Professional Wrestling Studies Association
Studying the Past, Present, and Future of Professional Wrestling
For the last couple decades, wrestling fans have been used to a wrestling universe divided into two categories of promotions: (1) the so-called “indies” (or “independent wrestling” or the “indie circuit”); and (2) the nameless other category, which is not really a category at all since it only includes a single promotion, the WWE. So … Read more The Problem with “Indie Wrestling” (hint: it’s not the wrestling)
From Paul Heyman to Mike Quackenbush, Philadelphia has given birth to some pretty amazing professional wrestling promotions. In the late 1990s, ECW brought a hardcore, grunge aesthetic to sports entertainment. Since 2002, CHIKARA has been bringing more focus to storylines, characters, and amazing matches. Because the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association is holding the annual … Read more Call for Proposals: PCA 2020 in Philly
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
This SummerSlam article got away from me. It’s about eight times longer than I intended, so I’m releasing it in two parts. Part One is about my pre-SummerSlam preparations, including my reengagement with WWE after many years away. Part Two has my actual SummerSlam review, including my grades for each match, which, when tallied, will … Read more SummerSlam Part One: Preparations