Professional Wrestling Studies Association
Studying the Past, Present, and Future of Professional Wrestling
After an hour of pestering the promoter of Memphis’s United States Wrestling Association (USWA) at a 1992 show, the promoter brought out one of the promotion’s top good guys (or “faces”), Jeff Jarrett, to talk to me. Sporting a mane of shiny blond hair and a friendly demeanor, Jarrett patiently described his wrestling career before … Read more Before Shoot Interviews: Jeff Jarrett
What is your area of study/research? I am an Assistant Professor of Sport Management at Tusculum University in Greeneville, Tennessee. My research interests primarily center around organizational and consumer behavior in combat sports, along with the globalization and labor economics of combat sports. What led to your interest in pro wrestling and how do you … Read more PWSA Meet and Greet: Nick Davidson
In part two of this 1991 interview, Pro Wrestling Torch editor Wade Keller talks about incorporating interviews into his relatively new newsletter. The interviews were a feature that set the Torch apart from The Wrestling Observer. KELLER: I decided to start doing interviews. I thought that would be good because there weren’t any in wrestling, and … Read more Before Shoot Interviews: Wade Keller–Part 2
Wade Keller had been editing and publishing the Pro Wrestling Torch from a Minneapolis suburb for four years at the time of this 1991 interview. Keller started his newsletter as a high school student and featured interviews along with news. Although there are a variety of sources for “insider” pro wrestling news today, in the … Read more Before Shoot Interviews: Wade Keller–Part 1
CALL FOR PAPERS: Anthology on Wrestling in the Pandemic Health, Illness, and Injury in Professional Wrestling: A Special Section of a forthcoming issue of Survive and Thrive Professional Wrestling Studies Journal Vol. 4 Wrestling in the Pandemic Editors: Lowery Woodall, Jessica Fontaine, and CarrieLynn D. Reinhard On April 9, 2020, in the early days of … Read more CALLS FOR PAPERS
What is your area of study/research? I’m Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Bath. My study/research agenda is broadly split into two strands that frequently overlap. The first focuses on UK politics, in particularly in Wales and relating to the Labour Party more generally. The second focuses on ideological contestation, hegemonic struggles, and … Read more PWSA Meet and Greet: David S. Moon
The Wrestling Observer newsletter, one of the first, and likely the most influential, professional wrestling newsletters is written and edited by California-based Dave Meltzer. When I was an intern at Marvel Comics in 1990, the editor with whom I worked was a professional wrestling fan and told me about this newsletter, and I have been … Read more Before Shoot Interviews: Dave Meltzer
What is your area of study/research? I am Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences at Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois, and I am interested in how people make sense of themselves, each other, and the world around them. That means I largely draw on audience studies, reception studies, and fan studies. I also focus … Read more PWSA Meet and Greet: CarrieLynn D. Reinhard
Eddie Sharkey turns his attention to his Pro Wrestling America (PWA) promotion in the second part of this 1991 interview. In addition to describing the dynamics of trying to be an independent promoter at a time when the World Wrestling Federation had driven many other regional wrestling promotions out of business, Mr. Sharkey provides some … Read more Before Shoot Interviews: Eddie Sharkey–Part 2
What is your area of study/research? I’m Associate Professor in the Religious Studies Department at the University of Alabama. My research has focused on religion in America, and I’ve been particularly interested in the ways religion functions a category for the construction and performance of individual and group identity. What led to your interest in … Read more PWSA Meet and Greet: Michael J. Altman