Cultural Identity and Professional Wrestlers

Reference Picture: Jake Omen

Professional wrestling exists in a realm between reality and fantasy. In this culture, the ring is a stage, and each professional wrestler has a character to play. However, these characters are different from characters in a play or a movie. When wrestlers step in the ring, their character becomes their identity. They use this identity during every interaction with the audience or other wrestlers. So, how is identity formed and communicated in the professional wrestling community? A wrestler’s identity is a culmination of life experiences, culture, and their social entity, or self. It is communicated through clothing, music, body language and posturing, and emotion management.

Background

     There are some discrepancies about the time period in which professional wrestling originated in America, but most accounts begin around the 18th century. Wrestling was popular for many centuries before coming to America, usually in the form of grappling or strongman contests. After its American emergence, wrestling was a popular form of sporting entertainment among all classes. When tavern owners discovered the profit that could be made from spectators, they would encourage others to hold sporting events on their property (Beekman, p.6). In time, wrestling developed a reputation of being a low-ball sport, and was considered too rough to be entertaining among more sophisticated classes.

Around this time, a small group of men began traveling to carnivals and fairs to wrestle for profit. For avid fans, the carnival is the true origin of professional wrestling. In the classic carnival style, the travelling wrestlers were lauded as experts in the arena. The “experts” would usually grapple with each other or challenge a local strongman to a fight (Maguire, p.155-156). These matches would range from a genteel style of wrestling that required pinfalls or submissions for victory, to bloodier matches that allowed punching, biting, and gouging as acceptable forms of combat. Spectators would come to these carnival wrestling matches from all around to watch men display their strength and bravery.

Unfortunately, injuries from wrestling matches could be physically and financially debilitating for the “experts,” so the popularization of scripted matches began. Although there is no historical record of the first scripted wrestling match, authorities believe scripted matches started to overshadow legitimate matches around 1910 (Maguire, p.156). This scripted style of fighting became popular among wrestlers who wished to prolong their careers and avoid major injury. Originally, spectators were not familiar with the nature of these matches. This allowed many fans to be taken advantage of because betting money on the outcome of a match was a common practice. Over time, the awareness of scripted matches became mainstream, so the popularity of the sport decreased.

With the invention of the television in the 1950’s, wrestling made a comeback (Maguire, p.157). It was now popularly known as “professional wrestling,” but its shiny new popularity was short-lived. In 1982, a man named Vince McMahon Jr. appeared on to the scene, and created the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Using cable networks and gratuitous advertising, McMahon Jr. brought professional wrestling into what is now known as “The Golden Age.” The Golden Age lasted for a little over a decade, and promoted wrestlers such as Hulk Hogan, André the Giant, and Randy “Macho Man” Savage. During this time, representatives of Vince McMahon delivered some shocking news. They publicly announced that professional wrestling was rigged. Fans remained undeterred, and the World Wrestling Federation’s popularity did not suffer.

After The Golden Age, professional wrestling continued to flourish. In the next couple decades, the World Wrestling Foundation discovered more wrestling stars in the form of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, The Undertaker, John Cena, and many others. They became so popular that they bought out several other wrestling promotions, including their rival, World Championship Wrestling. Today, World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., who was forced to change their name by the World Wildlife Foundation (Carlisle), perseveres as the favored source for sports entertainment.

While professional wrestling grew to be desired in the mainstream, local promotions began to crop up all over the United States. These promotions provided an opportunity for men and women to showcase their talents in the ring, while providing entertainment for the locals. In Indiana, promotions such as Infinity Pro, IWA, and Strong Style have been successful in sharing professional wrestling with Hoosiers, and creating a network of wrestlers in the Midwest. Through this network, I was able to learn about professional wrestling on a personal level.

Methodology

      I originally set up Skype interviews with Gabriel Gray and Jake Omen, two professional wrestlers from the Midwest, and a personal interview with Donnie Tsunami, the promoter at Infinity Pro in Bloomington, Indiana. During a trip to a promotion in Warsaw, Indiana, I was fortunate enough to set up three impromptu interviews with Jack Thriller, Randi West, and Joseph Schwartz, all professional wrestlers. I met Randi and Joseph for the first time as we carpooled to the promotion, and I was introduced to Jack Thriller on site. I was able to witness two of these three wrestlers in the ring during the show, as well as Gabriel Gray and Jake Omen. Jake was the headliner for the show that night.

The ages of all of the participants ranged from 28 to 39. Six of the participants were Caucasian, and one identified as Jewish by descent. Unfortunately, there are not many females in the professional wrestling community of Indiana, so only one of the participants identified as female. The rest of the participants identified as male. Overall, this sample group is not indicative of the population of the Midwest professional wrestling community. The sample group was problematic in matters of inclusivity, but I was able to spend a large amount of time interviewing the participants who identified as minorities.

To develop my interview questions, I did research on identity and how it is important to professional wrestling. I began my interviews by asking simple questions about each person’s background, wrestling character, and the role they play in the professional wrestling community. The questions that followed delved into how each person’s identity in their normal lives influenced the identity of their character. To finish the interview, I asked them to tell me how certain aspects of professional wrestling culture, such as gender, political correctness, race, religion, and sexuality, affected their character’s identity.

All of my questions were somewhat broad. I did this specifically to see how each person would interpret and answer each question. This led the person being interviewed to share a wider variety of information about their identity and how they communicate it. Several times throughout the interviews, I would ask supplementary questions, so I could garner more information about specific topics or bring back the focus of the original question.

Each of these interviews were recorded with a voice recording cellphone app. To collect and organize the data, I transcribed each interview by hand and compared the answers of every participant in relation to my previous research on identity in the professional wrestling community. This allowed me to see each participant’s answers individually and as a whole.

Data Analysis

Background

     Every participant in the interviews had a different perspective of professional wrestling. They each have personal experiences that are shaping their worldview, and they use their identity in different ways. Their years of experience ranged from 3 to 15 years, and every participant has past or present experience as a professional wrestler. One participant, Donnie Tsunami, started his career in 1999 as a wrestler, and began his own promotion in Bloomington, Indiana in 2009. The other six have continued in the role of a wrestler.

Character

     Four of my participants describe their character as a gimmick. A gimmick is an identity created with a specific genre in mind to draw crowd interest. In the case of Gabriel Gray, his gimmick is a heavy metal god. Gabriel has an old school style. He walks out to classic heavy metal music wearing sunglasses and a blue jean cutoff vest covered in rock related patches. He chose this gimmick because of his interest in music.1 Since he has only been in professional wrestling for three years, he has not had enough experience to venture out into other identities. He has spent his time fine tuning his characters mannerisms and dialogue.

Jack Thriller the Serial Killer began his career with a white trash gimmick. As he progressed in the community, Jack evolved his gimmick into a criminally insane serial killer. As a true, blood-loving murderer, Jack wears black clothing with blood red accents that he describes as “tattered and disheveled.”  Although he does not identify with his character on a moral level, Jack enjoys playing a character that is unpredictable in nature.2 Jack is a very energetic person outside of the ring, so he channels all of that energy to play a wild serial killer during his match.

Joseph “The Hebrew Hammer” Schwartz plays up his Jewish identity in the ring with a character he describes as “a cross between Mel Brooks and Adam Sandler.” He wears a blue tracksuit, a star of David around his neck, a kippa, and a traditional payot hairstyle. Joseph loves to work humor into his gimmick whenever possible.3 He wants his character to be light-hearted where so many wrestlers take on a darker style.

Not every professional wrestler needs to have a gimmick. Wrestlers like Jake Omen, a headliner in several different promotions, prefer to use their own identity as a base for their character. Jake had a rough history with drug abuse. He has experienced living on the streets, and considers himself, in his words, a gypsy. When applying this to his character, he creates a very dark, brooding image. Jake paints his nails black, wears a long, worn out trenchcoat with dark long-tights underneath, and walks out to rock music. He does not wear a shirt for his matches, and takes pride in his physique.4 He loves playing the role of the underdog in his matches.

Randi West loves being a female wrestler. She plays the role of a tough chick, which she considers an extension of her own personality. Randi likes to wear a classic, black wrestling one-piece during her matches, and is determined to prove she can wrestle anyone.5  

Identity

     For the most part, everyone shared the same ideas about how their personal identity influences their character. Randi and Jake agree that their characters are exaggerated versions of themselves. Their morals, mannerisms, and style choices are displayed through their characters in a flamboyant manner than is common in professional wrestling.

Gabriel and Jack feel they are the opposite of their characters. While Gabriel loves the same music, he is the antithesis of his character in personality. In the ring, Gabriel is loud, cocky, and loves his groupies. Outside of the ring, he is soft-spoken and is completely devoted to his girlfriend. In situations where Gabriel’s character would be confrontational and violent, Gabriel would avoid confrontation and try to calmly solve the issue at hand.

The only things Jack has in common with his serial killer character are his endless amounts of energy and his red hair. Jack would never consider murder for any reason, nor would he say he is lacking sanity in the way his character is. He feels like the serial killer is a fun character to play, but would never extend that character outside of the ring.

Culture

     Randi West is a firm believer in gender equality in the professional wrestling community. She doesn’t believe that genders are treated equally, and hopes to improve the community for future generations of female wrestlers through her determination and wrestling skills.6 Randi feels that men in professional wrestling over sexualize women. Not only could this deter females from becoming involved in wrestling, but this behavior can also further perpetuate the idea that it is alright to objectify women. Women in wrestling are told to tone down their masculinity if they want to book matches. They are asked to wear less clothing and participate in mud wrestling or bikini wrestling, rather than wrestle in classic wrestling matches.

In Jack Thriller’s experience with playing an unpredictable character, he has found that political correctness is not important in the professional wrestling community. In character, he can get away with saying or doing things that he could not in an everyday situation.7 Jack sees this as an opportunity to break away from social rules and taboos for the duration of his match. The only thing that is widely unacceptable in independent professional wrestling is actually harming another wrestler or an audience member.

Although Gabriel Gray is Caucasian, he has witnessed how race can affect identity in negative and positive ways. Some minority wrestlers will use their race as part of their character. They take pride in their ancestry, and display that in the ring. Unfortunately, with an unkind or racist promoter, minorities can quickly become a target. At WCWO, a promotion in Indianapolis, Indiana, there have been several racially charged matches. One of these matches included a white supremacist, playing the part of a bad guy, who hung a noose around the neck of his opponent with an African themed gimmick. At most promotions, this would be unacceptable. Thankfully, promotions that gain a reputation for derogatory themes are avoided by most people in the professional wrestling community.  

Joseph Schwartz likes to proudly display his religion in and out of the ring. Although his gimmick is very stereotypical, he always adds in references to Jewish culture as a way to relate to his Jewish fans. For the majority of his 10 year career, Joseph has not had issues with people insulting his religion. He loves to play with stereotypes of Jewish culture when he is in character, especially if they are true in his daily life.8

Jake Omen understands that a good body will attract more fans. Even though his character is not overly sexual in nature, having a strong, cut build can improve his popularity.9 He noted that men like The Rock have a natural sex appeal. It’s part of their charisma. There are many wrestlers who have this ability, and it is very beneficial for improving their career.

Conclusion

     How is identity formed and communicated in the professional wrestling community?  The process for forming an identity in professional wrestling is different for everyone based on their own identities, life experiences, and culture. Each wrestler has priorities for their character, whether is it gender, religion, race, or even complete insanity. They express their identities through the clothes they wear, the things they say, their body language, and their determination to succeed.

Works Cited:

Beekman, Scott. "Origins." Ringside: A History of Professional Wrestling in America.

Westport, CT: Praeger, 2006. 1-11. Print.

Carlisle, John K. "Foundation Watch." World Wide Fund For Nature vs. World Wrestling

Entertainment (2013): 1-9. Capital Research Center, May 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.

Maguire, Brendan. "American Professional Wrestling: Evolution, Content, And Popular

Appeal." Sociological Spectrum 25.2 (2005): 155-76. Academic Search Premier. Web. 12

Nov. 2014.