Gold Standard

If you’re a regular reader of this Blog, you may have noticed I’ve been really digging the classic British “World of Sport” wrestling that some generous soul has been posting in abundance on YouTube lately.  I like the gear, I like the holds, I like the grunting and groaning.  The style, pace, and rules are different from pro wrestling I’m accustomed to, but Brit Pro seems to be growing on me.  This Tag Team match (which is fairly rare in British-style wrestling) is no exception.

Watching pro wrestling from another country can be enjoyable for a couple reasons:  you get to discover fresh faces and entertaining matches that you haven’t already seen before, and you get to taste the similarities and differences — the spicy variety — of pro wrestling grown in a different climate and soil.  You get to see what folks in other cultures get into and specifically how they’re entertained by the action in the ring.

Just as you learn about your own language from studying foreign languages (because you have something else to compare to), watching imported pro wrestling also teaches you more about your usual fare.  We know that wrestlers, wherever you go, tell a story through their actions, verbal expressions, and even their clothing choices.  It can be interesting to look at the specific symbols, colors, and behaviors they use to entertain and titillate their local audience, which sometimes matches exactly with the same antics used in our version of wrestling.

For example, I’ve never been to England, but I can pick out the villains and heroes in the ring faster that you can swallow a crumpet.   In today’s featured Tag Team match, the Golden Boys (Steve Regal and Robbie Brookside) are clearly the eager young Faces in their white and yellow speedos, and the Road Warriors are obviously the black-clad baddies.  The same criteria in Britain and in the USA are used for defining their personalities and their roles:

• Good guys = young, fit, handsome, scantily clad, wearing colorful gear.
• Bad guys = brutish, unsmiling, thick-bodied, wearing black.
• Good guys = brave, positive, rule-abiding, prone to suffering.
• Bad guys = surly, argumentative, sneaky, sadistic, prone to cheating.

It’s also interesting to see examples of British and American wrestling federations borrowing from each other.  For example, the villains in the match — the “Road Warriors” — are a smaller version of our own “Legion of Doom”, wearing leather gloves evocative of the studded leather outfits worn by our Hawk and Animal.  Both the American and British “Road Warriors” borrowed the concept from the 1981 Australian film: Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior. Also, we know the wrestler Steve Regal, here a fresh-faced young pretty boy, emigrated to the states, adopted a more mature persona, learned our “Catch as Catch Can” wrestling style, and we’ve kept him ever since.

There are many differences between a typical American and British wrestling match.  British baby-faces are usually quite young and lean.  American wrestlers tended to be more massive, buff, and muscular, especially in the 1980’s.  British matches have a slower pace, with multiple pinfalls and periodic rest breaks.  American wrestling often has a more violent, more cruel undertone. Brit Pro is more homey, more sporting — the athletes look like regular Joes and behave more civilly in the ring. The rules in American wrestling are totally optional (at least for the Heels) while the British refs are very authoritarian, quick to stop any wrong-doing with a stern “Public Warning.”

From what I can see, good Tag Team wrestling is good Tag Team wrestling wherever you go.  The baddies cheat, the pretty-boys suffer (but find redemption), the fans are excited and entertained.  Seeing this same recipe cooked up, with some slightly different spices mixed in, makes my own local dishes taste that much better.