Professional Wrestling Studies Association
Studying the Past, Present, and Future of Professional Wrestling
prowrestlingstudies_21lb3c Hello, good wrestling fans! I’m back with another entry into the Nylons and Midriffs series. Not exactly the same time as I promised in my last post, but ’tis life sometimes. Due to circumstances out of my control, this post is one week later than I hoped it would be. Therefore, this week I’ll discuss … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: What’s Happening in Women’s Wrestling (June 14, 2018)
Welcome to Nylons and Midriffs, PWSA’s new bi-weekly column on women’s wrestling in WWE. In this column, we’re going to magnify women’s wrestling on WWE’s two main brand shows, RAW and Smackdown Live. We’ll hammer out the ways the division develops in this so-called “Women’s Evolution.” When it comes to wrestling critique, male critics, bloggers, … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: What’s Happening in Women’s Wrestling (May 25, 2018)
Any WrestleMania weekend experience is going to be marked by surreal moments. From the shear spectacle of the WWE’s collection of events and activities, to the overwhelming amount of professional wrestling occurring over seven days, and to the breathtaking risks and frequently draw-dropping storytelling of the performers on cards all across the weekend’s host city, … Read more The Surreal Reality of Professional Wrestling: A Wrestlemania Reflection
Throughout the year, the Professional Wrestling Studies Association has offered a range of event coverage for WWE Pay Per Views as well as a host of vintage and indie shows and performers. Our goal is to cultivate an exclusive space for creative and scholarly writing, from close readings and fan perspectives. WrestleMania 34 offers the … Read more WrestleMania 34 Rhetorical Recap: Golden Spotlights, Crimson Masks, and the (Unconscious) Race Politics of Smarks
In recent years, WrestleMania weekend has become an opportunity for numerous domestic and international wrestling promotions to converge on the host city in order to capitalize on the presence of tens of thousands of wrestling fans from around the world. I have attended three previous WrestleManias (XXV in Houston, 2009, XXVII in Atlanta, 2011, and … Read more WrestleMania 34: A Travelogue
This past weekend, New Orleans, Louisiana played host to several different professional wrestling promotions, all of which offered an abundance of pro graps to wrestling fans of all persuasions. For instance, AAW, Fight Club: Pro, and The Wrestling Revolver co-sponsored the Pancakes and Piledrivers show, which took place at WrestleCon and caused some controversy when … Read more Review – NXT TakeOver: New Orleans
The editors for the Professional Wrestling Studies Association are happy to celebrate this year’s Wrestlemania week with the new special edition of the Popular Culture Studies Journal on professional wrestling. This special edition can be accessed for free here. The essays contain work from a variety of scholars on numerous topics related to professional wrestling … Read more Special Edition for PCSJ on Pro Wrestling
UPDATED: PROPOSALS NOW DUE MAY 15, 2018 Midwest PCA/ACA 2018 Area: Wrestling Studies Area Co-Chairs: CarrieLynn D. Reinhard and Christopher J. Olson The 2018 Midwest PCA/ACA conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency Indianapolis in Indianapolis from Wednesday-Sunday, October 4-7. Call: Indie Wrestling Since this year’s conference is in Indie-apolis, we are looking for papers … Read more CFP MPCA 2018 Wrestling Studies
Professional Wrestling: Politics and Populism Call for book chapter proposals Deadline for abstracts (250 words): 15 March 2018 Contact: Sharon Mazer (smazer@aut.ac.nz) Provoked by the disruptive performances of Donald Trump as candidate and president, and mindful of his longstanding ties to the WWE, this edited book will look at the infusion of professional wrestling’s worldview … Read more CFP: Professional Wrestling: Politics and Populism
In an age of bottom lines, stakeholder interests, global market competitiveness, spreadable media strategies, Internet social media and sports infotainment coverage, and political correctness, and of course, strategically placed press releases and media events in between the NFL’s championship and Super Bowl weekends, how could the company not book the Women’s Rumble last?