Did you ever notice how often pro wrestlers tend to put their hands on one another, even when they’re not in a match? They sure are touchy-feely people! Is it just me, or do they never miss a chance to rest an arm on a Tag Team partner’s shoulders, or give a dude a hug, neck rub, or a pat on the back, or even reach over to cup someone’s flexed bicep? I’ve always noticed lots of grabbing and groping, even when the match is over, and wondered why that is.
Maybe it’s because wrestling as a sport is so physical and intimate with lots of holding, so the wrestlers get in the habit of gripping and feeling. Maybe it’s just our natural instinct to see bare flesh and instinctively want to put a hand on it, to make that human contact.
Maybe they know exactly what they’re doing — they’re teasing us — when they run their hands gently, affectionately over the other wrestler’s bare torso or shoulders or back.
Maybe they know that it’s intriguing and titillating for many people to see that unnecessary, prolonged skin on skin action. It makes plenty of the fans curious (and more than a little jealous) to see them boldly and blatantly feeling around.
Wrestlers are portrayed as the most macho, violent, physical, brutal men on the plant. So it’s ironic, another example of the contradictions inherent in pro wrestling, when they behave so gently and affectionately with each other.
It may also be related to that natural tendency for male athletes — even straight ones — to touch and hug teammates, especially when celebrating a victory. Many people have noticed, joked about, and even conducted studies on the high frequency of hugging, patting, and even kissing on the cheek between members of the same football team, soccer team, or really any athletic team. It’s male bonding, the elation and affection that comes from being part of the pack or tribe, at its most physically obvious.
“Through their mutual experiences in sport, the male relationship develops a deep connection that is based not on shared interpersonal communication, but on shared emotional experiences. The shared emotions and activities in sport allow for men on sports teams to create intimate emotional bonds.”
As a young wrestling fan watching these public displays of affection, it always seemed kind of nice, kind of enviable. You wanted to put yourself in that role, and throw your arm around a chum’s shoulders, or feel that protective arm draped around your neck as you had your interview with Mean Gene or stared down the competition. It almost made you want to become a wrestler, or at least watch a lot of wrestling.
Sometimes wrestlers even get up close and personal with their enemies, more than you’d expect between guys that are hating each other. Is this another form of male bonding, one that forms not between team-mates but between two combatants fighting for domination? If you didn’t know any better, you’d think guys in this intimate position don’t want to hurt one another, but quite the contrary.
Or maybe the whole thing is in my head. Maybe it’s just coincidental and maybe there is not an especially high degree of unneeded body contact between pro wrestlers, in and out of the ring.
Gay! totally gay!!!