Wrestling as American Theatre

Ever since I was a kid and saw the beauty that was Jeff Hardy Swanton Bombing off the top rope like a bird flying through the air, I knew I was a wrestling fan. My older brother and I tuning in to watch HHH walk out, sledgehammer in hand, with murderous intent in his eyes. Seeing Shawn Michaels frivolous attempts to end The Undertaker's streak. Jumping out of my seat every time I heard the numbers "6-1-9" like the win was a hard fought victory for the biggest little-man in sports entertainment. But as I got older, my taste "refined", starting my journey into the theatre world in which I love to this day. The more and more I understood about theatre through performing, reading, and watching, the closer I came to the realization that I've always loved it, just in a different way before.

I thought back to the pageantry and showmanship of the wrestling I grew up loving, and thought "wait a second, how is that different then what I do now?" Now I'm sure there are lots of people that don't want Professional Wrestling compared to Hamilton, but alas they are more similar then they are different. Wrestling as it is performance, is a form of performance art, so it can be traced back to roots in Greek Theater. Going by Aristotle's definition, theatre is defined by his Six Elements, those being plot, character, thought, diction, spectacle, and song. Plot being the story of the piece, character being those involved, diction as the spoken word, spectacle as the performative elements such as props or costumes, and song being the music involved in the piece. These elements give us a loose definition of what makes the something theatre. While not all elements need to be present necessarily, the lack of said element could be seen as part of the artistry of the piece(for example, a play with no talking would lack diction, but that lack of diction for sake of the piece fulfills the requirement).

When looking at these elements in professional wrestling they are as apparent as Seth Rollin's weekly outfits. Larger than life characters coming out to entrance music with pyro blazing behind them, in order to enter a match against someone who's done the same and telling a story through the twist and turns of the match. Though you could consider promos or the commentators as fulfilling the diction element, I believe that the wrestling itself, the moves, the bumps, the expressions, to be wrestling unique form of diction. Now, people have made the comparison to wrestling being a soap opera for big men but, while accurate, not exactly what it is. Because wrestling has two things as landmarks for its artform, that being a live audience and spectacle abound. The live audience adds a fundamental layer to the shows, whether that be from chants, boos, cheers, signs, or even the small interactions a wrestler has with a fan as they approach the ring. All these things are what make wrestling a unique live experience, as instead of only being able to view it from a screen, you are able to go to a match and participate in the universe yourself.

But what about the spectacle? Pro-Wrestling is top to bottom spectacle as again, coming from the music, ring gear, stadiums themselves, the moves they perform, and more. While it arguably makes the whole production feel bigger, the point of spectacle is to make the audience believe. Suspension of disbelief is what human's use in order to get emotionally invested in stories that we know are not true. Theater takes this to the next level as the characters are not on a screen but real live people in the same room as you. Professional Wrestling takes this to the extreme as a member of the audience not only believes the characters but believes the competition their competing in as well. The spectacle is the foundation to which the whole performance was based on and built around. The twist of wrestling compared to normal theatre is that the story is about the competition, and the competition through our suspension of disbelief, is meant to be honest.

That sense of competition that separates wrestling from traditional theatre is what I believe transforms wrestling into American Theatre. The American identity is intrinsically tied to competition. Economically, socially, and culturally, we are a nation of contestants doing our best to win in whatever way that is. Sports in America can consume people's whole identities, and are routinely the most viewed pieces of media the nation over. It consume our collective consciousness, as that is its purpose as a cultural practice, and therefore it has its social function. Sports are our lens into the American worldview, where the rules and nature of the competition make it fair and that we win if we have the merit to overcome our obstacles. This view is carried into every part of American life, the idea of fairness being implied and our failures or triumphs are entirely our own. But that is the ideal, not the reality. As we all know despite the adage all men are not born equally. Some are born bigger, leaner, meaner, etc. But the competition is the great equalizer as it makes stubborn rules and walls people have to follow, but those who already have the advantage before the walls are put up continue to be advantaged when put into the game. This forces struggle, an inequality of equality creates the most American idea in our culture, the idea of the underdog.

American idealism stems from the American Revolution and the idea of facing down a power much bigger and stronger than yourself, and winning. American theater is defined by that struggle, the plight of the common man, not kings and queens but regular people. This is what makes American theater different from its predecessors over the pond, as their focus was on the upper crust of society. This combination of competition and mentality is what drives some of the greatest American narratives, and again that idea of being an underdog. No other medium captures this essence so completely than professional wrestling. Filled to the brim with underdog stories, the entire foundation of its storytelling is built upon never say die babyfaces overcoming larger than life heels. But unlike how they would be told on a stage, in a ring their is the guise of competition, that idea of fairness creeping in, the spectacle that cause a crowd to go wild and cheer and boo. It transforms the tradition of audience and performer into something that involves the audience in the performance, but still allows it to be theater.

Professional Wrestling has a long storied history in the United States, as does the art of American Theater. Wrestling's details and it's ability to make you feel in the way that it does not only fuels the ideals of America but the hopes of what it still wishes to become. The artistry and depth of the looked down upon art is not only a disservice, but only does more to prove the point that it is an underdog medium about people who wish to rise above. At the end of the day, no matter what you think, its pretty damn cool watching Roman Reigns hit a spear as the crowd goes wild.