Jobbing = Learned Helplessness

Once upon a time, some scientists were electrocuting dogs to see if the dogs would press a button or jump over a fence to escape the pain.  Some poor dogs were unable to avoid electrocution no matter what they did — even if they jumped the fence and pressed the button.

The dogs who were offered no escape simply gave up and stopped trying.  If an escape was later offered, they submitted and allowed themselves to be shocked rather than taking action.  The scientists called this phenomenon “Learned Helplessness” and began to recognize the behavior in humans as well.  People who are always depressed, or have phobias, or never try to better themselves are experiencing Learned Helplessness.

As a pro wrestling fan, the concept of Learned Helplessness was no surprise to me.  Learned Helplessness is simply what I refer to as “jobbing.”  Certain wrestlers who can never seem to win a match eventually adopt a very submissive, helpless attitude.

I’m sure you’ve seen these born losers in the ring:  they willingly allow themselves to be put in holds; they don’t raise their arms to defend themselves from punches and kicks;  they willingly agree to fight the biggest, meanest Heels in the region even though everybody knows they can’t win.  They are as willing to lie down passively and accept punishment as the helpless dogs absorbing electric shocks in the experiment.

Did you ever see a jobber fall willingly, almost eagerly, onto the ring ropes — positioning his own throat across the bottom rope so his opponent could easily strangle him?   Or have you seen a victim just rest his hands on the ropes to expose his face, rather than defend himself from the punches raining down?

These actions could be construed as “Learned Helplessness” — the psychological condition of surrender.  He knows, no matter what he does, he will never escape the pain inflicted by the superior males and will never win a match.  So week after week, the helpless jobbers crawl back in the ring, submissively accepting their fate like some kind of sick experiment.

Some wrestlers became known for their lack of fight.  You just knew, no matter how much they were degraded, they’d never lift a finger to protect themselves.

Cream-puffs like Gino Carabello, the Mulkey Brothers, and Rusty Brooks would often not secure a single hold, nor throw a single punch at their opponent, simply absorbing punishment the entire match.  Was it in their contract to pretend to be utterly defenseless, or was it a case of Learned Helplessness?

Another common example of Learned Helplessness appears when a jobber is getting tortured by some cheating Heel, forced to endure everything from foreign objects, to choking, to double-teaming.  He is finally tossed out to the floor, where he could easily refuse to continue the match and go home.  He is, after all, being cheated and shouldn’t have to put up with it.

Yet instead of throwing in the towel, the jobber goes back in the ring for more!  It’s like he never thought of the idea of quitting.  Either he enjoys the abuse; or he thinks he can still come back and win; or he accepts his fate and has learned to be helpless.