Click the banner above for great wrestling DVDs

Blue Collar Battlers

In the late 80's came wrestlers like Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Duggan a brawling in- ring worker came to the ring carrying a length of 2x4 which hinted at the fact that he may have been a carpenter or building worker though this was never clearly stated. What was known was Duggan's unashamedly working class background and his patriotism. A typical Hacksaw Jim Duggan interview usually went along the lines of:

Yo! friends it's your old pal Hacksaw Jim Duggan here. You know, I ain't had much learning, no fancy college diplomas or the like . But I know what's right and I know what's wrong and I know that sometimes you gotta fight for what you believe in- And that's why Ol' Hacksaw is here.

The fact that Duggan used his 2x4 as a weapon to threaten opponents highlighted the fact that sometimes it was all right to break rules if it was in the greater good. In spite of the fact that Duggan often wrestled in a rule breaking mode his character was seen as honest, hard working and virtuous, and in spite of his lack of in ring skill he remains a popular figure amongst certain fans to this day.

A similar angle was worked on veteran wrestler Dusty Rhodes (Virgil Runnels) when he entered the WWF. Rhodes who in his youth had been a plumber was seen in a number of promo pieces unblocking toilets, mopping out stables and collecting garbage. Like Hogan his ring entrance music summed up his character:

He's just a common man, working hard with his hands- He's the American Dream.

And most recently the WWF introduced a trash collector character called Dumpmaster Drosse (Michael Drosse) who in an edition of the WWF's in house magazine stated that he was proud to represent the blue collar workers of America in the ring. These working class heroes contrast markedly with the many heels whose characters are upper class, intellectual or authority figures such as "The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase.

Dibiase is like many in the world of pro-wrestling a second generation wrestler. A skilled in ring worker, Dibiase came to the WWF with the Million Dollar Man character and quickly became one of pro-wrestling's most hated heels. He was seen in a series of promos using his vast wealth to exploit and humiliate working class people. In the ring he would humiliate his vanquished opponent by sticking a wad of cash in their mouth, and proudly announcing that everybody had a price for the Million Dollar Man. The most obvious example of Dibiase's character was his black bodyguard cum valet Virgil. Virgil was used and abused by Dibiase in a number of angles, and on the few occasions that he lost-usually to Hogan- it was Virgil who copped the blame often accompanied by physical abuse. The whole angle looked at a number of socio-political issues. The abuse of power by the wealthy who could simply buy what they wanted or needed without earning it. The exploitation of the poor by the wealthy and the conflict between Black and White America. Ultimately this angle was resolved when Virgil turned on Dibiase eventually beating him in the ring once again reinforcing the belief that moral right would win out over privilege and power in the long run but only if you are prepared to fight for it.

Another interesting heel was "The Genius" (Lanny Poffo). Like Dibiase a second generation wrestler "The Genius" would come to the ring in Mortar board and gown and read poetry to his totally disinterested audience. Often chiding them on their lack of culture and breeding "The Genius" also became increasingly effeminate over several months and when he became a manager of the wrestler Mr Perfect (Curt Hennig) their relationship heavily implied homosexuality. This yet again catered to the long held view by many working class people that intellectualism and an appreciation of art and culture went hand in hand with homosexuality. "The Genius" character was also portrayed as being rather ridiculous and comical, prancing around the ring with excessive - even for wrestling - facial gestures as if to display the underlying irrelevancy of higher learning and culture in the real world of the blue collar worker. A world where appreciation of art and culture and the acquisition of knowledge for its own sake is a luxury which only the rich can afford.

This portrayal of the upper class as fools is of course another link to traditional carnival as is the practice of mocking the ritual and station of royalty. In wrestling many heels have adopted royal persona's like "Lord" Steven Regal a pompous and arrogant English heel who treats the fans and opponents with contempt and American Jerry "The King" Lawler. Also much of the terminology of pro-wrestling is monarchical. The World Champion is said to hold the crown during his title reign and apart from the Battle Royale the WWF holds major events called the Royal Rumble and the King of the Ring. In Fiske's book he provides the example of Lord Alfred Hayes an ex wrestler now commentator with the WWF.

His name, his, dress, and his accent all parody the traditional English aristocrat; he is a carnivalesque metaphor of social power and status who is there to be laughed at.

Fiske also raises the point that the grotesque appearance of many wrestlers is in itself a political statement:

Being defiantly fat, can, therefore be an offensive and resisting statement, a bodily blasphemy.- Blue collar men are more likely than white collar to be overweight- and to sport a defiant "beer belly": the norms of class-and gender based social power are intextulated into the everyday body of the individual as they are into the body politic of society. The ugliness of many male wrestlers is thus a form of class speech, an accent on the subordinated.

An extreme form of this grotesqueness can seen in a class of wrestler that I call "The Monsters"

Click the banner above for great wrestling DVDs