One aspect of pro wrestling that always made me curious was this sense of doing anything for a win. This is where a wrestler injures his competition, using brutal holds, cheating, foreign objects — pulling out all stops just to win the match.
Why is a victory so important, especially if no championship is on the line? Is the prize money so much higher if you come out on top?
While growing up, we are socialized to avoid acting too aggressive or violent — to keep our hands to ourselves. If we must fight, we must obey rules of decency and “fight like a man” regardless of whether we win our lose. Unless it’s a fight to the death to ward off being raped or killed, no scratching of eyes, no knees to the balls, no weapons unless the opponent pulls out a weapon, no chops to the throat, etc.
So the shock and excitement we feel when watching a very sadistic pro wrestling match is the outrage and titillation we feel over the breaking of a taboo — the blatant, ruthless cheating. When someone deliberately violates the social order or commits a felony before our eyes, it feels dirty and kinky — indulging in the forbidden fruit.
I always had the impression when watching a brutal one-sided pro wrestling match that there was more to the story — something they haven’t told us to explain why the dominant wrestler is acting psychotic and trying to main or disable the other man. I wanted an explanation for the exreme cruelty — his reasons for why victory is so critical to him, as if it is a life or death difference.
Sometimes the victim of the vicious beat-down had committed some unforgivable crime — stolen the other man’s lover or tore up his ring jacket or something. So the attacker is acting like a crazy animal not necessarily to gain the victory, but to exact his revenge on the poor sucker who foolishly agreed to step in the ring with him.
The message being sent, when a wrestler disregards the safety and health of his opponent and crosses the line into sadistic territory, is that losing is not acceptable in the world of Real Men.
The two men usually hold different moral codes, one evil and one good. Winning the match is depicted as the Highest Priority because it will determine not only which man is stronger, but also which philosophy is superior.
Another possibility to explain the brutal tactics is that the wrestlers are Alpha Males — both determined to achieve the leadership role or die trying. Neither is willing to accept the subservient position, to “admit who’s boss” and bow down in obedience.
This desperation to win at all costs reinforces the idea that the winner’s rewards are beyond simply prize money and a gold belt. The message being sent is that power, dominance, all the privileges of status are also at stake. The wrestler’s very Manhood — his claim to paternalistic authority — will be in jeopardy if he can’t secure the victory.
Like the man fighting to avoid being killed or raped or castrated, the tactics are justified by the possible consequences if he loses. Granted the pro wrestler won’t be literally killed, raped, or castrated, but he will face a potential killing of his career, a symbolic raping as he lays underneath the stronger man, an implied castration as he is humiliated and his potency and masculinity are questioned.
So when a match gets shockingly rough and vicious, it begs the question: “Why are the men hurting each other like animals? Why do they want to win at all costs?” The implied answer is that there is more going on than just a wrestling match. There is a struggle for their very Manhood. According to pro wrestling, losing that is a fate worse than death.
