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   theleftfist (theleftfist@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 21-Aug-2023 19:27:32 JST theleftfist

   One major argument about the misunderstood medium of professional #wrestling is that this widespread lack of understanding itself pushes its industry into dark corners, which is where exploitation always thrives. Yes: for those who graft away as pro wrestlers, the common refusal to take their work seriously leaves them vulnerable to abuses. #ProWrestling

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     theleftfist (theleftfist@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 21-Aug-2023 19:27:55 JST theleftfist

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     In the book Chokehold: Pro Wrestling’s Real Mayhem Outside the Ring, former wrestler Jim Wilson cited that at the heart of both pro wrestling’s appeal and its dismissal was “its odd combination of sport and theater into something that is neither, something that doesn’t fit a conventional category.”

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     theleftfist (theleftfist@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 22-Aug-2023 01:18:27 JST theleftfist

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     Dann Read, co-founder of #ProWrestlingEVE, has suggested that “Wrestling is a show where the story is that you’re watching a sport.” That's an interesting and helpful perspective.

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     theleftfist (theleftfist@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 22-Aug-2023 01:20:28 JST theleftfist

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     Dr Claire Warden is a Professor of Performance and Physical Culture, the co-editor of Performance and Professional Wrestling and the academic lead/commissioner for the ongoing #WrestlingResurgence project which aims to explore wrestling as an artistic practice through live wrestling shows. As part of her work, defining pro wrestling itself has been a key challenge.

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     theleftfist (theleftfist@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 22-Aug-2023 01:21:47 JST theleftfist

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     Dr Warden has suggested that #ProWrestling “is a liminal form that sits right on the intersection between sport and art,” elaborating that “it cannot be fully understood as a sport (despite its appearance on Sky Sports and BT Sport in the UK, its physicality, and its use of sporting tropes – rules, referees, the ring etc) or theatre (despite its characterisation, storylines, and spectacle).”

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     theleftfist (theleftfist@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 22-Aug-2023 23:43:58 JST theleftfist

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     “Beyond arguments about what #ProWrestling is or is not, and away from popular dismissal of #wrestling’s stunts and gimmicks as lowlifer sleaze, is another unexamined reality. And that is the view of the pro wrestling business from within,” Jim Wilson had stated. “It’s tough to find an audience for a serious discussion…about a topic generally dismissed as not to be taken seriously.”

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     theleftfist (theleftfist@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 22-Aug-2023 23:46:09 JST theleftfist

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     This lack of definition and broader comprehension of #ProWrestling itself, then, has permitted a plethora of problems to occur, including lack of funding and regulation. Explained Dr Warden: “This is exacerbated by the negative connotations of wrestling: that it is ‘less than’ sport, that it is fake, that it is popular (even, ‘working class’) and therefore not ‘real art’, that it's somehow not tasteful. All of this emanates from this initial question about whether wrestling is sport or theatre.”

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     theleftfist (theleftfist@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 24-Aug-2023 01:05:10 JST theleftfist

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     When establishment media has on occasion covered #ProWrestling, the ignorance meant those reporting on it were usually wide of the mark – such as, in the wake of the sex and drug scandals just over a decade before, the initial news stories oversimplifying the #ChrisBenoit double murder suicide as “’roid rage” when in fact brain trauma from dangerous moves performed in the ring played a significant part in the tragedy.

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     theleftfist (theleftfist@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 24-Aug-2023 01:05:10 JST theleftfist

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     “Chris Benoit’s suicide will forever be inextricably linked to #CTE [Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy],” said Dr Dominic Malcolm, an expert on the concussion crisis in sports: “As ever with wrestling, much depends on how you view it – is it sport or a dramatic performance? In my mind, it is probably both (or neither). But this ambiguity has meant that the concussion crisis is experienced in peculiar ways in wrestling.” https://wrestling-research.lboro.ac.uk/dazed-and-confused-concussion-wrestling-and-political-change/

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     theleftfist (theleftfist@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 12-Sep-2023 18:40:11 JST theleftfist

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     The issue, fundamentally, is a lack of protections for pro wrestlers themselves, in an industry spawned from carnies of old, many supposed “superstars” treated much like circus animals – and the lack of broad understanding of the business in many ways permits promoters to act under the radar, without proper scrutiny as opposed to mere sensationalist stories once every few years.

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     theleftfist (theleftfist@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 12-Sep-2023 18:41:38 JST theleftfist

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     That #ProWrestling has gone this long subjected to the whims of the capitalists in charge of the business, while so many similar industries are more respected, regulated, and unionised, is essentially an ongoing scandal. But, because it sits somewhere between sport and art, it’s also complicated — as pro wrestlers themselves will tell you.

     Robert James repeated this.
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     theleftfist (theleftfist@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 15-Sep-2023 23:14:12 JST theleftfist

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     Despite the fact that, in the 1980s, the World Wrestling Federation’s #VinceMcMahon testified before the New Jersey State Senate that pro wrestling was in fact predetermined performance, in an attempt to avoid regulations, this “sport-art” is nonetheless still sometimes regulated by State Athletic Commissions, which some pro wrestlers like #JimWilson actually fought for in hopes it might lead to better protection for performers (leading to him being blackballed by promoters).

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     theleftfist (theleftfist@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 15-Sep-2023 23:15:59 JST theleftfist

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     Ironically, around the same time as McMahon’s testimony, his commentary colleague on his televised #WWF shows, ex-wrestler Jesse “The Body” Ventura, was enjoying a run in Hollywood blockbuster movies like #Predator and #TheRunningMan, where he was registered to the Screen Actors Guild and helped pro wrestlers organise in attempts apparently largely scuppered by both top star Hulk Hogan and, no doubt, McMahon himself.

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     theleftfist (theleftfist@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 15-Sep-2023 23:17:13 JST theleftfist

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     McMahon, of course, is a longtime ally of #DonaldTrump, #KOSA apologist, and pro wrestling monopolist who ran roughshod over territories to dominate pro wrestling by the turn of the century, controlling and exploiting wrestlers along the way via his #WWF (later #WWE).

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     theleftfist (theleftfist@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 15-Sep-2023 23:19:33 JST theleftfist

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     “Union membership rates in the UK’s major sports exceeds 90%,” said Dr Malcolm, “but wrestling is traditionally non-unionised; only recently has actors’ union Equity begun to represent wrestlers. (What makes this particularly ironic is that dramatic performance is also highly unionised, with Equity operating one of the last ‘closed shops’ in the UK until outlawed in 1990). Finally, there is no singular governing body for wrestling or what organisational theorists call a dominant self-regulator.”

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     smoking 𒋆𒄣𒌦𒈾𒁍 with 'ilu (jake2@kolektiva.social)'s status on Saturday, 16-Sep-2023 04:19:18 JST smoking 𒋆𒄣𒌦𒈾𒁍 with 'ilu

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     @theleftfist honestly, it was probably better for the average performer back in the carnie days before mcmahon started to monopolize the industry. You'd be able to bargain much more directly and with proportionally more of the labour force behind you, and if you did get fired there would always be another promo the next town over

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     theleftfist (theleftfist@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 16-Sep-2023 04:19:18 JST theleftfist

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     • smoking 𒋆𒄣𒌦𒈾𒁍 with 'ilu

     @jake2 Very good point. The territories, and even the Monday Night Wars, gave wrestlers more options for bargaining. At least AEW gives some alternative for leverage entering a somewhat comparable sphere to WWE.

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     theleftfist (theleftfist@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 10-Oct-2023 20:07:05 JST theleftfist

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     There has been little hope or vision for many years, up until recently with, on one hand, the All In event and, on the other, the #SpeakingOut movement.

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     theleftfist (theleftfist@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 10-Oct-2023 20:07:20 JST theleftfist

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     Here in the UK, an All-Party Parliamentary Group was launched to form an inquiry as a result of the revelations that came from Speaking Out, concluding that “in the absence of a recognised union, wrestlers could organise and take direct action – but given almost all are self-employed independent contractors, in different places and at different times, such organising is not realistic.”

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     theleftfist (theleftfist@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 10-Oct-2023 20:08:11 JST theleftfist

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     It continued: “One over-arching body is therefore needed, but the mobilisation required is an incredible challenge, given the lack of stability in work and fear of promoters blackballing.” Despite the obvious limitations presented by hierarchical parliamentary politics, the APPG in the UK remains significant, because it recommends specific sets of standards and pro wrestling companies adhering to these standards, therefore offering more opportunities for organising here in the UK.

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     Robert James (fulner@social.mojo.fyi)'s status on Wednesday, 29-Nov-2023 08:56:27 JST Robert James

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     @theleftfist not that different from the Screen actors Guild in the states whose bylaws specifically ban stunt men and pro wrestlers.
     
     My understanding is Luchadores are required to be in a union to work in Mexico but like most North American trafe unions membership has little value to the worker.