r u d o vs. t e c h n i c o : professional wrestling documentaries on television
"all sports are fixed, except for one: professional wrestling."
b . w i l d e r e d
professional wrestling has attained a mainstream visibility unparalleled since the fifties (when wrestling and early tv were a match made in heaven) or the mid-eighties (when vince mcmahon first revolutionized wrestling while going national). over the past few months, various networks have practically fallen over themselves trying to get aboard the bandwagon. here is a summary of several of the attempts to get the inside scoop in what has been called "sports entertainment." perhaps we should refer to these as "documentary entertainment".
- wrestling classics: buddy rogers vs. pat o'conner - 1961 nwa world title match (classic sports)
i taped this at 5:30 am early saturday morning. i don't know if wrestling classics is even still on. but this is a good place to start: vintage stuff, a classic title match from the black-and-white best two-out-of-three-falls era featuring the original "nature boy" trying to take the nwa world belt from pat o'conner. this match was held is comiskey park, and was a high-water mark for wrestling attendance at that time. the world wrestling federation did not yet exist, it would be another couple of years before vince sr. would split with the national wrestling alliance in a dispute over whether to make bruno sammartino or lou thesz the next champion. for those familiar with wrestling over the last 20 years, this is scarcely recognizable. no high-risk maneuvers, lots of mat holds, most of an hour with no interviews, no costumes, no theme music. buddy's catch-phrase: "to a nicer guy it couldn't happen."
- andy kaufman: i'm from hollywood (comedy central)
andy was one of the a true comic geniuses, a wonderful entertainer, and he loved wrestling. enough to create and defend the "inter-gender" championship belt, wrestling women out of the audience as one of his routines. he collaborated on a classic wrestling feud with longtime memphis wrestling icon jerry "the king" lawler. this program plays along with tongue-in-cheek interviews about kaufman's obsession with wrestling. his infamous confrontation with lawler during an appearance on david letterman is documented. if you look close, you can see the blurring of lines: comedy with sport, wrestling with reality, absurdity with gullibility. comedy central frequently runs this, as well as another program on kaufman's career. then try to talk to someone you know about him, and see how many of andy's bits have become the stuff that urban legends are made of.
- the unreal story of professional wrestling (arts & entertainment)
here is a documentary that attempts to bring some perspective to the subject. there is a look at the historical context, both in the very long-term and the relatively short-term. for more in-depth discussions, look no further than the lou thesz book hooker and the wrestling as we liked it web sites. there is plenty here, including lou thesz himself, verne gagne, vince mcmahon, dusty rhodes, gorilla monsoon, killer kowalski, fred blassie and many more. the two hours of this program are well-written, kudos to chris mortensen. there is a pretty sweet segment where some aspiring grapplers are put thru the paces at a wrestling school, and walk away much worse for wear and tear. a serious examination, including some sociology and psychological insights.
- exposed! pro wrestling's greatest secrets (nbc)
as with magicians, the wrestling fraternity closed ranks for years around the secrets behind the performance. if someone challenged the reality of wrestling, the mandatory reaction was to knock the poor sap around while asking, "was that fake?" this program is a blow-by-blow inside look at how wrestlers work. the wrestlers wore extra disguises to hide their identities, i would assume, because there still is a stigma attached to revealing this information. i think one was dustin runnels, aka dustin rhodes, aka goldust (i would love to have knowledgeable readers give me their estimates on the identities of some of the others). i learned the most from this show compared to the others reviewed here. i think it is impressive to see the communication, preparation and athleticism required to perform. if it comes up as a rerun, don't miss it.
- the secret world of... professional wrestling (the learning channel)
this works as a nice complement to the a & e documentary reviewed above. the emphasis is on the story of wrestling over the past 20 years: the vince mcmahon era. lots of interviews with the recent stars. the program begins with a sports psychologist, and continues to hit on and around that context. there is also an emphasis on the lifestyles of those involved: from student wrestlers to established stars to promoters, managers and referees. i loved the footage of the local small-time operations which can be seen in a high school (or sometimes on cable access) near you. this is where the dues are paid. and one thing you must believe: people do get hurt. bodies are put on the line. another well-done aspect to this show is how it compared american wrestling culture to those of other countries such as japan or mexico. similar to the a & e doc, there is a portion of this show dedicated to the punishing of a student who takes the "sweet science" too lightly. there is a good look at the competition between the wwf and wcw, and how that competition is waged. therein lies the most interesting rivalry in the wrestling world: who is going to get the money?
- hitman hart: wrestling with shadows (the discovery channel)
this program follows bret "hitman" hart during a pivotal time in big-time wrestling. bret is a second-generation wrestler, from a wrestling family, son of the dominant promoter and trainer in calgary, alberta, canada, stu hart. his brother, owen hart, recently died in a tragic accident during a wwf pay-per-view. hart would have you believe that the primary issue involved is the hitman character and a lowering of standards. bret was the wwf champion and successfully extracted a large long-term contract from vince mcmahon in order to keep him from going over to ted turner's world championship wrestling. the true feud in wrestling is: vince mcmahon vs. ted turner. at the beginning of this documentary, ted appeared to have vince on the run. but vince is the genius who invented wrestling as-we-know-it, and now has turner's wcw looking like the second-class senior-citizen storyline-rerunning outfit it is. the winner of this feud is the one who can get the big tv ratings, the big merchandising money and the huge pay-per-view dollars. when bret as wwf champ fails to turn the tide in this feud, due to lack of interest in the hitman charisma, vince tells hart to go back and get a deal with turner. breaks the contract, and breaks his word about letting hart leave the wwf with his "honor" intact, by not losing his belt in front of canadian fans. bret then punched vince in the eye, an event very nearly captured on tape. this project reached its conclusion as hart was about to make his way to the wcw, as a heel, with none of the 'heroic" qualities he declaims in the interviews for this film. epilogue: bret is on the disabled list and is expressing dissatisfaction with his role in wcw (surprise, bret- it is the hulk hogan show, dontcha know?)...and vince took his dispute with hart and converted it into a storyline which catapulted the wwf back into first place for the last umpteen weeks of monday night wars ("stone cold" steve austin regularly gets to beat vince up). game, set and match to vinnie mac. stay tuned for: the wwf vs. the world on court tv.
- biography: andre the giant - larger than life (arts & entertainment)
biography has an excellent reputation for putting together enlightening shows on individuals from all walks of life. andre's life is covered, from his early years training and wrestling in his native france, to his battle with acromegly (giantism), his movie role in the princess bride and his world-wide wrestling fame. he is credited as the first wrestler known internationally, rather than regionally. the mcmahon family's role in promoting andre is interesting. vince mcmahon's description of andre's magnanimous behavior in relation to wrestling contrasts pretty starkly with his quotes on bret hart in wrestling with shadows. according to the interviews in this program, andre never trained, and ate and drank prodigious amounts, but also didn't complain about the considerable pain and discomfort he experienced.
- the jesse ventura story (nbc)
this is an unauthorized tv movie, definitely not a documentary. jesse's name is used, along with the broad credit, "based on the true story". what a sad, cheap piece of exploitative junk. if "the body" had any say about it, this would never have been done. perhaps the best that can be said is that someday this will fit right into a worst of the bad tv movies shit list. i also have just read his quickie knock-off autobiography i ain't got time to bleed. while certainly no high point in literature, it at least is authorized, so i hope more people read it than see the tv movie. it will be interesting to see how many of the distortions from the movie end up being accepted as factual. in the book, jesse credits vince mcmahon with suggesting his role as a heel announcer, while otherwise he rips on the promoters, including mcmahon, for being money-hungry cheats. i always wonder if his jibes at vince to "shut up- you've never been in the ring", provided any incentive for vince's recent turn to in-ring performing. maybe i'm one of the few people who see some kind of logic to ventura's political success. i think that the same charisma that made him a good wrestler and a great announcer, make him a competitive politician. anyways, don't even look at this movie, it sucks.
i find it ironic that while trying to understand the phonomenon of wrestling, the opportunity to understand ourselves, our culture, society and values as exposed within wrestling is missed. the underbelly of our collective psyche that is revealed may not be pretty, but it is much more universal than most would like to admit. look about you: mtv death matches, wrestlers making guest appearances on network talk shows, situation dramas and commercials and even movies, rock'n'wrestling, action figures, public figures of all shapes and sizes making guest appearances on wrestling pay-per-views, sable in playboy, even politics; a veritable festival of cross-promotion. how far is it from the squared circle to how we actually decide what we buy or who we vote for or what we believe in?
i suggest we might contemplate what it is that makes us root for one, or more importantly, what makes us root against another. it could be true that we become what we hate.
b . w i l d e r e d
...let us know what you think...your opinions are invited... email: b.wildered@white-rose.net
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