Popular Culture Review Vol. 11, No. 1, February 2000 | Page 53

Anti-Corporatism in Professional Wrestling

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ment in the figure of “Mankind” (a.k.a. Mick Foley). Seldom seen fighting in the
ring, Mankind lurches in the basement of wrestling rings where security guards
unsuccessfully try to pry him out. He has risen to the top of the wrestling world
based on in unrivaled appetite for masochism. Mankind, who dons a partial face
mask and a sock puppet in the ring, has made a name for himself wrestling on
thumbtacks, broken glass, or in rings lined with barbed wire. Mankind’s extreme
anti-social behavior has made him a tag team champion with Kane, the “mute”
younger “brother” of the Undertaker.
Traditionally, the simple moral universe of professional wrestlers was subject
to a simple binary categorization. The “babyfaces” concretely embodied the he
roes whereas the “heels” embodied the villains. The recent surge of professional
wrestling as a spectacle has been accompanied by a more subtle encroachment of
corporate figures as key actors in the discourse of professional wrestling, thus
diffusing the moral universe o f the wrestlers. This discord in the moral universe of
professional wrestling has been aggravated by the audience’s increasing prefer
ence for “heels” rather than “babyfaces.”
In light of this change in consumer preferences, the WWF has chosen to cre
ate a fan base for its WWF wrestlers by channeling fan hatred against WWF own
ers and its officials. The impersonation of WWF corporate evil is real life WWF
CEO, Vince McMahon. Although never a wrestler himself, McMahon is the bulk
ing centerpiece of WWF matches. During matches, McMahon, often clad in a gray
Hugo Boss suit with black T-shirt, is tailed by his allegedly inept son, Shane.
Whether or not the ineptitude of Shane McMahon is staged is unclear. Nonethe
less, his actions make an excellent argument against nepotism.
“Mr. McMahon” (as he is referred to by his sycophantic lackeys) has bril
liantly revived the world of professional wrestling by stating the obvious, namely
that the matches are fixed and are mere entertainment. Efforts in the late 1980s to
pose wrestling as a legitimate sport insulted the intelligence of its most simple
minded supporters. This failed effort also exposed wrestling to greater govern
mental scrutiny. As a result, several prominent professional wrestlers were impli
cated in a variety of criminal charges for anabolic steroid abuse. As early as 1996,
Vince McMahon was charged with several counts of conspiracy.
McMahon’s genius lies pretending that he arranges the matches himself.
McMahon fixes the matches not on the basis of “athletic merit,” but on a wrestler’s
professed loyalty to him. This act draws the ire of the fan base and reinforces the
support for more meritorious underdogs. Under this guise of a vicious corporate
monster, Vince McMahon often interrupts matches and openly tries to recruit wres
tlers to “his” team, Team Corporate. In the world of professional wrestling, Team
Corporate is the refuge for the ultimate sell-outs. Wrestlers who are bamboozled
into joining “the family” become tainted champions.