Yesterday, I touched upon the subject of parent responsibility when it comes to children watching wrestling. This was due to a person straight up calling some colleagues of mine irresponsible for letting their kids watch wrestling. Let's just call her "Sara from Nebraska!" After listening to our entire podcast last night, she told us we reacted exactly the way she expected and that we proved her point. That is the most confusing statement I've ever heard! If anything, she proved our point! Today she tells us she will no longer listen to us. It turns out, this lady isn't even a parent in the first place, so she has no leg to stand on. She claims wrestling is only for adults and for some reason, brought God into the equation. I decided to follow up on this! This blog is not designed to react to this lady because we already did that last night on The War Report. It is merely about explaining that for the most part, wrestling is for kids.
First, I want to get the following out of the way because it will likely lead to its own blog. With the exception of the Attitude Era, wrestling has been and is for kids. What people fail to realize is the Attitude Era is something that needed to happen, a necessary evil, if you will. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the Attitude Era! However, I was a teenager at the time. Younger kids should not have been allowed to watch that. During the Monday Night War, the WWF at the time was losing in the ratings to WCW. Vince McMahon's company was on the possible verge of going out of business. McMahon never wanted to stray from a PG environment but did what he had to do to survive. In the end, the WWF turned things around and won the war. If not for the Attitude Era, we might be watching Nitro and Thunder these days. Rest assured that had the WWF not been in any danger, Vince likely would have never went to a TV-14 rating.
I grew up in the 80's during the height of Hulkamania. It was a time of larger than life characters and over the top personas. Wrestlers with no character quickly got lost in the shuffle. I have been a fan since I was about two years old. It became huge for me the first time I saw Hulk Hogan on TV as a little boy. I also requested to play the bagpipes because of Rowdy Roddy Piper. My parents bought me wrestling figures and other merchandise, as well as taking me to events. I grew up in Long Island, NY so a majority of the live events I attended were at the old Nassau Coliseum and Madison Square Garden. Arguably, Hulk Hogan was the biggest known name during this time. It wasn't until Stone Cold Steve Austin came along that someone would outsell Hulk's merchandise. Beyond the characters, a lot of the wrestlers back then were great role models. At the time, Hogan had a mantra of training, saying your prayers, and taking your vitamins.
Wrestling is something I took to early on and I'm still a fan to this day. It's always been my way of escaping the real world for a few hours every once in a while and letting myself get lost in it. It's just like any other form of entertainment. There were so many kid friendly wrestlers during this time. You had the Ultimate Warrior, Hillbilly Jim, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, and many more. When the Hart Foundation became good guys, Bret Hart started to give his sunglasses to little kids on his way to the ring. The Rockers, Koko B. Ware, and especially the Bushwhackers were characters kids could really get into. You had Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, who was the perennial babyface. There was Tito Santana, Big Bossman, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, and George "The Animal" Steele, just to name a few more.
When the New Generation came about, other stars started to rise in popularity. People like Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon, Diesel, and the Undertaker all had merchandise that were designed for kids. Doink went from evil clown to happy fun-loving clown. A lot of these wrestlers had colorful outfits and everything about them just resonated with kids. I was a little Hulkamaniac until I was about 13 when his act got a little tired and many of the kids that watched in the 80's were growing up. Oddly enough, I got back into Hogan when he turned heel and helped found the New World Order.
Due to the Monday Night War, the Attitude Era came about in order for the WWF to survive. Following that was the "Ruthless Aggression Era," which was a lot more tame but still somewhat more adult-oriented. In 2008, WWE finally went back to PG again. New wrestlers became the role models. People looked up to guys like Batista, Eddie Guerrero, and perhaps the biggest one of all time, John Cena. Cena was even more of a do-gooder than Hulk Hogan! When Cena came along, he became the flag-bearer for the company and even to this day is still the top guy. Cena even became the most requested wrestler for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. WWE has also participated with things such as Conner's Cure. Those videos of Conner meeting his hero Daniel Bryan were some of the sweetest things you'll see and it's hard not to cry.
In the last several years, a main source of merchandise sold was due to kids. While I understand kids don't have money, their parents sure do! Kids love wrestling and have for a long time. Beyond John Cena, you can't look at the crowd and not see some kid with a Bayley shirt or a New Day shirt. Kids love to dance along with Naomi and even want to "Walk With Elias!" Little girls want to be just like Charlotte Flair and despite a certain percentage, Roman Reigns is a big deal to kids. Even though he is a "Monster Among Men," Braun Strowman is starting to get the attention of children. I understand it, as I was a kid who grew up watching wrestling and fell in love with it.
Just to make sure WCW has their time in the sun, I should mention of few of their stars that made wrestling fun for kids. In the 80's, Sting was one of the biggest things going in wrestling. His surfer look included spiked hair, colorful outfits, and face paint. When those kids became teenagers, those little Stingers still looked up to him, but now in his "Crow" persona. Kids had many other favorites, including the Steiner Brothers, Lex Lugar, and Goldberg. Kids were happy to perform the Spineroonie with Booker T and cheered on Diamond Dallas Page when he hit a Diamond Cutter. Not to mention, all the Luchadores such as Rey Misterio, Psicosis, and Juventud Guerrera.
I believe wrestling will always be a haven for kids. Some may have been a lot different had it not been for the influence of wrestling, and I'm talking about the positive way. Content that kids watch is all about what their parents allow. When I have kids, I will allow them to watch wrestling. However, I will watch with them and make sure they understand that it is for professionals and not to be done at home. I will also deem what is appropriate or not for them to watch. Are there irresponsible parents that let their kids watch wrestling? Yes! I just don't agree with people generalizing and saying that all parents are irresponsible. Wrestling is like any other form of entertainment, not any better, not any worse. If you have shitty kids, chances are you are shitty parents and that has nothing to do with whatever they may be allowed to watch. The buck stops with the parent! I'm not a parent myself so I have no right to judge parents for the way they raise their children, and I'm smart enough to know that. The bottom line is that wrestling for the most part is geared toward kids.
If you have any further thoughts on this topic, let me know in comments. Heck, let us all know on The WAR Report podcast, every Tuesday at 7PM EST on YouTube, brought to you by tagmeadate.com, the first and only dating site for wrestling fans. Go to askthewarreport@gmail.com or #askthewarreport. For TagMeADate members, our Android and Apple apps are vastly approaching so stay tuned!
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