Breaking The Walls Down - Religion and Professional Wrestling
Submitted by Chris Dailey on Tuesday, August 9, 2005 at 4:59 PM EST







Breaking The Walls Down






Hello all and welcome back to another edition of Breaking The Walls Down. I’m back from vacation and busy as usual, so let’s get into it. I received some feedback on my last column from readers that asked me to cut down on the spacing in my column. I laughed at myself once I realized how much spacing I actually had in. So, I apologize to all of you who had to keep scrolling and scrolling and scrolling. Hopefully the change I’ve made will be good for everyone. Also, currently my wife and I are preparing to move, so I’m going to forgo Bits and Pieces. . . again this week and go straight to the column, as A LOT has to be done.






Religion and Professional Wrestling






Religion is always a sensitive subject to discuss. In a culture where we walk on glass in order not to offend anyone, religion is one of the most tip-toed-around subjects there is, next to race. Religion is, undeniably, a big part of many cultures throughout the world. It is the backbone for many people’s lives, people who live their daily life in accordance with written scripture or spoken holy word. Religion is always at the forefront of heated debates and always bangs heads with Darwin’s theory of evolution. Some argue that we, as a society, have become corrupt and immoral since we have strayed from our religious beliefs. Others believe that religion is used as a crutch for the weak minded, those who are unable to make up their minds for themselves. Religion, no matter how you see it, has a designed purpose to lead a group of people to believe in some sort of higher power or superior being. As long as any form of religion exists, there will always be debate. And, professional wrestling, as it often does, is a focal point for religious affairs in one form or another.




Off the top of my head, one incident that sticks in my mind was The Undertaker strapping Steve Austin to The Undertaker’s symbol and then Austin being raised up and suspended in mid-air for all to see. This angle was, of course, looked at as a mock of the Christian religion of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Followers of the Christian faith pointed to the way Austin looked when suspended in mid-air (arms out to the side, the same as Jesus had) and that The Understaker’s symbol kind of resembled a cross in certain ways. This event garnered some national attention and made headlines. Religion was once again brought to the forefront and professional wrestling was involved. The WWE categorically denied any wrong-doings and stated that they did not intentionally mock or mimic Jesus Christ’s crucifixion. However, the heat continued to come from various religious outlets and eventually The WWE stopped use of such an angle.




Another example of religion crossing into The WWE is Muhammad Hassan. Hassan’s entrance music was a Muslim prayer, if I recall correctly. This enraged Muslims. The Muhammad Hassan character had been under fire of late due to the “terrorist attack” that was committed on The Undertaker from Hassan. This angle came at the wrong time, as it happened during the London bombing events and there was a backlash that The WWE and UPN did not want. However, to use the Muslim prayer as an entrance for a wrestler to the ring is simply asking for trouble. The backlash to this was quick and decisive. Also, combined with the “terrorist attack” angle the character has since been put on “hiatus” and I don’t know if we are going to see the Muhammad Hassan character ever again.




What about HBK? After years of being on the road and doing things that he feels he should have never done, he found God. He found religion and now openly states that he has rededicated himself to God. But, he originally (and may still to this day) found it difficult to become a heel in The WWE once again, because he has found God. He fears that it may interfere with his beliefs and he doesn’t want that to happen. However, as of late, HBK has decided to go the heel route. He’s being careful about what he says and does, but he is effective.




Then there is the man called Sting. Sting is one of the most popular wrestlers of all time. He’s earned the respect of fans world-wide, but he stays away from the biggest promotion in North America and probably the world, The WWE. He cites religious beliefs as the reason for not joining The WWE. He also has relatively recently found God. He believes that his beliefs would be compromised should he enter into The WWE and be involved in the story lines. And, he has the perfect ammunition (in his eyes) as he can cite the example mentioned above in this column, The Undertaker/Steve Austin angle. Angles like this are why Sting refuses to sign with The WWE. What kind of impact does that make for a product that sorely needs name recognition to enhance its overall perception in a dwindling market?




Sting is a world champion wrestler. He’s been NWA/WCW World Champion more times than I remember (true, not Ric Flair level, but still close enough). Yet, he feels his religious beliefs are such that he cannot work with a product that demoralizes and de-emphasizes said beliefs. Fans, Stings fans, certainly want to see him wrestle in The WWE, but he is standing resolute in this matter. The WWE conflicts with his beliefs and even if that means he will no longer see any big pay days, so be it.




So, what does all of this mean? Can professional wrestling and religion happily coexist? Sure, of course it can. But, it won’t be the type of professional wrestling you see today. Gone will be the scantily clad women, the “H.L.A.”, the ladder matches, the hard-core matches, the TLC matches, the cage matches, and The Hell In A Cell matches. What will be left? Well, what will be left is the kind of professional wrestling that existed in the early 1940s and 1950s. Is that the kind of product that can exist in today’s day and age? No, quite frankly, it’s not.




Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bashing religion or anything of the sort. I know that’s how I may be coming across to you, but that is not my intention. I am a religious person myself. However, the pairing of professional wrestling and religion simply does not work. It doesn’t work now, it didn’t work in the past, and I seriously doubt it will work in the future. Why then does The WWE and sometimes other promotions, try mixing the two? What could professional wrestling have to gain by bringing in religion and trying to integrate that into its product? To be honest, all I can think of is heat. The crowd is going to either love it or hate it, just like any other angle, but because religion comes into play, the crowd reaction will be that much more intensified.




Since this is my column and I have the right to voice my opinion, I’m going to say that due to the world’s socio-political events, I feel, especially during these times, that professional wrestling has no business pulling religion into its proceedings. I don’t see the long-term benefits outweighing the negativity that comes with the association. From a personal point as a religious person, I don’t feel religion should be brought in. However, looking at it from a professional standpoint, I don’t feel religion should be brought into the professional wrestling world because professional wrestling stands to gain nothing from it. As a matter of fact, the negative feedback always outweighs any sort of positive gain (if any) professional wrestling would get in the short term. Looking at it from a business perspective, no positive net gain equals no positive business. If Vince McMahon is the intelligent businessman we all believe he is, when do you think he’s going to realize this?




Well, that will do it for this week. The Eagles first preseason game is next week and I’m pumped! Well, I hope you all have a safe and happy week and, as always, join me as I try to “educate people on the realness of the fakeness of professional wrestling”©.




Later,
Chris Dailey











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