Professional Wrestling Studies Association
Studying the Past, Present, and Future of Professional Wrestling
The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) has a limited collection of issues of Wrestling Facts. Wrestling Facts was available at the Friday night fights, in the case of this issue, at the National Guard Armory on 6th and Exchange. If you are curious, partial data about wrestling shows at the St. Paul Armory has been collected … Read more Wrestling Facts [1 of 3] excerpts from the Minnesota Historical Society
In The Nib, an online comics server filled with primarily comics of political and social commentary, Whit Taylor [in “Welcome to Bachelor Nation“] uses “kayfabe” to explain the narrative dynamics of The Bachelor TV show. I am fascinated that wrestling should be the ground against which the figure of the Bachelor is understood.
Below, some notes about gender in wrestling, from “Wrestling with Masculinity: Messages about Manhood in the WWE” by Danielle M. Soulliere Message 1: Real men are aggressive and violent One message that was clearly revealed through the programs was that real men are physically aggressive and violent. There were several examples in which male performers … Read more Excerpt from “Wrestling with Masculinity” Message 1: Real men are aggressive and violent
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
Two weeks have passed, good wrestling fans, and I am still bored. I feel that every week I watch the WWE product, I sink deeper into an abyss of grey. I don’t feel any investment in the women’s storylines, but this is mostly because, as always, WWE is failing to create women’s stories outside of … Read more Nylons and Midriffs: Best of Both Worlds? (July 2, 2019)