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The Factors and Contexts That Inform Relations Between Wrestling Stars and Their Audiences i Wrestling With Stardom: The Factors and Contexts that Inform Relations Between Wrestling Stars and their Audiences Thomas Huw Alcott Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Aberystwyth University Department of Theatre, Film and Television 23. January 2018 ii Acknowledgments Anyone who has undertaken a large research project will know that the end result is never the work of just one person. It is built upon a much needed support network of people, who for the most part remain anonymous in the body of the text. This is my chance to acknowledge those people, without whom this work would never have been possible. To the best supervisors I could have asked for, Kate Egan and Sarah Thomas, for their dedication, support, help and most of all, friendship. I am greatly indebted to the many questionnaire respondents and focus group participants who took the time to help me in this project and made it possible. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and words. I will be forever grateful. To those members of the Theatre, Film and Television department at Aberystwyth University who showed such enthusiasm for, and interest in, my project. To Heike Roms for her help and support through the application process, and Rebecca Edwards for her constant encouragement and help in organising my symposium. I also want to acknowledge the role played by the Alumni Association without whose funding this research would not have been possible. To all the friends, flatmates and fellow PhD researchers with whom I shared this experience. Thank you for allowing me to balance working hard with playing hard. The support needed to get to this stage starts long before a PhD even begins, particularly for a statemented pupil with dyslexia, and Mrs June Williams who became my support teacher in junior school laid an incredible foundation on which so many of my academic achievements are based. I will be forever grateful. To Vince McMahon, the WWE, the wrestlers, fans, wrestling journalists, commentators and more for providing me with so much enjoyment over my life and inspiring me to dedicate so many years to this project. First and foremost my parents Rod and Julia, for their support and belief in me throughout my life, as well as in this endeavour. Whatever I may have accomplished through this work is also theirs. Thank you for everything. My thanks, for their continued support, to my sister and brother Kate and Steffan and my Aunty Gaynor and Chris and to my niece and nephew Rosella and Gabriel for providing a much needed distraction. Finally, I want to dedicate this project to my grandmother, Betty Rosella Hobby, who would have been proudest of them all. I think of you every day. Thank you. iii Table of Contents Chapter Page Introduction. 1 Chapter 1. Literature Review (Part 1) 7 A History of Professional Wrestling and Wrestling Academia Chapter 2. Literature Review (Part 2) 45 Stars, Celebrities and Audiences Chapter 3. Methodology 93 Chapter 4. Results Overview 138 Chapter 5. The Wrestling Industry and Star System 167 Chapter 6. Inauthenticity versus Authenticity 214 The Multiple Modes of ‘Authenticity’ in Professional Wrestling Chapter 7. Memories, Nostalgia and Identities in Audience 276 Responses to Wrestling Stars Conclusion 335 Appendix 347 Bibliography 359 1 Introduction: An interest in wrestling stars and their connection to their audiences The purpose of this doctoral study is to explore the wrestling star image and investigate the different relationships wrestling stars share with varying audience members. In doing so, it will develop a complex depiction of a type of celebrity and an industry that has, in the past, received scant attention within academia. It will build upon the growing scholarship of wrestling studies, providing the first in depth audience study that examines the connections between wrestling stars and audience members. The research uses a cultural studies framework, situated within a number of fields that the project will bring together, including star and celebrity studies, audience research, industry studies and wrestling scholarship. This thesis considers materials from a number of different sources in order to explore the complexities that sit at the heart of wrestlers’ star images and how these function and are used by their audiences. My work analyses 538 responses to an online questionnaire, the contribution of eleven participants across two focus groups, a detailed textual analysis of other materials including websites, podcasts, magazines, online articles and the shows in which the wrestlers are depicted. The personal reasons for this study While conducting my research I came across a quote that quickly became one of my favourites because it neatly articulated my reasons for undertaking this project. It comes from the book European Heroes: Myth, Identity, Sport (1996) where two of the editors, Richard Holt and J.A Mangan state that ‘…a sport without a hero is like Hamlet without the Prince’ 2 (p.5). This comment rang true to me, because I have always been caught up in the appeal of great star individuals, such as – from my love of football – being left in awe by the athleticism and skill of Steve McManaman, Zinedine Zidane and Luis Suarez. I have been captivated by the charisma and fantasy figures of Harrison Ford, Al Pacino and Errol Flynn and the otherworldly beauty and glamour of Eva Mendes, Cindy Crawford and Angelina Jolie, watching films and reading articles just because they are featured in them. Even in history, I look to the larger-than-life figures of General Custer and Henry VIII whose deeds and legacies leave so many of us mere mortals in the shade. Among these passions also lies professional wrestling, and the characters that have produced so many memorable goose- bump inducing moments from The Undertaker and Vince McMahon to Shawn Michaels and Triple H; something shared with many of the contributors to this study Writing the application for my PhD, I wanted to reflect on this passion and the importance of star figures; but questions remained, which ones, and how could I ensure I made an original scholarly contribution? On the 27th June 2011 I turned on WWE RAW is War and watched as the wrestler CM Punk sat crossed legged on the stage and delivered an emotionally fuelled speech, scripted to blur the lines between reality and fiction. The segment became known worldwide as ‘the pipe bomb’. The hairs on my arm stood up and in the next few weeks, my passion for professional wrestling was refuelled, driven by a single star. Not only had I rediscovered a love for WWE wrestling that I had not felt for a long time, but I also knew that wrestlers and their appeal to audiences, would be the focus of my doctoral study. I also knew that I wanted to move beyond just recognizing the importance of wrestling stars, but to ask why they hold such a meaningful place in so many people’s lives, and what pleasures they really provide. To do this I felt strongly that I needed to ask fellow wrestling audience members. This was partly fuelled by my experience on an Audience Research module in my undergraduate degree, taught by Martin Barker and Kate Egan; a module that 3 most resonated with me during and after university. On undertaking an MA, I again incorporated elements of audience research into my work, learning from the many mistakes my undergraduate-self had made. Past research As well as my own personal motivations and passions, this research has also been shaped by past academic work. This project is indebted to a notable amount of existing work which this thesis will build and expand upon. The fields of star and celebrity studies have grown into vast areas of scholarship while wrestling scholarship is still very much in its infancy, although beginning to build momentum. Surprisingly, these two fields have never been brought together. Stardom and celebrity have moved from a focus on the film star onto other examples such as politicians and sports stars (but not wrestlers). Previous scholarly work on professional wrestling has, for the most part, concentrated on its performative aspects rather than wrestlers as star images. This research provides a new case study and puts forward a new form of celebrity figure, that both shares and contrasts with celebrities in other fields. Wrestling’s inherently eclectic form provides a discussion platform through which links can be made between work on film stardom, television and sporting celebrities. With regard to wrestling scholarship, my research constitutes the first large-scale audience study within this field. It will present an analysis of wrestling audiences and stars - and their relationship to each other – that, in the past, has only been touched upon through observations and textual analysis, or much smaller and niche audience studies. This research will also provide further work on the wrestling industry itself, something which to date is also lacking in the field. My analysis of the industry aims to provide a picture of the conditions in which 4 wrestling stars are produced and work and how this plays a role in their overall star image and its reception. Thesis structure This thesis is divided into two sections. The first section comprises four chapters that provide the theoretical and methodological groundwork on which the thesis is built. The second section comprises three chapters covering the analysis of the materials considered. Thus in total the thesis comprises seven chapters and a conclusion. Chapter One sets the wrestling scene, considering in particular the largest wrestling company in the world, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), formerly known as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
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