WrestlePosium
WrestlePosium is an annual academic symposium that brings together scholars, researchers, students, and fans to explore the cultural, artistic, and social dimensions of professional wrestling through research, theory, and creative work. This event features a dynamic lineup of scholarly presentations, panels, and creative discussions that dive into wrestling’s cultural, artistic, and global impact. Past Wrestleposiums have showcased:
Sports business management, economics, and industry perspectives
Fandom, community engagement
Narrative storytelling, psychology
Social commentary, cultural studies
Art, performance, intersectionality
Politics, history, international relations
It’s a dynamic space where academic rigor merges with the creativity of pro wrestling culture.
Review the schedule and presentation abstracts:
Missed Wrestleposium VII 2026 — NO PROBLEM! Watch all the dynamic presentations, discussions, and keynote presentations here on our YouTube channel.
WrestlePosium VI 2025 –– Robert D. McDermand presents “Business Model of Pro Wrestling.”
As a Sports Business faculty member, Robert uses the business model of professional wrestling and sports entertainment to encourage students to dig more deeply into the business-side of the sports world. This short session integrates lessons from the business side of professional wrestling into academic curriculum.
WrestlePosium VI 2025: Academic Keynote with Shannon Bow O’Brien.
Shannon B. O'Brien specializes in American Politics, focusing on the American Presidency and Political Development. She has published two books, Why Presidential Speech Locations Matter: Analyzing Speechmaking from Truman to Obama and Donald Trump and The Kayfabe Presidency: Professional Wrestling Rhetoric in the White House.
WrestlePosium VI 2025—Embrace the Hate: Rereading Elon Musk as a Chickenshit Heel
Presenters Marek Muller and Dr. Cecilia Cerja analyze Elon Musk as a particular professional wrestling archetype: the chickenshit heel. When heels enter the ring they are often met with boos or jeering from the fans, and their prowess as a heel is judged on their ability to get the crowd to truly hate them. Nonetheless, many fans love heels for their abilities or their character work, and many wrestlers have preferred “playing the heel” because it is “more fun.” Thus, when we name Musk as a “heel” archetype, we do so from an oppositional political standpoint and an understanding that Musk, at times, embraces his hate and “plays” heel with enthusiasm.
Watch Previous WrestlePosium Sessions
Check out highlights from this year’s Wrestleposium –– plus previous panels, round table discussions, keynotes, and more from years past––all available on our YouTube Channel.
🎥 Explore the depth of academic and cultural conversations around pro wrestling with some highlighted sessions below. ✨
Wrestleposium VII 2026 Professional Keynote by Vance Nevada –– executive board member of the Cauliflower Alley Club (CAC), wrestling historian, booker, and author.
The CAC stands as pro wrestling’s only 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to supporting wrestling industry veterans who have given so much entertainment over the years.
In an intimate conversation, Vance painted a vivid picture of his journey into the wrestling world and highlighted the vital importance of preserving wrestling’s rich cultural and regional histories. He addressed contemporary challenges in wrestling storytelling, critiquing a “laziness” in some current booking practices that rely on discriminatory rhetoric rather than smarter, more respectful ways to generate heat.
Vance also shared the inspiring origin story of the CAC, reinforcing its mission to provide authentic, much-needed financial assistance to wrestling professionals facing hardship.
WrestlePosiun V: 2024 — Beyond the Ring: Exploring the Intersection of Cultural Wellness, Mental Wellness, and Gender Identity in Professional Wrestling
Roundtable with Milaun Murry (University of Texas- Arlington), Aaron Machbitz (You Are Loved Founder, VP of Experience Wrestling), and Hollie McMillan (University of Texas-Arlington, M.S. candidate).
This panel seeks to shed light on the multifaceted impact of cultural wellness, mental wellness, and gender identity on the overall well-being and success of professional wrestlers.
Rebecca Gault, "Bloody Blowoff Brawls: Studying Hardcore Matches as Narrative" - Wrestleposium 2026
Through a close study of two key feuds in women’s wrestling and the subsequent hardcore matches that ended both feuds, this presentation intends to examine the links between hardcore wrestling, narrative catharsis, and the growing desire for women to occupy a larger role in the industry. Particular focus will be placed on the feud between AEW’s Timeless Toni Storm and the then-named Mariah May, a cinematic feud drawing on classic Hollywood, and on the feud between UK independent wrestlers Alex Windsor and Charlie Morgan, a more intimate feud based on a real-life friendship and bridging the gap between kayfabe and reality.
By reading both these feuds in conjunction with catharsis theory and feminist theory, this presentation will provide a read of why women’s hardcore wrestling can elicit a positive cathartic sensation in audiences, and thus draw further investment.
WrestlePosium II: Jazzy "Alpha Female" Gabert
For the 2021 Professional Keynote, German professional wrestler Jazzy Gabert aka Alpha Female discusses the struggles she had to overcome to achieve the international success she has accomplished. Learn more about Gabert's life and her experiences in the male-dominated world of professional wrestling.
WrestlePosium V 2024—Parallel in Storyline: Connection between Marvel Cinematic Universe and Bloodline Saga in WWE
Presenter Swapnaneel Basu Roy––Saint Xavier’s College, Kolkata, India.
The ongoing narrative captivating the WWE, the foremost professional wrestling promotion, is none other than the compelling Bloodline saga. This in-depth study embarks on a comprehensive analysis of the storyline trajectories, spanning Bloodline’s inception in 2020, with the overarching goal of showcasing the striking parallels that unfold between the captivating Marvel Cinematic Universe movies and the enthralling Bloodline saga.
Egan Chernoff, Kayfabe is Pedagogy: Teaching and Learning Elementary Arithmetic - Wrestleposium 2026
Egan Chernoff presents "Kayfabe is Pedagogy: Teaching and Learning Elementary Arithmetic." The purpose of this presentation is to draw attention to the similarities that exist between the worlds of professional wrestling and the teaching and learning of mathematics. In particular, this presentation details how an often used approach for the teaching and learning of the multiplication of decimals is no different than a famous wrestling move where a particular wrestler, John Cena, waves his hand in front of his face a few times and, all of a sudden, he becomes invisible to his opponent for a brief period of time. To explain how any of this is even possible, a few wrestling terms a discussed and then couched in examples from mathematics education. Discussing kayfabe, for example, reveals that it is rampant in the teaching and learning of mathematics if you look for it.
