, Howard Spivak, chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ task force on violence, stated that WWF television programming served as “extremely inappropriate models for children.”
Combine this belief with the oft-publicized (and equally oft-refuted) findings of a study jointly conducted by Indiana University and the television program Inside Edition. In 50 episodes of Raw, the study reported 1,658 crotch-related gestures, 157 middle digit gestures, 128 references to sexual activity, and 21 references to urination. And you wonder why parents claim that television corrupts children, eh?
One cannot escape the conclusion that, at the least, the video game industry shares some similarities with the wrestling industry. Why did I want to illustrate this comparison? Because the next time you criticize a non-gamer for liking pro wrestling, remember that he could very well make an effective counterargument concerning your crush on video games.
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| "I write this editorial to illustrate that, in the grand scheme of things, fans of professional wrestling and video gamers are roommates in the Noah’s Ark that is life." |
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