Letters

“[Ellison] got to fulfil a childhood dream.” In any other profession, Andrew would be considered insane. Someone being butchered and bloodied is not something worth praise, and certainly not something that one should strive to do.

Wrestling is a tragic form of entertainment. The route that wrestling has taken, in great part because of the wrestlers, has been a downward spiral of increasingly violent action in exchange for true athletics. Andrew claims that his 14 stitches are a “real accomplishment”. That statement alone shows that Andrew has no respect for himself or his profession. He isn’t concerned about putting on an athletic performance, but instead about losing as much blood as he can.

Wrestling has become, quite simply, disgusting. About a year ago, I was planning to join a local promotion. However, when I saw and understood for the first time what wrestling has become, I turned away from it after five years of working, of giving my life, to get to that moment. On the show I saw, several wrestlers were hurt, three bled (one unintentionally), and even fans were put in danger when the champions were celebrating with glass bottles of beer in the ring when one bottle slipped and flew right at a fan’s head. Wrestling indeed.

Wrestling is an art form. If the wrestlers themselves understood it as such, it could become a real sport similar to, say, figure skating. Picture a show where two truly skilled athletes took to the ring and worked together with such grace and coordination that one cannot help but be sucked into the performance. Wrestling is romantic. At least, it could be.

Because of the direction the wrestlers and the promoters have chosen to take, wrestling has become an event where people are prized for how much of their life they’re willing to give to the fans. Shame on you for encouraging it, Andrew. You could do so much better than cherish your scars. Wrestling is making you ugly, and the tragedy is that you don’t even realize it.

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