Celebrating raw strength is a major part of the appeal and purpose of pro wrestling, and no wrestling move does a better job demonstrating a powerful dude’s power than the Press Slam, or Gorilla Press. This is where the dominant wrestler, usually some impossibly massive freak, snatches his opponent by the neck and nads, and then mightily straightens his arms to press the dude up. If he has any muscle at all, it will be on display as his raw strength keeps the other man aloft.
The real beasts will then stand proudly for a long while pressing the shocked and frightened victim above their head as the crowd watches in awe, like one of those Olympic power lifters who have to straighten their arms and hold the weight for several seconds. The true freaks of nature will repeatedly bend and strengthen their arms to show off a bit and get in a nice set of Military Press exercises. As pack animals, human beings are conditioned to respect the strong members of the pack, and their purpose here is to entice your admiration, appreciation, and worship of their incredible strength.
Soon enough, the muscle man will toss his victim crashing down onto the mat. I always was a bit afraid the animal was going to toss his poor opponent over the ropes and out into the crowd (and another part of me was hoping to see it and looking forward to it.)
Many holds in pro wrestling (which is ultimately all about manly power and dominance) are meant to showcase the strong man’s power, but none more than the Gorilla Press. The whole purpose of feats of strength, going back to the days of the traveling circus, is for one man to demonstrate his incredible strength, and the other men watching to respect and admire him. The Press Slam is pro wrestling’s version of old-timey Feats of Strength.
Notice that the pressee always has one or two hands on the presser’s shoulders, thus shouldering, ahem, some of the weight. I’ll bet he’s supporting a good third of his weight on the pressing wrestler’s frame. But that’s show biz, no?