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The Up & Under: Flesh and Bone
By Sam Berman | April 25, 2008
Putting the scars and stitches in perspective.
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“I don’t want to limp for them to walk, never would have known of me before…”
-Pearl Jam
Corduroy
The work world is competitive. Some of us are happy with what we do, but even so look for opportunities to make a little bit more money or work our way just a little bit more up the ladder. And why shouldn’t we? Often all that’s necessary is attending one more meeting or picking up one more shift or arriving to work a few minutes early.
Getting ahead is actually pretty easy in most professions, assuming you have even the lowest level of savvy and drive. Sure some have it easier than others; we’ve all met ‘that guy’ who gets ahead because he’s the boss’ son or he knows somebody who knows somebody, but for the most part it is hard work and dedication are rewarded in kind.
I know people in their mid-twenties who are already on the fast track to being corporate executives, lawyers and doctors, let alone all of those who already manage bars or own their own businesses. Though many of them have had to make sacrifices to achieve their success, I would wager a guess that at no time did any of them feel that their health was being put in question or their safety subject to true danger.
But look at the life of a twenty-something Independent wrestler. Despite the relative fame of their profession, many of the top performers on the American Independent scene have chosen, or worse been forced due to economic circumstances, to literally mutilate their bodies in a variety of unholy ways, simply in an effort to raise their profile. And pay their rent.
Can you imagine walking into your office on Monday and having the option to make a few hundred dollars more this week… as long as you’re comfortable with someone hitting your exposed back with light tubes? Or thumbtacks? Or barbed wire? Of course you can’t, because in the real world the presence of any of those items as weapons is so off-the-charts ludicrous that the thought has probably never crossed your mind. Not so for the Independent professional wrestler, many of whom have lives that revolve around how much punishment their bodies can take from the above… and worse.
I will admit, I am just as complicit in the continuation of this barbarism as any other fan. I have watched, and frankly enjoyed, more than my share of violent matches, and I have seen countless performers put their bodies in unimaginable pain simply for my own enjoyment. It occurs to me that I am probably not that far removed from the masses that used to line the Roman Coliseum, watching with glee as unwitting prisoners were left to fight lions with their bare hands.
In ancient times, the greatest warriors of the Coliseum were revered as heroes. To continue the analogy, perhaps today the most violent and sadistic of wrestlers do hold some level of prestige in their field. For better or worse, the notion of a ‘no-ropes barbed wire match’ or a ‘scaffold match’ or a ‘circus death match’ as a night’s main event is a selling point amongst many fans. As such, competitors looking for their opportunity to break out of the pack have chosen to take extreme chances in the hopes of getting over.
Honestly, I wonder how any of us sleep at night after watching some of the things that have been done in a wrestling ring. One of the things that has struck me over the past few years as an Independent wrestling fan is how ‘real’ the competitors seem by comparison to the slick, groomed professional wrestlers on television. When you go to see an Independent wrestling show, you can literally reach out and touch the men and women who participate on the cards. At the end of the night, just as you will, they will walk out of the gymnasium or warehouse or community center and head to their cars. Only some of them will noticeably limp.
I’d imagine that some of these performers would claim to love what they do, yet I wonder how that can be so. If a friend of yours told you that they really enjoyed digging barbed wire into their arm or pushing thumbtacks into their leg, wouldn’t you be concerned for their mental wellbeing? At what point to we as fans say ‘enough is enough’ and admit that the risks being taken by these ‘beloved’ performers are simply too great?
None of this is meant to diminish the dangers of wrestling in general, even matches absent such unholy devices. Wrestlers can be, and have been, hurt executing the most basic of maneuvers, and the nature of the business is fraught with inherent risk. But the fact remains that training and talent can help to reduce the likelihood of injury while hitting a suplex or a forearm or a splash from the top rope. Conversely, there is no training that I’m aware of to minimize the scarring caused by barbed wire.
I haven’t the first clue what an Independent wrestler gets paid for an average night of work, but I wonder how they feel when they go to the bank to cash their paycheck the day after a barbed wire match. As strange as this sounds, I’m not really sure which concerns me more: that they’re perfectly at peace with what earned them that wage or that they’re broken, outside and in, because they wanted to put on a good show for their fans. We all make accommodations for our careers; I’d bet that most people who have to get up at six in the morning for work would rather sleep until nine. But at what point does ‘making accommodations’ cross the line?
In the end, I suppose my question is this: no matter the price, what is the cost?
Topics: The Up & Under |
April 25th, 2008 at 10:42 am
why don’t you got back to being a fan, and stop worrying about what guys get paid or what happens behind the scenes? Watch the show, then drive home and sit on the internet and wait for the next show like a good little mark
April 25th, 2008 at 11:42 am
You have your points about hardcore wrestling, but let me ask this. Which is more likely to leave a man in a wheelchair at the age of 60, getting thrown into barbwire and cut up every night, or getting suplexed on your head multiple times every night?
April 25th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Sammy, I’m simply going to give you a paraphrased quote from one of my favorite wrestling books, Sex Lies and Headlocks.
“The rules are different when you call it wrestling.”