Tammy's Ready to Rumble!!

So, let's talk about wrestling.  No, no, not Olympic wrestling - with its wiry little men in singlets grappling with each other on a mat.
 I mean PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING, or,  ahem, "Sports Entertainment".  
Every Monday night this past summer, the Grant family gathered around the TV set to watch "Raw".  Three hours of hype, promos, silly melodrama, pyrotechnics and loud rock music.  Oh, and muscular, sometimes tattooed, sweaty, manly men.  As appealing as that last part is, I have to admit that isn't the only draw to the program.
For the uninitiated, "Raw" is one of the flagship programs of the WWE, or World Wrestling Entertainment company.  Formerly the World Wrestling Federation, this huge conglomerate owned by the McMahon family rules the professional wrestling empire.  Their other big network draw is "Friday Night Smackdown", which of course, airs on Fridays.  Throw in a couple of one-hour sound-byte programs (Main Event and NXT) during the week and you can see why I have no clue what's on actual television this fall.  It's all about the wrestling, folks!  (And did I mention the muscular, tattooed, sweaty men?)
And it's addictive.  Even when you know that the matches are planned, the moves are calculated, the outcomes predetermined, the spectacle of the whole thing is mesmerizing.  There is drama behind the scenes - at times so intertwined with real life events it's hard to tell what's real and what isn't.  Over-the-top plots (like the time Triple H kidnapped Vince McMahon's daughter Stephanie, drugged her and married her in a Las Vegas drive-thru wedding chapel while she was unconscious), ambushes, poisonings, blackmails, vendettas, subterfuge, and endless conspiracies.  It's like a soap opera!  With muscular, tattooed, sweaty, men.   Did I mention that part?
Now, while you may scoff at my admission and ridicule my choice of sports entertainment, I present this for your viewing pleasure:
What woman with a pulse couldn't find something to like here?  And, if we're being honest, how are these men any different from those gracing the covers of many romance novels?  Whether you read paranormal, military, contemporary, NA, or even historical (put a pair of breeches on Roman Reigns and, WHOAH!) one could easily picture any of these athletes as the hero of a romance novel.
And athletes they are, as much as some would hate to admit.  Nothing beats WWE for watching acrobatics combined with wrestling moves, some clothesline hits, feigned punches and lots of stomping around.  There is definitely something to be said for the theatrics of it all.
Once you've watched professional wrestling for a while, you start to learn the lingo.  A "face" is a good guy (or hero in our romance lingo); a "heel" is a baddie (yep, the villain).  Wrestlers can start as a face, but if the crowd doesn't react well to them they can do a "turn", and become a heel - or visa versa.  The best heels are those the audience LOVES to hate.  One of the most entertaining things about watching these shows is how the writers will change the story-lines based on the audience reaction to the wrestler.  And the audience is very vocal -- you know right away when something isn't working; the chants of "Boring!" become deafening.
There are grudge matches and cage matches, ladder matches and six-man tag team matches.  There are midgets dressed up a bulls paired with wrestlers dressed as bull-fighters, there are bunny rabbits, demons and corporate suits.  The Authority runs the show - headed by Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, these two veterans play their parts with a wink and a nod to the audience.  There is something for everyone here!
There is a wrestler named "Sheamus", a red-haired Irishman so pale he looks like a vampire, "Bad News" Barrett, an Englishman who prefaces his monologues by announcing he has some "very bad news",  Chris Jericho from Canada, Cesaro from Switzerland, and Rusev the Russian. Roman Reigns (my favourite) is a second-generation wrestler and cousin to Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson.  He is currently injured, after my 6'3", 265lb sweetheart lifted 305lb Rusev over his head a couple of times in order to body slam him.  He suffered an incarcerated hernia and required emergency surgery.  (So much for wrestling being fake.)  They even trot Hulk Hogan out every once in a while for us old folks, who remember him tearing that awful yellow t-shirt off back in the 1980s.
This is all very nice, Tammy, you say, but how does professional wrestling have ANYTHING to do with romance? Or books, or writing, or anything?
Well, on the face of it, nothing.  Dig a bit deeper, though, and you will find classic fiction tropes, well-developed story arcs, compelling characters, dastardly villains and larger-than-life heroes.  Some romance writers could learn much from watching a few episodes of Raw, in my humble opinion.  Here is what Wikipedia says about the story-lines in professional wrestling:
"...anything that can be used as an element of drama can exist in professional wrestling stories: romantic relationships (including love triangles and marriage), racism, classism, nepotism, favoritism, corporate corruption, family bonds, personal histories, grudges, theft, cheating, assault, betrayal, bribery, seduction, stalking, confidence tricks, extortion, blackmail, substance abuse, self-doubt, self-sacrifice; even kidnapping, sexual fetishism, necrophilia, misogyny, rape and death have been portrayed in wrestling. Some promotions have included supernatural elements such as magic, curses, the undead and Satanic imagery (most notably the Undertaker and his Ministry of Darkenss, a stable that regularly performed evil rituals and human sacrifice in Satanic-like worship of a hidden power figure). Celebrities would also be involved in story-lines."
You see?  Pretty much anything goes.  Which proves my point that authors and readers alike could mine some pretty amazing stories.. call it professional research! Besides,  I'm thinking that anyone who can read books with titles like "The Arrogant Sheik's Secret Pregnant Mistress" with a straight face would have to enjoy the story-lines in professional wrestling.
 If nothing else, the good looks and incredible physiques of the WWE stars could provide endless visual Hero material, for those inclined to view them that way.
Ah, wrestling.  Something for everyone.  A cliff hanger, soap opera series and eye candy all in one.  I dare you to watch a few episodes and not get hooked.  And even if you don't, tune in six months later and, just like any daytime soap opera or great romance trope, the same storylines will be playing out in that big white ring with explosions, tattoos and hysterical announcers to welcome you back.
Enjoy!!!!

What are your thoughts?  Do you find romance in wrestling? Is it just too cheesy even for you?   Let’s discuss!