You are watching a pro wrestling match and you notice one opponent stops fighting back — stops defending himself at all. He may let his arms go limp at his sides, or drape them over the ring ropes like wet laundry, allowing the other wrestler to dominate him. Pro wrestling is meant to portray a legitimate fight, right? So why is one fighter acting submissive and helpless, allowing himself to be dragged around by the hair, or face-pinned, or chopped across the chest??
Many wrestling fans become angry at this point when the fight becomes too obviously fake. “This is PHONEY — he isn’t even trying to fight back!” they scream at their television, unhappy that the realism of their beloved violence has been tainted.
But rather than becoming angry, I actually enjoy seeing the jobber acting blatantly submissive — putty in his opponent’s hands. I feel a bit frustrated by his helplessness, but at the same time, turned on by his willful submission to whatever holds or degrading positions the dominant wrestler chooses to inflict on him. Why is that??
I suppose my brain, like most other brains, has a special pleasure center wired for scenes of domination and submission, sado-masochism, and power struggles. Seeing a man check his masculinity and hand over power and control to another man is intoxicating to witness.
Here is an example of what I’m talking about. Notice that the helpless wrestler’s arms are loosely draped over the top rope. The attacking wrestler mounts the ropes, his nutsack hanging in the vicinity of his victim’s face, and begins to thump the dude’s noggin. Totally degrading!
Wouldn’t you expect the victim to fight back — to raise his arms to protect his face? He could push his attacker’s knees back and force him off the ropes. But no — we see the victim acting willfully submissive, letting his arms rest on the ropes as if there is no strength left in them, allowing the dominant male to hammer him. That subtle display of willful submission — the arms resting on the ropes — is what makes pro wrestling enjoyable to watch.
In many matches, the reason for the hero’s helplessness is made obvious. For example, if a Sleeper Hold is applied or he is pile-driven on his head, the wrestler will be stunned and we easily grasp the reason he can’t fight back: because he’s knocked out.
For example, Chris Hero’s right arm in this photo drops like a wet noodle as his opponent uses his left arm to cut off blood-flow to his brain. So we don’t need to ponder why Hero is not fighting back — he is not fighting back because he is being choked the fuck out. I love how Hero just lets that right arm hang there like a deflated balloon.
Here, on the other hand, is a hot image of willful submission. Harley Race was known to be a Bad Dude, violent, masculine and aggressive. So why isn’t he gouging Hogan’s eyes, or head-butting him, or biting his face? Any of these vicious attacks (which Race was very willing to employ in other matches) would break that Hug.
Instead we see Race’s fingers relaxed, his muscles unflexed. We could potentially explain his helplessness as being caused by a lack of oxygen due to the Bearhug. But Race appears to be play-acting, as if he is reveling in his submissive role. And notice that the caption says Hogan “FINISHED” Race, giving the scene a sexual undertone.
The Vulcan Death Claw was portrayed as a painful hold that caused paralysis of the victim’s arms. Yes, it was exciting to imagine a hold that could in effect restrain the victim, but it was perhaps more exciting to imagine the two men having some naughty fun together, the victim willfully giving over control of his arms to his “Master” as if they are playing a sexy BDSM game right before our eyes.
Masked Mexican wrestlers employ willful submission when acting out their most exciting trope: the attempted unmasking.
The attacker will barely lock up the victim’s arms, but the masked victim will act as if he is in shackles, unable to free his arms to prevent the dominant man from ripping apart or unlacing his mask.
Ricky Steamboat in his gorgeous white tights and boots is willfully submissive in the center of the ring. He is clearly not asleep — notice he is able to bend up his leg. Yet he just lays there, his bare chest vulnerable, waiting for the Macho Man to sail off the ropes and destroy him with a Flying Elbow Smash. In my head, I’m thinking: Why would Steamboat agree to that unless he kind of enjoys it?!
This old-timey wrestler is just inches away from the ropes. Doesn’t he realize he can just grap the ring rope and the muscle-man will be forced to release that Body-Scissor??
But maybe he likes feeling that stud’s strong thighs wrapped around him (mmph, I sure would!). Maybe his willful submission is meant to prolong the pleasure of the hold.
So I just want to make the point that willful submission by a jobber does not necessarily ruin a pro wrestling match. Yes, some of the believability and realism may be compromised, but at the same time, a whole new realm of homo-erotic fantasies are conjured up when you witness a man surrendering like a slave, willfully allowing himself to be degraded and used.
Just ask yourself, WHY is he leaving his arms resting on the ropes like a well-trained jobber rather than fighting back? Maybe because they paid him to act obedient and submissive, and the reason they paid him to be a jobber is because the sight of one man easily owning another is one of the most arousing sights in the world.