This April at WrestleMania 40, two pro-wrestling dynasties were in a collision route as Cody Rhodes challenged for the second time champion Roman Reigns and finally beat him even after a returning Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson interfered and humiliated Rhoades while he tried to finish his story and capture the belt that eluded his father, Dusty Rhodes.
This form of entertainment had its highs and lows in popularity. Its best moments were during the 80s with the likes of Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair, then in the mid-90s brought the Attitude Era with Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock meanwhile the now-extinct promotion WCW blasted with Goldberg, Sting, and the nWo, and another good moment happened in the early aughts with the Ruthless Aggression Era that presented John Cena and Batista (Dave Bautista).
Now, as seen in the Rhodes battle with the Samoan Anoa’i family, of which Johnson and Reigns are members, pro-wrestling is relishing another moment in mainstream pop culture ushered by the spike in audiences promoted by millennials and their nostalgia added by Gen Zers, who flock around more social media-inclined stars.
According to an April Variety piece, WWE saw improvements in the Q1 demo ratings year over year, kept most of its viewership steady, and is experiencing growth among the adult group composed of 18 to 49-year-olds, which brings the last batch of Gen Xers, alongside Millennials, and Gen Zers. The previous two groups were around when The Rock, Stone Cold, Undertaker, and the nWo were mainstays in wrestling, during the “Monday Night Wars”. Younger fans may be more enticed by names like Logan Paul and Dominik Mysterio.
In an interview with Big Picture Film Club, American film and TV critic Richard Newby says that nostalgia, as exemplified by the return of Johnson, has played a role in this spike. “Definitely. I did have a lot of friends that followed (wrestling) in elementary and middle school. There was a huge drop-off in high school and college to the point where I didn’t hear anyone talk about it. But over the last few years, I’ve really seen it bounce back with a lot of enthusiasm.”
Standout Brazilian martial artist and pro-wrestler who performed for WWE and AEW Adrian Jaoude (a.k.a Tiger Ruas) believes that “WWE and pro-wrestling as a whole has attracted the younger demographic considering the modernization and quick pace of its content as the storylines are shorter and following the young viewers’ trends and subjects and an example of this is the influencer Logan Paul who brought alongside him this public.”
For Newby, there is also the intersectionality between pro-wrestling and nerd culture: “All the tweets I see about wrestling are from folks who are also huge ‘Star Wars,’ comic book, and horror fans. It makes sense – these are folks in costumes playing the hero or the heel with big personalities and a lot of physicality. And it’s definitely not lost that the first superhero, Superman, was inspired by wrestlers and luchadores.”
Dialoguing with a new batch of fans while keeping the tradition
WWE is the biggest pro wrestling company, but this form of entertainment is popular in America, Canada, Japan, Mexico, and the UK. One point in common between the different countries is the respect for those who paved the way, as seen in the biopic ‘Cassandro’ (2023), telling the tale of the trailblazing exótico luchador played by Gael García Bernal, who would become a queer icon and cherished figure by Mexican families, and in the film ‘Iron Claw’ (2023), portraying the pioneering Von Erichs and the dramas that plague them.
Jaoude recalls how his Olympic wrestler brother Antoine Jaoude and himself, an international award-winning talent, opened the roads for Brazilians in wrestling and MMA fighters who wanted to improve their grappling game and how seeing the sacrifices of the Von Erichs in ‘Iron Claw’ remembered him of the trials he faced with his family.
“It is a story that shows what is behind pro-wrestling, which isn’t an easy activity, let alone an easy career. It is a mixture of being an actor, a fighter, and an athlete. However, you are not only an actor because you must always go to the gym, but you are also always practicing inside the ring because you can hurt yourself just like an athlete; in the end, you have to perform realistically”.
These hardships mould these performers and some of the most notorious are jumping over the top rope into mainstream culture as reflected by the emergence of pro-wrestlers turned actors Dwayne Johnson, John Cena, and Dave Bautista, who are big draws and known even by casual moviegoers and some even know their catchphrases. It is not uncommon to see pro wrestlers “cutting promos” telling why they are good or how they will beat their next opponent, and while some can improvise these lines, many have to rehearse with coaches, and their eloquence combined with their physiques result in personas which bring traits of themselves if not whole different beasts that capture the audiences.
Jaoude recalls how his tutelage under WWE led him to relevant acting jobs like the ‘Arcanjo Renegado’ (2020 – 2022, Dissent Archangel) series in Brazil’s streaming service GloboPlay, part of South-America’s main media group, The Globo Conglomerate.
“The acting programs I’ve been part of in WWE opened doors that led me to ‘Arcanjo Renegado,’ and the classes I had made me feel comfortable while shooting the series.”
Newby sees that the pro-wrestling acting classes can develop talents that can be as good or better than some clueless people trying to break into the industry as pro-wrestling “is a performance art.” The critic also believes that the names mentioned before not only bring the physicality seen in TV but also have the appeal of decades-ago action stars like Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dolph Lundgren, and Carl Weathers.
Nevertheless, Johnson, Cena, and Bautista aren’t just palette swaps of each other as Johnson is a blockbuster king, and with his MMA fighter Mark Kerr biography directed by Benny Safdie and produced by A24 will let the viewers see his drama range, Cena is the more inclined to comedy of the trio and made the anti-hero Peacemaker his own with the homonymous DC hit series; meanwhile, Bautista has picked a more art inclined path which he carries simultaneously with blockbuster material, Bautista can be seen in pictures like ‘Blade Runner 2049’ (2017) and M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Knock at the Cabin’ (2023), and has expressed lack of interest in franchises like ‘Fast & Furious.’
“I think whether it be in hiring these big, standout personalities to act or in telling the incredible, sometimes unbelievable stories of their lives, the TV and Film industry is all in on wrestling and wrestlers,” says Newby.
The film industry, in particular Hollywood, is a gruelling business, and wrestling is a rough career as Adrian Jaoude explains:
“The life of a pro-wrestler isn’t an easy one; it is based upon dedication, effort, lots of travelling, much abnegation, and sacrifices, but it is worth it; when the show closes, and the fans are still excited, it is always fun” – Adrian Jaoude
