Pro wrestling: what is it?

Smackdown!

My son watches professional wrestling. There--I've said it. The family secret is out.

Actually, I watch it myself, at least for a few seconds at a time as I'm traversing the living room.

I'm not sure how to categorize pro wrestling. On the surface, it appears to be a sport, yet it has few, if any, rules. (What kind of "sport" is it that includes throwing your opponent into the audience--without penalty?) A lot of the action is obviously rehearsed, and has more to do with acrobatic tricks than "wrestling." The "referee" allows punching, kicking, throwing chairs -- and in fact has no function at all in the "matches," except as window-dressing.

Wrestling shows appear to be a form of reality TV, but this is an illusion. The matches are as carefully choreographed and scripted as a Broadway musical, but with a lot more (fake) violence. I'm sure the audience is aware that they are watching a pseudo-event--my 13-year-old son is fully aware of this--but as they clap and chant and cheer (and laugh) they don't seem to care.

There's actually not as much physical action in these shows as you might expect. Much of the time is taken up with taunting and posing. The wrestlers--men who have transformed themselves into cartoon characters with the aid (apparently) of steroids and depilatories--spend most of their time trash-talking about their opponents. They appear to engage in elaborate feuds, which typically include "back stage" mini-dramas involving their girlfriends (who are often wrestlers themselves), their managers and their cars. These disputes revolve around a single theme: who disrespected who.

I think I've got it: These shows are soap operas for men.

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