Pro Wrestling is not considered a sport, at least not by the majority of the people who would be commenting on such a thing. Even fans of the industry more liken it to a soap opera for men and a live action stunt show rather than a serious athletic pursuit. They point to Pro Wrestling’s predetermined elements and decry that because the in ring competition isn’t real that there’s no way that they can consider it a sport. That the acrobatics and theatrics displayed from the Wrestlers detract from the idea that it could ever be taken seriously as a venture that could show up at something as prestigious as the Olympics. Remind me again, isn’t Gymnastics an official Olympic Sport? Oh yes it is. That right there is part of the basis for what I am about to propose to you in this article today, that not only can Pro Wrestling be a sport but that I have a very solid strategy as to how it could be implemented. If you’re interested in having your mind changed or opinion reinforced on the subject then please, read on.
Firstly let me address how the sport would be set up in an Olympic capacity. Of course the wrestlers competing against each other couldn’t be from different countries because working with each other would be impossible without someone going into business for themselves, that’s why Pro Wrestling would be a team sport. No I don’t mean tag team but instead that each country would put together a roster of six wrestlers, four men and two women or vice versa, to compete against each other over the course of the events. These matches would then be judged by officials from the participating countries much like diving and gymnastics and based on things like psychology, pacing, selling, storytelling, character work and so on. The coaches and judges themselves would be made up of former successful wrestling veterans or those specifically skilled in the art of Pro Wrestling. The coaches would work almost like the team’s road agent helping them put together their matches in ways that they best think would impress the judges and conceiving the perfect pairings from those on the team to hopefully produce the best results. The most successful pairing from each participating country would be the ones moving on to the final day, competing for medals to bring glory home to their countries at a large event that would be presented more like a proper wrestling show. There would also be exhibition tags including the eliminated members of a countries team to bring even more variety to the event and allow for an immersive experience for fans of Pro Wrestling tuning in.
The great thing about Pro Wrestling is that there are workers from every corner of the globe and promotions everywhere from Dubai to Germany to Australia. There would be no shortage of potential coaches and representatives who would be eager to go for gold and raise their profiles, to become heroes. Not only that but the injection of money that an Olympic programme could bring to the business in countries that might not have much interest in wrestling? That is something that would encourage wrestling’s growth globally and benefit everyone involved from top to bottom. Even those potential competitors who don’t go on to have Olympic aspirations could end up receiving world class training and support, can you imagine the benefit that those talents would bring to the independent scene and then later to the big companies of the wrestling world? It’s almost unimaginable.
If you’re still not convinced then let me introduce you to the Duilian (dual) and Jiti (group) events from Wushu, also known as Chinese Kung Fu, where participating performers act out jaw dropping choreographed sparring together that has to be seen to be believed. It’s quite literally like a Jet Li movie come to life.
If this right here can be treated as a sport and judged as a sport then I see no reason in the world that Pro Wrestling cannot be regarded the same way. Pro Wrestlers are no less the athletes, they’re certainly putting in more contact than they do in a Wushu Duilian and performing at the top level takes all the hard work and dedication that any other intense sport in the world does unless you’re dealing with someone incredibly gifted. Is treating Pro Wrestling as a sport something that would be good for the whole industry? Of course not but there is a group of people who like their wrestling to seem as legitimate as it can be, there’s also a lot of people who loved wrestling growing up but dropped off for no other reason than it was seen as kiddie or fake. Making a push for Pro Wrestling to be considered for the Olympics will help put an end to that stigma, it will create another subculture within the industry for people to enjoy and as you’ve just read it is very possible. Forget the naysayers, this is how you put a large part of the mainstream at Pro Wrestling’s feet and with solid performances on such a stage? They wouldn’t be able to do anything but come knocking for more.
Let me know what you think over on Twitter @ChatChatterson and make sure if you liked the article to retweet, give it a favourite and follow me for more Pro Wrestling content coming at you thick and fast from the Chat Man. Thank you all for joining me again here on BodySlam.Net, have a great night.
God bless.
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