Girls watch wrasslin' too

Who would have thought a random rant on wrasslin' would have sparked such lively conversation... me, that's who! I guess more people watch wrestling than one realized, huh, Frank McBluffer (see comment on "Get off my wrestling"). And get this, there are a lot of ladies who watch wrestling too.

Below is a comment posted by my collegemate Latoya. Her comment was so good, I wanted to highlight it for all to see.
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Good favorites list Ryan, but where is Ric Flair? I thought you were a fan of his. I too started watching wrestling early on. I was four when I stumbled upon a WWF program on TV and was hooked. I would hardly ever miss Prime Time Wrestling on Monday nights (before it became RAW) or Superstars on Saturday mornings. When WCW came along, I watched their Saturday and Sunday evening shows faithfully on TBS. Needless to say I was a huge wrestling fan growing up.

Unfortunately wrestling has gone down over the last few years and I rarely watch it anymore. I’ve tried, but I just can’t do it, not even TNA. These new guys are just simply not entertaining to me, and the writing and story lines suck. I miss the old days when performers had in ring ability, mic skills and charisma. And to me, no commentary duo will ever be better than Gorilla and Bobby Heenan. Nothing against JR, King or any of these other guys, but Monsoon and Heenan had great chemistry.

I would have to agree with you about John Cena. No disrespect to the kid, but I’m not impressed. I mean, when he first came to the WWF (and I will forever call it WWF not WWE), wasn’t he wrestling in tiny shorts, boots and knee pads? Then all of a sudden he becomes some “hip-hop” character with the rap battles, baggy shorts and wearing a chain? If they were gonna market him that way they should have had him debut as that and not as some clean cut kid. His image just seems too forced to me, like he’s trying too hard. As for Cryme Tyme, I’ve seen them a few times and yes they are a hot mess and perpetuate negative stereotypes about black men, but Vince has always pushed the racial envelope. Just search YouTube for Slick’s “Jive Soul Bro” video from the 80’s – complete with fried chicken, greasy lips, a jheri curl and a pimp persona; the Greg Valentine promo about Junkyard Dog where he calls him a “nasty black man” and who could forget Akeem the African Dream.

And whatever happened to tag teams in wrestling? There used to be an abundance of teams in the 80s and 90s and now they seem to be obsolete. Do they even have a WWF tag team championship anymore? So Ryan, I share your love for the old school wrestling days, but this new stuff that they’re doing now? I just can’t get with.

Get off my wrestling!

Those who really know me know that I am a wrestling fanatic. I’ve been watching wrestling since the age of five. The very first match I saw involved the Iron Sheik taking on some jobber by the name of Mr. X in the WWF, now known as the WWE. While this was my first match, my real love for wrestling came from watching World Class Championship Wrestling with the fame VonErich family, the Fabulous Freebirds and Devastation Incorporated, led by General Skandor Akbar. I won't go into detail about World Class because that is a blog within itself.

I know many of you are thinking…“Does he know wrestling is fake?” Yes I know wrestling is not real. Wrestling is staged. The victors are already predetermined by the promoters and agents. Back in the territory days of the NWA, there used to be a consortium of promoters from different regions who determined who was going to be the wrestler to carry the heavy weight championship. I watch wrestling primarily for the entertainment value - just like watching a movie with Denzel Washington and Al Pacino. The actions in the movie are not real, yet it keeps me on the edge of my seat, just like wrestling.

I also watch wrestling because I am a fanatic. I’ve been watching so long I can predict storylines, I know when wrestlers miss their spots, and I am a good judge of talent. Even though wrestling is staged, the wrestlers are still athletes. Professional wrestling has always been filled with former football players, collegiate All Americans and amateur wrestlers. It takes athleticism to bounce off ropes, jump off turnbuckles and learn to fall the right way. Matter of fact, wrestlers sustain the same injuries as other athletes like broken bones, torn ACLs and strained muscles.

The outcomes of wrestling matches are always fixed, but the way they arrive at that outcome isn’t always planned. Some wrestlers are given free reign in their matches because of their experience or because of the chemistry they have with their opponent. Some wrestlers take chair shots while others use their arm to block them. Some wrestlers cut themselves with a razor blade to bring about the blood effect, an art called blading (look at the foreheads of Greg Valentine and Abdullah the Butcher), while others use a blood capsule to sport the crimson mask.

Say what you will about my wrestling, but I will watch and defend it until I get tired... and that has not happened in 25 years. Yes it may be staged, yes it may be fake, but isn’t everything in Hollywood scripted?

Sexual Exhibitionism - The Latest Trend

The following post is an excerpt from an e-mail conversation with one of my friends/church members, Stephannie “Keep it Real” Lewis.

To catch you up to speed, we were talking about the Genarlow Wilson's case, and below is her candid response to my question of why we have so many youths getting caught performing sexual acts on camera in front of their friends.
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The trend of teenage sexual exhibitionism, in my humble opinion, is another way for teens to get media adulation, like their favorite celebrities (a la Britney Spears, Ray J, R. Kelly, Ashanti, Nelly, Paris Hilton, etc.). Instead of the aforementioned celebrities being publicly ridiculed for performing sex acts on video, they are rewarded with multimillion dollar advertising contracts (Ray J); improved sales of their albums (R. Kelly), and other deals that catapult them into the nextstratosphere of stardom.

Unfortunately, teens that engage in exhibitionism believe that they, too, will receive rewards by their peers. To them sexual exhibitionism will lead to popularity, attention of the opposite sex, respect from peers and the like. What they do not consider is that sexual exhibitionism is that it encourages, and leads to, sexualization, whereby their identity hinges on their sexual appeal. It further distorts their identity and increases feelings of insecurity.

In short, sexual exhibitionism is public self-destruction. But that's one person's opinion.