Professional Wrestling Studies Association
Studying the Past, Present, and Future of Professional Wrestling
Oh don’t worry, we’ll get to that finish from Extreme Rules in due time… Returning for another edition of Nylons, we have some good and horrific things to talk about in the wake of The Horror Show at Extreme Rules. But, we also have a few topics to visit outside of that show, and also … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: Ring the Freakin’ Bell! (July 22, 2020)
Wow wow wow. The past two weeks have produced some of the best women’s wrestling I can remember seeing in the last 12 months. For both WWE and AEW, my critiques are mostly nitpicky details from a critic invested in keeping this momentum going. It can’t be denied that the women have been an integral … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: In Sasha We Trust (July 8, 2020)
Much of the same mix of hope and anxiety have continued for me since the last edition of Nylons. And what’s worse is that I (spoiler) have many negative feelings toward wrestling at the moment, for the various news that have come out in the last couple of weeks. From WWE allegedly forbidding Performance Center … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: Deliver Us From Charlotte (June 24, 2020)
Disheartened, exhausted, hopeful. These are just a handful of the emotions that I’ve felt in the last three weeks of American life. I, like Black folks everywhere in this nation, had to search deep in my well of stamina to both process the violence hurled at Us and protesters, as well as find resilience to … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: Meritocracy Is A Lie (June 10, 2020)
I find myself despondent writing Nylons this week. As most of us likely know by now, WWE administered mass layoffs, furloughs, and releases of their staff last week — inclusive of producers, writers, trainers, on- and off-air talent. I followed the news as it broke on YouTube with my preferred wrestling content creators. I texted … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: A Reckoning (April 22, 2020)
The oddest WrestleMania in history has come and gone, folks. And well, with all due respect to AEW, I think the historic nature of WrestleMania this year requires me to focus on it exclusively this week. Still, I will give some general thoughts on AEW at the end of this post. All in all, I … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: The Business of Wrestling (WrestleMania Review, 2020)
In the words of the great feminist writer Roxane Gay, every day is a month in this new world of social distancing. As a fan of wrestling, I am glad to still have this form of entertainment during this tumultuous time. However, it comes with a twinge of concern for the people I see on … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: Near? Far? Wherever You Are… (March 25, 2020)
If you’re a long time wrestling fan like me, you know how this time of year feels when it comes around. While it infamously has no off-season, wrestling — when viewed as a cyclical sport — is now entering playoff season. We’re rounding third base into home, and the payoff for months of rivalry and … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: The Syndrome (March 11, 2020)
Ho Ho Ho and so forth! We are a fortnight away from a new decade and closing yet another chapter to women’s wrestling history. But before we look back fondly (or otherwise) on the year that was, let’s take one more dive into the weekly happenings of WWE, NXT, and AEW for the women. Because … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: Guns and Glitter (December 19, 2019)
I believe I can speak for us all when I say that we were fed very well over the last week — both literally and figuratively (in terms of wrestling, of course). Because I am sure many of us took a little break from wrestling due to Thanksgiving, I am going to focus the WWE … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: Push or Pull (December 4, 2019)