Parallels between Life and WWE

Do you enjoy watching a 6’5” man, built like an oak tree, do a 360 degree somersault from atop the ringside rope, reaching nearly 10 feet in the air and landing flat on another man.  Or do you prefer watching two super-sized athlete beat each other with steel chairs, in front of millions of frenzied spectators who don’t think it’s violent enough.

If you think all of these are barbaric and stupid ‘fake’ acts but violence all the same, then you are not alone. There are millions who share your views. On the other hand, if you think all these make it the best sports entertainment shows on earth, you are not alone too. Welcome to the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) - A billion dollar industry, a show that is being telecast over the past 25 years making it the longest running program in television history. If it is just a mind numbing dumb act like most people think it is, what explains its success for nearly 3 decades, across the globe, since it started?

It was nearly 20 years ago that I watched a World Wrestling Federation (WWF) match on TV, for the first time. I was fascinated by the freakishly huge wrestlers, who were surprisingly flexible as a rubber, performing some of the most unbelievable acrobatic stunts. The combination of super-size, flexibility, in-ring acting capability, well written story line, promotions, the pyro techniques, music etc. made me love this show instantly. Not many share my taste. The ‘haters’ complain that this is a show of mindless giants who beat each other to pulp only to reach a pre-fixed result. They wonder “How on earth can someone consider this fun? The matches are fixed”. I wonder, would they rather enjoy a real fight?

I don’t know about the millions of others who enjoy it but I enjoy watching this sports entertainment show because of the parallel I am able to draw to real life. I know that, as far as unlikely connections go, this is taking it to the extreme. After all, WWE is all about taking things to the extreme isn’t it?

Balancing the opposites:

Aristotle once said that successful life is a living reconciliation of the opposites. It is the co-existence and the balancing of good and bad, happiness and sadness, success and failure and many more such opposites. A WWE reflects this important philosophy of real life. A success of a wrestler and hence the episode lies in the display of his skills in a perfect balance - Strength and flexibility, speed and patience, Athleticism and ability to emote, Flair and Consistency etc. - Balancing of the opposites, Aristotle spoke about.

Knowledge of death does not stop us from living:

We know that death is an eventual reality but yet, we wake up each morning believing we will live for an eternity. We focus on the life and its process. Not so much on the end, A WWE match is much the same for a fan. Result might be a foregone conclusion and the least important part of a show. The real fun is in the fight itself and the surprise twists and turns during its course. Like real life, not just the end but most part of the journey is scripted too and yet makes us believe that every action is instinctive.

What you experience may not always be what you like:

The story line in WWE usually lulls you into believing that you got a hang of it before taking an unexpected turn. Like in real life not all these unexpected turns work for us. We like some. We don’t like some. But we are better off learning to enjoy this twist and hope for a better one at the next bend, which is always round the corner.

Good does not always triumph over the evil:

Real life almost never fits the romantic notion of the triumph of Good over Evil. Sometimes, a WWE story line follows this uncomfortable truth. The ‘Heel’ (a bad guy wrestler) torments a ‘Baby Face’ (a good guy wrestler) right through to the main event and when you believe and hope for a payback the Heel wins again.

Good and Bad are not always what they are:

The most important and interesting part of a WWE story line is the Heel turn by a Face. (when a good guy turns bad all of a sudden). We might feel bad that our favourite wrestler has become a bad guy and wonder why this change had to happen. But then, we will also realize over the next few episodes that this change has made the storyline so much better. Just as how it happens often in life. We see people, situations that were in our favour for so long take a turn for the worse making us feel hurt. But then over time we will be thanking our stars for that change when we realize that this actually helped us get better.

Enemies to our help when friends turn foe:

The drama of life sometimes demands that you partner with an enemy to take on a friend, who chose to work against you. WWE storylines do not have any permanent friend or foe. Wrestlers are made to pair up randomly sometimes pitting close friends and tag team partners against each other. Often we see bitter enemies teaming up to take on a common enemy - All part of a story line that is well scripted, just as in real life.

End of a chapter is not end of the book:

In real life, we go through several experiences which last for a while before they come to an end - Sometimes gradually, sometimes abruptly. They are simply the end of a chapter and only helps begin the next one. They don’t mean that the book has come to an end. These changes make us grow stronger and help us become who we are. Much like the changing storylines of a WWE match that constantly keeps changing to help grow the show.

There are many more parallels we can draw between our life and this ‘dumb’ sport. But then, all these analysis would eventually defeat the purpose that this show is intended for – Entertain. Then, Now and Forever. So, sit back, relax. Let the child in you come out while you admire and respect these hard working super athletes perform their incredible act of balancing the opposites. You might enjoy it, you might analyze it, and you might hate it but please learn to respect it. But whatever is your choice, PLEASE DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME.