Popular Culture Review Vol. 11, No. 1, February 2000 | Page 52

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Popular Culture Review

several dozen independent wrestling federations, but they attract little attention.
Perhaps reflecting real life, the WWF and the WCW leagues are essentially a welloiled duopoly. Surprisingly, there is virtually no theme of mega-competition be
tween the leagues. The leagues and fighters are essentially self-referential, although
from time to time some WWF wrestlers have crossed over to the WCW. Each
league attempts to cultivate its own fan base although in practice each closely
mmics the gimmicks of the other league.
Overall the sport itself has experienced episodic moments of popularity dur
ing times of economic and political anxiety. The popularity of wrestling among its
core audience has been critiqued using fantasy theme analysis (Mondak 1989). A
fantasy theme has been defined as one in which an event’s content “consists of
characters, real or fictitious, playing out a dramatic situation in a setting removed
in time from the here-and-now transactions of the group” (Bormann, 1972). Ac
cording to one observer, the ethical system of the spectacle of wrestling could be
viewed as a fantasy theme. Hence, the effectiveness of wrestling has been pin
pointed to the audience’s inability to be drawn into a chain of fantasy with a dra
matic situation (Mondak, 1989).
The long-term success of professional wrestlers is fleeting. Those who have
succeeded have effectively transformed their wrestling persona to reflect the wishes
o f the audience. Even the remote intellectual will at least have a vague acquain
tance with Hulk Hogan (a.k.a. Hollywood Hogan), the prototypical steroidized
uberman. Arguably, the most popular WWF wrestler currently is “Stone Cold”
Steve Austin. Stone Cold (formerly Stunning Steve) is now instantly recognizable
by his bald head, goatee, and penetrating laser gaze. Stone Cold is unusual among
wrestlers for his distinctive working class/truck driver persona. Devotees of Stone
Cold often sport a succinct code on their T-shirts: Austin 3:16. In less than biblical
terms, Stone Cold telegraphs his equally monosyllabic preachings: “I just whupped
your ass!,” “Get Yer Ass Out Here,” or the succinct “Suck it.”
A pale replica of Stone Cold is the WCW’s 1998 heavyweight champion, Bill
Goldberg. At first glance, they are physically identical. To differentiate themselves,
Goldberg wrestles with a black swim suit and sports a generous tattoo on his left
deltoid. A former, injury-prone defensive lineman for the Atlanta Falcons, Goldberg
now proudly labels himself as one of the most successful Jewish athletes of all
time.
The demimonde of professional wrestling is not complete without reference
to two intrigu