Wikipedia:Peer review/History of professional wrestling/archive1

History of professional wrestling
This article is in limbo. Professional wrestling has had a long and extensive history across the United States. It has produced many major popular culture figures, including the Rock, Mankind, Triple H, Stone Cold 3:16, Hulk Hogan, and many others. Who hasn't heard of Hulk Hogan, or Mr. T, or gained a little glimpse of wrestling on TV ?(which isn't hard considering that it has over 5 hrs of showtime a week) Professional wrestling, far longer and wider than reality TV, or many American sitcoms, has been a major part of America's culture, and is part of our exports to foreign nations.

Wrestling's popularity is cyclical, and its current scene is definitely down. In fact, it seems to be looking very bleak. People want to erase every vestige of wrestling from their minds. But, it is still a mainstay in our minds; news articles read like wrestling events; ex: "slammed a proposal by Republicans to...", "The astronomers teamed with ocean scientists to study the phenomena of the reflective sky ...", "...the city Council decided to flex some muscle in its fight against a corrupt garbage company accused of mafia...", "...On Aug 15, Mrs. Jackson finally submitted after wrestling a virulent form of Hodgin's lymphoma for two-years...", etc.

I urge non-fans and critics, as well as more casual or older wrestling fans, to please contribute some info to the page. I know that memory is limited, and history can only be added to through multiple perspectives. For a form of entertainment that has arisen in the media and has provided some of the wackiest and unique programming on television, I'm sure that many different people will have something to say about it, especially for the periods I've missed out (the 60s, 70s, and 80s.)

Please help edit this page and provide a fresh perspective. My major concern is that hardcore wrestling fans will make it too esoteric and add jargon that will be confusing; non-fans usually won't even see the page, but if a compromise can be reached, it can be both historical, and enjoy wide readability.

Contact me personally for any questions or comments, or leave a response on the article's talk page or underneath this notice. Thank you! -- Sc r ew ba ll 23 talk 23:39, 5 August 2007 (UTC)

None of the figures of speech you mentioned are exclusive to professional wrestling. Slam is a general purpose term that can refer to slamming a door, a lid, a window, or a rock down on a bug. Flexing muscle as a show of potentially coercive power is as old as muscles and bullying. Forming a team is not exclusive to wrestling. Submitting after wrestling goes back to at least ancient Greece. Ironically, you didn't mentioned "tag team," which as far as I know IS exclusive to professional wrestling, and has entered general conversation.

I'd like to see some controversies discussed:

A few years ago, a professional wrestler died upon falling from the ceiling in an unsuccessful stunt; the event was continued. This was widely covered in the news, and seemed to some people, including me, to show an appalling disregard for human life.

Some wrestling insiders claim that the characters, scenarios and even some particular moves are scripted ahead of time, despite the presentation of professional wrestling as a "reality show" event that is unpredictable. "As fake as professional wrestling" is another modern cliche!

Finally, are there different attitudes among wrestling fans and the general public about use of steroid drugs to enhance muscularity, aggression and physical performance of professional wrestlers?

These all seem like historical elements worth mentioning in your article.

I'd better quit commenting now, because I'm sure your article could kick my laptop's behind into the next state. 08:47, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

Automated Peer Review
The following suggestions were generated by a semi-automatic javascript program, and might not be applicable for the article in question. You may wish to browse through User:AndyZ/Suggestions for further ideas. Thanks, Davnel03 17:05, 16 August 2007 (UTC)
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