It’s time once again for our annual Halloween tribute to the seedier, more vulgar side of the sport we love — the Gorefest. This is when the men in the ring become so desperate to dominate their enemies that they transform into zombies or vampires or werewolves.
We don’t see as much blood spilled in the ring these days as in years past. Has pro wrestling cleaned up it’s act? We know the general public hasn’t ended its love affair with brutal, blood-soaked slaughter given the popularity of the most graphically violent TV shows ever created. Whoever produced this Sports Review magazine understood the public’s bloodlust when he posted a kinky image of Greg Valentine being restrained and scalped on the cover.
We love Horror movies for the same reason we love Pro Wrestling. We want to be shocked and scared (for a little while) to get those hormones pumping. We also want to believe that men are Bad Ass and can transform into beasts when necessary to inflict horrific levels of mayhem and punishment.
With all the unrest and threats of violence in the Middle East, of course we feel anxious when the “Arab” wrestler unleashes a weapon to slaughter his Western opponent. This gimmick won’t go away until peace breaks out in the Middle East…
This article uses images of violence and the written word to sell the savagery in the ring and get the readers worked up. The writer describes the in-ring violence using provocative terms like: savagery, horror, maim, and inhuman beasts.
Just like a series of horror flicks with a seemingly endless supply of sequels, pro wrestling magazines had this mind-fuck down to a science. They knew just what to feed us in their blood-soaked pages to keep us coming back for more, like the momma bird spitting that chewed up worm into the mouths of her chirping chicks. Now I understand why I couldn’t ride my bike past the drug store without stopping in to flip through the rasslin’ magazines while trying to muster up the courage to buy one.
Here is another Sports Review magazine cover soaked in red ink. Two blondies — Valentine and Flair — are presented with their golden locks soaked in blood, their faces a crimson mask. Even Carrie didn’t look this filthy after the cool kids dumped a bucket of pig’s blood on her.
The enemies are shown, not in combat, but side-by-side, intimately close, their lips parted, their mouths just inches apart. This image is meant to elicit a homo-erotic vibe, the sense that their exchange of bodily fluid was based on mutual consent, perhaps some sick fetish enjoyed by both men.
Two “wildcats” are also, per usual, included on the cover to avert Gay Panic. If anybody pops a boner staring at this violent male-on-male imagery, he can chalk it up to the proximity of the female apartment wrestlers.
And the very last place you want to be on Fright Night, or any other day of the year, is chained to Kevin Sullivan inside a cage. Sullivan was known for his crazy antics and use of stiff, brutal punishment. You might as well chain yourself to Freddy Kruger himself.
Check out Halloween Gorefest Part I and Part II if you have the guts to relive the prequels to this haunting gallery and are eager to see more blood.
