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 … Continue reading Before They Were Superstars: Johnny Gargano
Online Relationships with Wrestlers
This piece goes to the work I am doing on convergent wrestling. Writing back in 2006, Henry Jenkins discussed how convergence culture was allowing more fans to have more power. Basically, in this context, convergence culture is this idea that digital technologies like smartphones and the internet have blurred the lines between audiences and producers. … Continue reading Online Relationships with Wrestlers
An Autoethnography of AAW
Two men enter the ring -- the "squared circle" -- muscles tense, skin already glistening with sweat. They circle the ring, calling out to their fans in the crowd to let their admiration roar and shake the building. The room still reverberates with the booming baselines of their entrance music, leaving the audiences' ears to … Continue reading An Autoethnography of AAW