PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING PUBLICATION.
INITIAL IDEAS & RESEARCH.
I really like watching Professional wrestling, so I feel that basing a project on this would be very interesting and enjoyable to do while I still have the chance at doing self directed brief.
At this moment in time, Professional wrestling is a very popular sports entertainment. I started to watch the WWE (World wrestling Entertainment) when I was around 12 years old and was hooked straight away. When I was younger, the only from of professional wresting that I knew was WWE but as I have got older I have come to realise and appreciate the scope, styles and professionals that are all over the world.
I really enjoy watching wrestling of differing styles from Lucha libre to Grapple wrestling. There isn't an 'agreed' time period with in the sport that can be called the greatest of all time as obviously many peoples opinions differ. For me, I feel regarding professional wrestling in America, the best years were from between 1995 and 2005 (But this isn't to say I don't enjoy watching matches from the 80's to the most recent) like I said it is very hard to pin point a certain generation in the sport.
Even though results and story lines are pre-detirminded and obviously the wrestlers do not go out to the ring with the focus of hurting their opponent, it is the skill, the flow and the way in which the match is built and carried out by the people in the ring and how decisions are made with moves and direction during the match in order to accentuate the accompanying, current story line.
This is what really introits me and what i find the most interesting. Obviously when I was younger you think its real and you watch to see what happened in the story lines and you wanted to see your favourite superstars win and get one up on their opponents in that period of time. I still watch for that now, however because I understand the background and the workings of a match and how certain superstars work, I look more at the skillets are presented and used and how the chemistry of the opponents is used.
Even though I can determine different styles of wrestling, I would love to use this project to understand them more and gather knowledge on their influences as well as the wrestlers that pioneered such styles and cultures with in the sport.
I do enjoy watching wrestling today, however it is very different from what it was when I started to watch it back in 2002. I feel that I will probably use my favourite as well as the most influential time periods and matches to aid my research and direction in this publication based project.
* * * *
PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING
'Professional wrestling (often shortened pro wrestling, or simply wrestling) is a mode of spectacle which combines athletics with theatrical performance. It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport. The unique form of sport portrayed is fundamentally based on classical and "catch" wrestling, with modern additions of striking attacks, strength-based holds and throws, and acrobatic manoeuvres; much of these derive from the influence of various international martial arts.
The matches have predetermined outcomes in order to heighten entertainment value, and all combative maneuvers are executed with the full cooperation of those involved and carefully performed in specific manners intended to lessen the chance of actual injury. These facts were once kept highly secretive but are now a widely accepted open secret. By and large, the true nature of the performance is not discussed by the performing company in official media in order to sustain and promote the willing suspension of disbelief for the audience by maintaining an aura ofverisimilitude. Fan communications by individual wrestlers and promotions through outside media (i.e. interviews) will often directly acknowledge the dramatic and "fixed" nature of the spectacle.'
SOURCE
PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING IS AUGUARBLY BIGGEST IN THE USA AND IS WERE THE BIGGEST MOVEMENT IN THE SPRT HAPPENED IN THE 80'S AND 90'S.
This is were the most of my knowledge of the sport is derived from, but obviously, for this project (and for my own enjoyment) I want to look at the wider scope that this industry has around the world.
Personally I believe that the 'secret' of professional wrestling and the reality of it was always known by everyone that watched it (apart from younger kids) and was just something that really didn't matter to the audience, Wrestling fans went along with it to reserve and enhance the feeling of fantasy characters and circumstances. I feel that this is why many people watched as it let them escape from the reality of 'normal' life.
I feel that now the 'secret' is no longer upheld and 'gone along with', somehow the industry does not feel as much as an escape as it used to. The superstars of today don't seem to be on the level as the superstars back in the day were and I feel that this is due to the openness that, actually, these guys and girls are pretty normal.
Watching the WWE product today, I feel that you can see that they are struggling to create Superstars on the level of wrestlers such as Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Edge & Chris Jericho. I feel that in the present roster, they are struggling to hand out the World Heavyweight Championship belt because there isn't anybody that is seen on that level and they cannot hand that belt of to just anybody as this will put the perception and aura of the championship in jeopardy.
* * * *
Professional wrestling, a sport and performing art, is a popular form of entertainment in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Japan. It developed in the early 20th century, with predecessors in funfair and variety strongman and wrestling performances, which could often involve match fixing, in the 19th century.
Its popularity declined during World War II, but it was revived in the late 1940s to 1950s, the First Golden Age of professional wrestling in the United States, during which Gorgeous George gained mainstream popularity. In Mexico and Japan, the 1940s-1950s was also a Golden Age for professional wrestling, with El Santo becoming a Mexican folk hero, and Rikidōzan achieving similar fame in Japan.
There was a marked decline in public interest in the 1970s and early 1980s, but with the advent of cable television in the mid 1980s, there followed a Second Golden Age as the United States experienced a professional wrestling boom, with protagonists such as Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. The nature of professional wrestling was changed dramatically to better fit television, enhancing character traits and storylines. Television has also helped many wrestlers break into mainstream media, becoming influential celebrities and icons of popular culture. Wrestling's popularity boomed when independent enthusiasts unified and their media outlets grew in number, and became an international phenomenon in the 1980s with the expansion of the World Wrestling Federation. Throughout the 1990s, professional wrestling achieved highs in both viewership and financial success during a time of fierce competition among competingpromotions, such as World Wrestling Federation, World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling.
Since the mid 1990s, there has been another decline in popularity of professional wrestling; NOAH's Power Hour and New Japan's World Pro Wrestling have been largely relegated to the midnight hours by their broadcasters. This was paralleled with a renewed interest in competitive combat sports with the rise of mixed martial arts.
JAPAN, MEXICO, THE UK AND THE USA are the cultures I am most interested to look at as these styles have been the most influential in making the sport and its superstars what they are today. I am already very familiar with superstars that hailed in these countries or spent time training in these different cultures.
The most well known superstars, due to our exposure in the UK, are the American stars such as Hulk hogan, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin etc.
Off the top of my head, Superstars that I know of that hail from Mexico or are trained and influenced in Mexico are Eddie Guerrero (and other members of the Guerrero family), Rey Mysterio, Psychosis etc.
A few superstars from Japan are Tajiri, Ultimo Dragon, Jushin Liger etc.
Examples of British Superstars are Fit Finley, William Regal, Tom Billigton
American Promotions are the most well known and popular in the World due to their exposure through an international platform. The most well know companies in the business over the years are: WWE, WCW, ECW, TNA & NEW JAPAN.
No comments:
Post a Comment