Over the years, the world of wrestling has gotten more glamorous with more showmanship while making a quite definite emphasis from sports to entertainment. I first new it as World Wrestling Federation, as it was known then, but with its new name World Wrestling Entertainment, it quite reflects the shift it has made over the years; and what a crowd puller it has come to be. It has now become a leading lucrative industry, so much so that it really does make you wonder why so many people queue up to the jam-packed stadiums to watch wrestlers beat each other. Now with cable television, we do find that a lot of Nagas do closely follow the latest on WWE even when they continue to doubt the genuineness of the bouts; and not surprisingly, kids trying out the moves of their favorite wrestlers.
In a conference I once asked an American student; why they were so fond of WWE and he went on to say how it provided them the space to just let out their anger and disappointments. He went on to add that their society is a very controlled one that dwells in a very strong work culture, which does not provide especially the working class with sufficient time to take care of their own needs. This he said builds up strong emotions which further aggravates with work and social pressure and the challenge of making ends need; culminating into intense desires to let out the emotion. He added that the wrestling entertainment has become one of the outlets where most of the people let go off their emotion. Not surprising, the spectators are mostly comprised of the working class.
The social usage of this wrestling entertainment however means more pressure on wrestlers to perform. They have to ensure that they remained at their prime to continue in the business, lest they are forced to resign themselves to a much lower profile wrestling corporation. More pressure for wrestlers means pushing their body beyond normal endurance and taking higher levels of risk in maneuvers. Behind the façade of glamour and public adoration lies the lonely battle against depression and ‘roid rage’ usually experienced by people who are dependent on bodybuilding drugs. This problem has been further compounded because the schedules of performance has become more demanding and regular, not giving sufficient time for wrestlers to recover, which then implies greater dependence on drugs and steroids.
The tragic death of Chris Benoit and the manner in which he caused the death of his wife and son has jolted the wrestling world and fans the world-over and has brought to the forefront the underlying issues and challenges that wrestler’s face. Several well known wrestlers like Eddie Guerrero, ‘Mr Perfect’ and Davey Boy Smith the ‘British Bulldog’ have all prematurely died in the last few years from heart failures, which the coroners have linked it to long-tern steroid use. While in the case of Benoit, the officials have stated that steroids ‘were not and could not be related to the cause of death’ one cannot help but see how his actions could have been induced by the demands of being a wrestling superstar, caught in a web of pressure, performance and glamour
