Professional Wrestling Studies Association
Studying the Past, Present, and Future of Professional Wrestling
Jenkins, Charlie. American Wrestling: 1989. Self-published. Review by J. Rocky Colavito Professional wrestling has a varied history as a focus for fiction, with much of the interest in it as a source of setting, plot, and characters coming within the past decade. Authors such as Christa Faust, (Hoodtown), Stephen Cooper (Blood Soaked Wrestling), Lucas Mangum (Blade Job), … Read more Review: American Wrestling: 1989
After I interviewed Windy City Wrestling co-founder Sam DeCero in 1991 in Chicago, Sam brought over a few of his trainees to talk to me. Trevor Blanchard was introduced to me as a “bad guy,” and he sat down for this interview with some wariness. I guess the bad guy attitude was inevitable if you … Read more Before Shoot Interviews: Trevor Blanchard
Part 1 of this interview ended with Sam DeCero’s career-ending injury due to a mishap during his regular day job as a laborer. Read on to learn about the next steps that DeCero took to remain a force in the Chicago pro wrestling scene…. DeCero: So I figured, “How am I going to stay in … Read more Before Shoot Interviews: Sam DeCero (part 2)
“A cross between Little Richard and Muhammad Ali” is how Marc Mero, better known as Johnny B. Badd, described himself in 1992 when I talked to him. The description was quite apt for the muscular, tanned wrestler who wore lipstick, rouge, and skimpy wrestling tights. Mero was a newcomer to wrestling in 1992 but off … Read more Before Shoot Interviews: Marc Mero
It’s Time! It’s WrestlePosium Time! The President of the PWSA invites submissions for the association’s WrestlePosium IV. This virtual symposium will happen online on Saturday, April 1st, 2023. We are having the symposium with the WrestleMania festivities to be a part of the general festivities. For more on the WrestlePosium series, see https://www.prowrestlingstudies.org/home-2/wrestleposium-the-online-symposium/ The PWSA seeks … Read more Call for WrestlePosium IV Presentations, Papers, Panels
CALL FOR PAPERS, ABSTRACTS, AND PANEL PROPOSALS Wrestling Studies Area Co-Chairs CarrieLynn D. Reinhard (creinhard@dom.edu) and Christopher J. Olson (olson429@uwm.edu) Midwest Popular Culture Association / Midwest American Culture Association Annual Conference Friday-Sunday, 2-4 October 2020 Minneapolis, Minnesota Westin Minneapolis Minnesota is famous for its impact on professional wrestling. Minnesota has produced many classic superstars like … Read more Call for MPCA/ACA 2020 Wrestling Studies
Working the Circuit: Cultural Studies of Florida Guest Editors: Aisha Durham, Wesley Johnson, and Sasha Sanders, University of South Florida Florida figures prominently in the US American imaginary. It is a spectacular state of escape for spring breaking coeds, disneyfied kids, and sun-seeking “snowbirds” who flock south among resettled retirees, new migrants, longtime locals, and … Read more Call for Papers: Special Issue on Cultural Studies of Florida
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 President of the PWSA invites submissions for the association’s inaugural PWSA Symposium: WrestlePosium I. This virtual symposium will happen online on Saturday, April 4th, to coincide with WrestleMania. That week has become a touchstone for all of professional wrestling, not just the World Wrestling Entertainment’s signature show. As such, the PWSA seeks to bring … Read more Call for PWSA’s Inaugural Symposium
The Professional Wresting Studies Association invites submissions for the inaugural issue of the Professional Wrestling Studies Journal, an open-access, peer-reviewed academic journal. We welcome scholarly work from any theoretical and methodological lens that is rigorous, insightful, and expands our audience’s understanding of professional wrestling past or present as a cultural, social, political, and/or economic institution. … Read more CFP: Professional Wrestling Studies Journal