Pro Wrestling is Stage Combat

And you should learn some of it.

I know this is going to send up warning bells of “BIASED OPINION!!!” since this is where I got my start. I mean, this is my Blog, so yeah it’s going to be my opinion, but follow me through on this. I’m not going to try to convince anyone that Pro Wrestling is a superior form of unarmed stage combat. Just that it deserves recognition and consideration as a legitimate stage combat artform and system.

I’m not getting into “is this better” than other forms of stage combat like the SAFD, FDC, etc… I have opinions on it, it’s complicated, and for another post all it’s own. My point here is that Pro Wrestling is a complex and standardized system that often doesn’t get the respect it deserves from other movement professionals. It’s seen as hokey and fake. I’ve heard it called “lowest common denominator” entertainment. I mean, yeah, it’s athletic guys and gals looking like they’re knocking the crap out of each other with really simplistic storylines. There’s a reason for some of that simplicity (more on that below) but it’s also so much deeper than that.

Standardization. Physical and mental training. Acting. Improvisation.

Standardization. Don’t believe me? Watch an episode of WWE Smackdown. If the match includes any joint locks, I will bet my paycheck it’s the left arm or leg that is being held. Go to any independent wrestling show, you will see the same thing. Why the left arm or leg? I honestly don’t know why the left instead of the right, but it’s so that wherever you go, you know which limb your partner is going to grab and work. You’ll always remember which limb you should be selling pain on. The only exception to this is that generally Mexico works the right side.

How is this different from most other forms of stage combat? Here’s an experiment for you: ask 3 people with different teachers to tell you what it’s called when you change the line of a weapon with expulsion. Is it a croisé? Is it a froissement? Hell, ask them to tell you what a low inside pronated parry is called (either Prime, Prima, Parry 1). I know they’re just different languages for the same concept, but that’s part of my point. It’s not standard. Some teachers really insist on using classical language, while some are ok with using the common language of the students. Now ask 3 different pro wrestlers from different areas of the country call it when you flip someone over your shoulder while dropping to a knee (they’ll all say “Snapmare”). Ask them what it’s called when you grab your partner’s arm and use it to fling them from one corner to the other (Irish whip). Ask them what it’s called when someone starts hitting people for real in a match (yes, it happens, and it’s called “a shoot”). Standard.

Training. The work ethic of a pro wrestler is just staggering. The training that you have to go through to get up to speed, mentally and physically is just daunting. It takes years. The smallest details that the average fan doesn’t even notice are SO important to the safety and storytelling happening in any good match. Wrestlers don’t just look huge because of the aesthetic (although that’s certainly a component). It’s very physically demanding. Your body needs to be in great shape to handle the stress of the bumps, to lift your partner, to help you partner lift you, and also to not be sucking wind 3 minutes into the match. Exhaustion can lead to mistakes and mental errors that can literally kill you or your partner in extreme cases.

Acting. Goodness the acting. Now I know a lt of it is considered cheesy and overblown and that’s super true. But as a storytelling medium it gets a lot right. You need to be able to communicate the story of what’s going on in the ring to someone watching from the top row of a stadium, where there’s no way they’ll hear you talking. So they have to be able to tell that story simply via action. Watching a reasonably well done match having no background on the lead up, you should be able to pick up on who the good guy is, who the bad guy is, and what the stakes are. Wrestling epitomizes the adage “Make big choices”. You have to for any of it to make sense.

Improvisation. Most matches in the indy circuit are not rehearsed ahead of time. Some of the larger WWE matches are (or were, I’m not as into the scene as I used to be). But generally, you have a meeting where you go over who is winning which match and any specific notes you need from the promoter/booker. Maybe a match has to end a specific way, or a specific spot (move or series of moves) has to be included. Then you talk it over with your partner, and the more experienced wrestler (or the heel/villain if they’re similarly experienced) calls the match in the ring. Beforehand you say “Hey, I have this spot I love to do, can we make sure it happens?” Or “Hey, my neck is a little jacked up tonight, maybe let’s skip anything like a hangmans neckbreaker? Cool.” You talk to each other clandestinely in the ring during holds and use the ref to pass messages as needed. It’s incredible how much communication happens during a match, and most of the time the audience is unaware of it. Or you hide the communication during smack-talk. I know of no other medium which does this so well.

So the bottom line (‘cause Stone Cold Said So?) is that Pro Wrestling is a legit stage combat format and art form. There’s a lot any actor combatant can learn from studying a little of this, and you don’t always need to join a wrestling school full time to do so. There is at least one workshop that specializes in showing other movement actors the ropes and the very basics of Pro Wrestling as it pertains to acting and stage combat in general. I went to it back in November. It wasn’t the inspiration behind this blog post, but it certainly reawakened my first stage combat love, and shook off a lot of the rust on the techniques that can really come in handy for fighters and actors in all kinds of media.

So, here’s my plug for Renaissance Rumble. These guys are pros, and are not just wrestlers, but have a ton of SAFD experience as well. That’s just one of the reasons this workshop translates so well for people who already have some stage combat background, but also is a good way to get started. Check them out on Facebook, and keep an eye out for their workshops! One is coming up in DC in March, and they’re planning to be back in Philly in November.