SPORTS FLASHBACK 1985: Professional wrestling – sport or entertainment?

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/02/2023 (842 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One of James Loewen’s earliest As I See It columns in the sports pages of The Carillon leaves little doubt as to the writer’s opinion of the sport of professional wrestling.

In the July 24, 1985 issue, he tells readers there is a lot the world of sports can learn from professional wrestling.

Loewen goes on to say pro wrestling is enjoying a tremendous boom in popularity and fan attendance, while almost all the other traditional sports like football, hockey, and baseball are in deep trouble. But then he goes on to say what he really thinks of wrestling as a sport.

“Don’t get me wrong. I think pro wrestling is a joke. It is obviously faked, staged, fixed, and set up. But that is not the point.”

The point is that pro wrestling is “taking off”, and that cannot be denied. One just has to watch television on a Saturday afternoon or drive by the Winnipeg arena on the night of a big wrestling event. Wrestling has come of age.

It likewise cannot be denied that many other sports are experiencing all kinds of difficulties, ranging from schedules that are far too long, player salaries that are far too high, and too many games that are far too boring for the price a fan has to pay to see them.

So, why is wrestling enjoying so much success while others are not? Loewen says he is not exactly sure, but has a couple of ideas. First, wrestling has recreated that quality or aspect of sports that many others lack – fun. People get a big kick out of cheering for the good guy and yelling at the bad guy.

Most fans probably would agree that wrestling is fake, but they don’t care. To them, it is good entertainment, somewhat like going to see the movies.

The fans can attend the matches and forget about their job, politics, or the threat of nuclear war and have a great time doing it.

Also, there are no astronomical salaries in wrestling. Money related issues are practically non-existent in wrestling. Basically, wrestling is popular because of the simulated pride that is involved in each of the matches, Loewen says. The good guys want to beat the bad guys because they are doing it for the fans, and that is the key. The wrestler appears to be in the ring for the fan and not only for the money.

In almost all of the other sports, exactly the opposite is true. Money comes first, then giving the fans something to cheer about comes second, according to Loewen.

“No, I’m not suggesting that owners start ‘fixing’ baseball, football, or hockey; I’m just saying that no matter how much they laugh at wrestling, they could afford to learn a few lessons from it.”