Abstract
This paper draws upon the relational turn in the study of pain to understand and explain the ways in which professional wrestlers manage and make sense of physical suffering. The paper focuses on how pain-laden interactions in the ring and the gym give form to the ways in which participants of wrestling think and feel about pain. The research is based on a long-term ethnography of professional wrestling. The article does two things: (a) explores the bodily skills that wrestlers cultivate to handle a context of ever-present pain, and (b) explains what the wrestlers’ interactions tell us about the meanings of pain that wrestlers come to share. Based on the reconstruction of participants’ lived experience of pro wrestling, I suggest that pain becomes attractive to wrestlers because it is given substantive meaning which encompasses denial, authenticity, solidarity, and dominance.
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Notes
I follow Howe’s research to distinguish between pain and injury. “Injury can be understood as a breakdown in the structure of the body, a breakdown that may affect its function. Pain is the marker of an injury and is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue [and skeletal] damage” (2004, p. 74). Acute pain is distinguished from chronic pain. Acute pain is typically characterized by a “short, sharp sensation” located at the point where the injury occurs and lasts for a limited period; whereas, “chronic pain is often associated with a pathological process that causes continuous pain...sometimes years after injury” (Ibid).
Of the twenty participants, most are white, working-class men who range in age from eighteen to thirty-five, have a high school education, and work part-time in low-level service jobs in a metropolitan area. Five have attained a B.A. at a local college. Contrary to the stereotype of pro wrestlers as massive strongmen, most are of average body size, weighing between 160–200 pounds and standing between 5′8″ and 6′2″ in height. One female, and two men of color, are in the group.
It is qualitative research which “addresses institutions, ongoing concerns, and tells us something about where they come from, what they do, and how the people who live and work within them make sense of their own activities” (Zussman 2004, p. 356).
WWE is a publicly traded corporation with yearly profits in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
In this study, the wrestling school and the show promotion are affiliated with one another so most of the school’s students and trainers are also performing in the same shows held at the local community center. The school’s owners are also the promoters (owners) of the public event shows.
Students paid either $200/month or paid in full at $1,800/year.
During the three years time, two participants in this group moved up to the WWE incubator federation in Ohio. From there they will likely receive some TV exposure; however, by no means does this ensure a future contract from the WWE.
Pro wrestling is widely considered to be a “shady business” where promoters skip town, schools suddenly shut down, and performers receive pay (if any) only after the door proceeds have been counted. The business is much like pro boxing, a “commerce run on manipulation, chicanery, and deceit” (Wacquant 1998, p. 1). For example, interviewees informed me of training schools where the instructors asked them to pay for training “up front” (either a month’s or year’s worth, in some cases) and then made the first few days of training extremely tough and bruising—using arduous cardio work and painful “stiffs.” This initial training scares students off, and instructors can then walk away with the cash.
A spot is a preplanned move designed to get a strong reaction from the audience. A high spot is done from a greater height with use of the top ropes or a ladder.
The only exception is “event insurance,” which covers the overall production and the doctor who checks participants before they take the stage at the public shows. The doctor, as mandated by the state, checks blood pressure, pulse, and briefly inspects the performers for any obvious physical signs that would preclude their wrestling that night.
Anterior Cruciate Ligament: one of the four main ligaments in the knee.
Babyface, often shortened to “face,” is the good guy. A heel, of course, is the villain.
In a “Battle Royal” multiple wrestlers all duel at the same time. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to anticipate and choreograph each move in such a large scale “battle.”
A popular WWE T-shirt demonstrates the function of injuries. Below the bloodied face of the mega-star Mick Foley (aka “Mankind”) on the front of the T-shirt is the phrase, “Fake wrestler.” On the back of the shirt is the word “Injuries” and, below it, a list of nearly twenty different matches and the exact injury sustained (with date and place).
Evidence suggests, however, that if these injuries regularly resulted in severe consequences (such as paralysis or death), pro wrestling (and Nascar for that matter) would quickly lose its appeal. According to Jeffrey Goldstein’s research on the appeal of violent entertainment, pro wrestling attracts millions of fans because: it contains clues to its unreality (staging and setting); it portrays an engaging fantasy; it is exaggerated and distorted; it has a predictable outcome; and it usually contains a just resolution (Goldstein 1998, p. 223). Research on pro wrestling also found that fans do not enjoy real injury (Kotarba 2004, p. 112).
As Jimmy said, “In professional wrestling you learn how to fall, [but] I’ll tell you right now, there’s no way to learn how to fake a fall on concrete. You hit concrete, you know, how are you gonna fake that? You know, you take a steel chair and smash it in your face with it, you know, it hurts.” Likewise, the lead trainer Cuss stated this: “Guys get hurt all the time. Hitting the ring hurts. Hits on the mat hurt. Getting punched in the face hurts, even though you try not to do this.”
For a complete, detailed, account see Smith (2008).
If we take the format of the WWE wrestling production as an indicator of successful performance techniques, we can infer that better charisma and psychology result in less physicality. The WWE format is reliant on well-written and acted scripts taking place outside the ring—in hallways, interviews, and the locker room. In two hours of WWE programming, viewers likely see no more than 36 minutes of in-ring physical wrestling, the rest being an “elaborate, soap-opera-style story line detailing a host of feuds, rivalries, grudges and byzantine subplots” (Rosellini 1999, p.1).
Perry Saturn is a former big name star known for being rough with “opponents.”
“Spot” is synonymous with a “move.”
Fishman sets himself apart from the conventional means of asserting dominance through pain. In doing so, he nevertheless makes clear that pain is a valuable instrument in maintaining the hierarchy.“And I’ve had other instances where guys have shown me very roughly that you do this way and that way. I don’t have that streak in me. It takes a lot for me to purposefully inflict a great deal of pain on somebody. I mean, I’ll put a move on tight and let it go. But I’m more of a talker. You know, ‘hey listen, do you know why I did that?’ Or ‘hey, listen, I just wanted to let you know, you’re doing this wrong.’...But I was shown one way, and that’s the whole thing. You give me something, it’s my job to give it to him, and three years from now he gives it to him. So you keep the wheel going.”
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Acknowledgments
Some of the photographs were taken by Mark Stehle, whose generosity and skill as a photographer is greatly appreciated. I would also like to thank Lisa Traxler, Bernard F. Stehle. Anna Sher and Austin Kelley for close readings. Lastly, I am very grateful for the helpful suggestions from Javier Auyero, editor of Qualitative Sociology.
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Smith, R.T. Pain in the Act: The Meanings of Pain Among Professional Wrestlers. Qual Sociol 31, 129–148 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11133-008-9098-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11133-008-9098-9