Professional Wrestling Studies Association
Studying the Past, Present, and Future of Professional Wrestling
prowrestlingstudies_21lb3c Well, the “biggest event of the summer” has arrived, and WWE has taken over Brooklyn for the fourth consecutive year. WWE’s SummerSlam is one of the WWE’s “Big Four” (Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, Survivor Series) pay-per-views, and each year it’s being hyped as bigger and bigger, which is made evident as the show gets longer and … Read more Summer Slam 2018: Coronations and Contracts
by David Beard with John Heppen Wrestling is an athletic performing art where the winners of the matches are prearranged. Wrestlers require athletic skill and physical training: be very careful in telling a pro wrestler that what he or she does is “fake.” It would be like telling Sir Ian McKellan that what he does … Read more Differentiating Regional Professional Wrestling from National Pro Wrestling: Some Observations
Hello good wrestling fans. I”m back after a significant move to a new city with some somewhat fresh thoughts about WWE’s women’s division. While I’m sure many of you are hoping for some predictions or speculation from me heading into SummerSlam, I have some general thoughts that have been swirling in my head since my … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: What’s Happening in Women’s Wrestling (August 16, 2018)
by David Beard, Associate Professor of Rhetoric, University of Minnesota Duluth There was one women’s match at FortuneBaynia, a regional professional wrestling show held in Tower, Minnesota, July 29, 2018, about three hours north of Minneapolis. That match demonstrated some of the limitations of women’s professional wrestling when it settles down into the regional circuits. … Read more Reflections on Regional Professional Wrestling: Gender at FortuneBaynia
by David Beard, Associate Professor of Rhetoric, University of Minnesota Duluth Nostalgia is a powerful dimension of brand management, and FortuneBaynia, a regional professional wrestling show held in Tower, Minnesota, July 29, 2018, about three hours north of Minneapolis and most of the way to the Canadian border, demonstrates this power. On the surface, the … Read more Reflections on Regional Professional Wrestling: Nostalgia Marketing at FortuneBaynia
Wow wow wow good wrestling fans. Have we got a lot to talk about this week! Unlike previous installments, my thoughts for each category this week are more general. I am currently in the midst of a move out of the city (Chicago) to Evanston, so admittedly I didn’t have the sharpest eye to wrestling … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: What’s Happening in Women’s Wrestling (July 30, 2018)
Hello good wrestling fans. I come to you with devastating news this week. After attempting to watch Extreme Rules yesterday — as I am wont to do using my brother-in-law’s account — I was given an error message upon trying to stream the pay-per-view, telling me that I needed a subscription to continue. The heartbreak … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: What’s Happening in Women’s Wrestling (July 16, 2018)
Hello good wrestling fans. I’m not going to beat around the bush with this post, because we have a lot to get through. I want us all to be caught up and acquainted with where things look to be going now that Money in the Bank is in the rearview. However, we’re still going to … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: What’s Happening in Women’s Wrestling (July 2, 2018)
Sometimes a wrestler becomes so well known in a certain alignment it’s strange to see them wrestle the other way. Ric Flair was widely known as a heel, but would wrestle as a face periodically. Hulk Hogan, for much of his career, also wrestled as a face — to the point that it was a … Read more Before They Were Superstars: Johnny Gargano
Sport / Spectacle: Performing, Labouring, Circulating Bodies Across Sport, Theatre, Dance, and Live Art Friday 14 and Saturday 15 September 2018, Kings College London, Strand Campus Day 1, Keynote and Screening with Jennifer Doyle, 14 September, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM, Nash Lecture Theatre Day 2, Papers, Workshops, and Performances, 15 September, 10:00 AM – … Read more CFP: Sport / Spectacle Conference