Working Men

One of the most common heroes in the pro wrestling Pantheon is the “Blue Collar” working man.  He is the Everyman we identify with — the more common, less spectacular, more humble, less flamboyant Regular Guy.  He is just trying to follow the rules and get by in life.  He is innocent and straight.

The Blue Collar guy is honest to a fault and never surrenders.  He is hard-working, just like many of the working men in the typical pro wrestling audience fancy themselves.  He may often be an immigrant or minority, forever downtrodden and exploited by the devious and sadistic dominant culture.

His muscular body is forged from hard work in the factory or fields.  We love the Working Man wrestler because he’s so darn innocent, naive, and eager to please, but the poor guy can never catch a break!

The Blue Collar Hero is often punished by a White Collar villain: an executive, a spoiled rich kid, or a Dandy.  While the Working Man wears sad, basic, no-frills gear, his enemy will wear more colorful, outrageous, effeminate attire and dye his hair to arrogantly draw attention to himself.

Ted DiBiase, Jr. is one of the few wrestlers who has been able to pull off both the White and Blue collars.  He started his career as the spoiled rich Daddy’s Boy, but is now playing the humble normal guy.  He looks like a lineman, fire fighter, or cop in his tall black Working Man’s boots.

Pro wrestlers who are great at their craft, who are skilled and entertaining in the ring, are called “workers.”  They treat their time in the ring like labor — like they’re wrenching on a car, or building a barn, or nailing shoes on a horse.  Like Hercules, their masculinity is proven by hard work.

You picture these studs punching a timeclock and rolling up their sleeves at the auto plant to install windshields on cars, then the whistle blows and they hurry to the arena to strip to the waist and continue their labors in the ring.

They say that people whose jobs are physically demanding work “with their hands.”   I suppose no career requires a man to work with his hands more than pro wrestling.  These are the wrestlers I like to watch the most — the workers.