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[MUSIC] THE SAVAGE ANIMAL
"17 Ways Wrestling Is Like Music" |
12.07.11 |
BY MIKEY MIGO
My recent creative choices has brought a lot of interaction and intertwining of the art of professional wrestling in relation to the music industry. Music and professional wrestling have a lot in common. I’m a bit surprised no one has taken the two and put them together in such a way as we’re going to be doing in Rockstar Wrestling, but there have definitively been the connections. The whole “Rock-n-Wrestling” thing in the 80’s where we’d see Captain Lou show up in Cindi Lauper’s video, Alice Cooper showing up on a WWF program, or for both to be in the same place at the same time. There would always be musicians and celebrities to have ties to WWE. Wrestling Society X had a rock and roll edge to it for the one season it was on MTV. Juggalo Championship Wrestling explains itself. The newer UWF project has an interesting take on hip hop that could be pretty fun with some time. Hell, WCW had a character that was a KISS character. The point is that music and professional wrestling have that connection.
I think the reason is because the two have a lot more in common that I think we really give credit for. Here are a few that have crossed my mind in the past few weeks…
1. World Tours
Sports, circuses, and special events really don’t get around like rockstars and wrestlers. A band like U2, Metallica, or Aerosmith will hit every continent and do extensive world tours. Wrestling pretty much does the same thing. The slight difference is that bands take breaks to record and rest, while wrestling never EVER stops their forever going tour. Professional wrestling is really the only sport or entertainment project that never takes a break from touring.
2. Life of Excess
Too many of the greatest of all time have died from overdosing or something drug related. For every Jim Morrison is a Brian Pillman. For every Hendrix is a Layne Staley. For every Scott Hall is an Ozzy Osbourne. For every Whitney Houston there is a Chyna. For every Shawn Michaels there is a Trent Reznor. For every CM Punk there is a Justin Bieber.
3. Training
You need some sort of lessons, booklet, instructional to really get going with an instrument. Even the freaks of nature that just picks it up and rock had to have heard something to pick up. The traditional argument is that “the more you train and practice, the better you get” is for both too. A wrestler needs to get trained, learn the ways, and tear down some rings.
4. Low Pay on the Low End
The unsigned band playing first at an all local show isn’t making a whole lot of money. Yeah, they’re living it up on the weekends as rockstars, but they’re definitely pouring money into it with big hopes and dreams. Wrestling is much the same. When you’re first coming up you’re working shows for $20, or in my young cheapness a hug and a friendship, and you’re driving across the map to work in front of 40 people/16 paid. In many worlds, this is called “paying your dues”. Its hell, but at least you’re chasing the dream.
5. Live or Die By Merch Sales
For an independent artist of both arts, this is more of a big deal than many fans think. If a band hits your town and you really like their music and want to show support one of the best ways you can do it is by buying some merch. More often than not, this is all of the little bit of money the band gets to eat on or live on. It’s expensive as shit to tour and unless you’re headlining, you’re struggling these days. It’s not too different for a wrestler. The guys I know who work the road a little rely hard on their “gimmicks”. Everything I said about the bands, but like three times worse. If you hit a show and the draw is low, you should expect that artist or wrestler isn’t getting paid that much that night. Sure there are cases that they’ll get a guarantee, but things happen. Those are the nights you REALLY need to buy something. You’re getting something unique and you’re supporting thriving artists on a less than amazing night.
6. Buzz of the Crowd & Cheap Pops
A band will have no problem shouting out a city’s name out loud for a cheap pop. Mick Foley proves a wrestler isn’t above it either.
7. Varied Styles
It’s basically genres. In wrestling we have technical wrestlers, high flyers, brawlers, powerhouses, stiff Japanese marks, WWE style and hardcore. Same with music having rock, country, pop, rap, punk, funk, etc. Even within genres. Like hip hop can easily be broken down into styles based on regions, coasts, and degrees of consciousness. Other genres as well. It’s really easy to catalogue and put things in nice and neat piles.
8. Groupies/Rats
Yep. Those dirty superfans with too much merch and even all more too much cheap slutty perfume exist in both worlds. In music it’s “groupies and in wrestling it’s “rats”, but I’m sure you’re perverted self already knew that.
9. Elaborate Staging
I’ve seen the visual insanity of a Nine Inch Nails show and I’ve seen the entrance way of one of the biggest Wrestlemanias. I’ve seen the stripped down concert set of a Sevendust and I’ve seen the no frills gritty setting of an ECW show. Even the normal show sets are crazy. The RAW and Smackdown sets are huge. I think I have to give this one to music though purely on the fact that U2’s “360” stage is the coolest thing ever constructed.
10. Setlist/Card
I think all of life should be arranged like this. There is a certain art to putting together a perfect match order and a perfect song order. I subscribe to the logic Lance Storm put behind it a few years ago in one of his blogs.
11. Reality Shows
Even if we discount ALL of the “singing shows”, there are still a lot of music related reality shows. Wrestling has had one a few and their presence in reality shows is limited to one or two folks on Dancing With the Stars, Surreal Life, and things like that. Then again, there was “Hogan Knows Best” to be the “wrestling answer” to “The Osbournes”. It’s a fair comparison. Neither really represents the art as much as drama and popularity contests.
12. Self Promotion
When you’re coming up, you HAVE to promote yourself. Any band will tell you about their older days of passing out flyers and getting people to go to their shows. I don’t know one independent wrestler who has paid their real indie dues that hasn’t had to deal with show flyers and even in some cases ticket sales. Even on a bigger level a musician will have to do press junkets to get over whatever their new project is. Meanwhile, guys like Zack Ryder are still doing it in a DIY way.
13. Rivalries
I remember when Nirvana was doing that “Hi Axel!” thing at the end of their performance at one of the old MTV award shows. There are always going to artists who don’t like each other. Look at the whole East Coast vs. West Coast thing from the 90’s world of rap. This is obviously the same in wrestling. Not just in the storyline aspect, but behind the scenes too. There those who just don’t like each other.
14. Nicknames
Simple enough. Wrestlers have nicknames and musicians have nicknames. Elvis was “The King”, Jay Z was “Black Elvis”, and David Bowie was the “Thin White Duke”. We get “The Heartbreak Kid”, “The Hitman”, and “The Immortal” in wrestling. Nicknames are everywhere, but I don’t think as marketed as much in any other field. Maybe boxing.
15. Evolved Creativity
As with anything, both arts have evolved A LOT over the past fifty or sixty years. Technology and natural sound evolution took music from hippies, to punk, to rap, to grunge, to pop, to where ever. Wrestling has gone through a similar evolution. With that though, both always lean on the idea of going “retro”. The idea of “if it worked before, it’ll work again” is in both. We’ll always see a Garage revival or a match that’s praised for being so pleasantly “old school”.
16. Never As Good As It Was
As a long time fan of rock music and wrestling, it’s always the same thing. We’re never happy. We always think older stuff was better than today. I think the grunge era is better than anything recent and would love to have enjoyed the 60’s and 70’s of rock and roll. As a wise wrestling fan, I think the “Attitude Era was better”. It’s not just that. I’m still a big clinger to the old ECW stuff. I’m not alone in this stuff in one way or another.
17. Larger Than Life
The larger than life atmosphere of a big concert or big presence is the same at both. I’ve been to as triple digits of both. You could almost argue that the energy at a big wrestling show like a Wrestlemania is still even bigger than that of a Lollapalooza or Ozzfest. The vibe is comparable though. The personalities like a Jimmy Page, David Lee Roth, or Busta Rhymes have their “look”, their signatures, and their presence. Same could be said for a long time wrestler like Undertaker, Hogan, or Rock. It’s the lights, the costumes, the almost mythical awe that the best of the best have. Nothing else really compares in this way.
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