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Underground > Film, TV & Theatre >

World Wifebeating Federation

10:35 / 20.03.02

I love wrestling, i really do, its like a macho soap oprea but with a better soundtrack and explosions, and while i sat there glassy eyed spooning sugery treats into my flapping mandibles this Wrestlmainia i had one objection.

What was that??

Im glad you asked for those who dont know the story line runs like this Triple H (the most bad ass wrestler ever to spit evain) is going through a nasty break up with his wife Stepahny, which has lead to all sorts of revenge hi-jinks and shenanigans. And all this culimnated at Wrestlemania with HHH wrestling a guy called Chris Jericho for the undisputed title with stephany in Jerichos corner for support and a little bit of cheatness.

anyway this is what made me feel uncofortable

it was the sight of a whole stadium of poeple a-whooping and a-shrieking as a huge wrestler (someone who fights for a living) that is at least twice the size and weight of his wife, pick up said wife by the hair and deliver the pedagriee ( a wrestling move that drives the opponants face into the matt).

i nearly never cheered myself

am i just being over sensative? or did this unsettle anyone else?

10:39 / 20.03.02

didn't see this particular incident, but i used to watch wwf, so i know that it's quite a pantomime.

sounds disturbingly like domestic violence made acceptable/accessible. what was the context? is she a wrestler?

Haus about we all give each other a big lovely huggle?

10:41 / 20.03.02

Not to mention, of course, the Dudley Boys, who achieved cult status with their endearing habit of throwing women through tables...

The lesson learned from Wrestlemania is, of course, that it is OK to beat up women (she appeared later in a neck brace on another TV show) as long as they are *evil* women.

11:03 / 20.03.02

sfd- it IS a pantomime but but this kinda stuck out like a sore thumb, the really werid thing was the crowd cheering as if she deserved it.

i was bought up to belive hitting women is wrong (wether this is PC or not is a whole differant thread) and the site of my faverite wrestler overpower his wife did marr the whole thing

16:16 / 20.03.02

Don't mess with a man's dog.

In HHH's defense, Stephanie did have a nasty habit of oh, hitting him over the head with folding chairs and the like. There was ample context of her crossing the line beforehand, so it was justifiable in the moral laws of the world of the WWF. So, the bitch had it comin

But yea, a 300lb professional fighter did just slam his x-wife in a finishing move. Fortunately in the cartoony world of professional wrestling, noone actually gets hurt by such things. Its just like Tom and Jerry, only with real people. If you want a wrong message to take home, there's a good one for ya.

[ 20-03-2002: Message edited by: cusm ]

16:22 / 20.03.02

quote:Originally posted by The Haus that shot Liberty Valance:
Not to mention, of course, the Dudley Boys, who achieved cult status with their endearing habit of throwing women through tables...

Now that was just screwed up. The subtext of the character is that Bubba is a deranged redneck psycho who doesn't get off other than by putting his head between a woman's legs, and slamming her through a table. Just look at the crosseyed blissed out look he gets every time he does it. Talk about sexual subtexts of violation. That one always had me going "damn, who writes this shit?", amazed by what they let through sometimes.

16:49 / 20.03.02

well, i was hanging back, bearing in mind my usual tendency to jump in before i know the facts in total feminazi mode.

this does sound rather fucked though.

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

19:06 / 20.03.02

it was hardly a fair match.

however i gotta agree that in the WWF, you dont hit someone with a chair/fire extinguisher/brick/shoval and expect not to get pay back at the pay per view.

i dont think they are making wife beating an accesable and ok thing, they are making knocking someone out who delivers blows to the head to you weekly ok.

19:28 / 20.03.02

Possibly also worth noting that the ex in question Stephanie is also one of the head bookers for the wwf, so its more than likely that she wrote the match herself...not sure if that makes any difference?

What about Hogan v Rock though that was cool...seems fitting that the first thread i post on for awhile is about the wwf

19:35 / 20.03.02

Yes, I think you're being over sensitive.Why didnt you see it as her being treated with gender-equality? Should he have said.."Oh wait, you're a female and my wife..so continue to hit me and I'll just sit here and take it." She got what any man would have. Now thats progress for womens rights right there!
She's just a character.

And hopefully anyone who watches wrestling will have the mental accuity to realise that ther way they behave in the ring is not considered proper ettiquet when taken out of context.

15:31 / 21.03.02

If you step into the ring, you're a wrestler. Hell, if you work for the WWF at all, you're a wrestler. Everyone gets body slammed once in awhile, even refs and announcers.

As for Hogan, God damn. Fanboy rant ahead. I used to watch WWF when I was young, back in the days of Hulkamania. I remember the first Wrestlemania. Hogan was a superhero, unbeatable and unmatched in popularity. He wasn't just a face, he was a Superface. I hated when he went heel, even if I was sick of him. It was like Superman going rogue. I know why it had to happen, you can only dominate the top for so long before making room for new talent. The show gets stale. It was the only way to get rid of him, as he wasn't about to retire. But it was still fucked up, and every time I saw him it was like something stolen from my childhood.

That's why the match with the Rock was special, cause the Rock is a Superface, too. He filled the niche Hogan left when he went heel. He uses the same schtick as the champion of the people. So when Hogan starts making hs comeback and is calling pops from the crowd, Rock just looks at him all hurt like "dude, you can't do that, I'm the one they love." I about flipped my shit when he started hulking out.

It was beautiful, and they pulled it off so well. The broken old man finally resigns his pride, and in so doing is redeemed in a moment as historical as Andrea being body slammed, passing on the torch to the next generation. You could tell the Rock was just happy to be a part of it.

This means, not only is the hero brought back to life, but he gets to have a last run of glory before retiring as one of the "good guys", and go out with a bang. This'll be a fun ride.

12:28 / 22.03.02

I just want the Ulimate Warrior back hed still kick the hulksters ass and if the godfather reverted back to Papa Shango that would also rule

tell no one i just said that

12:43 / 22.03.02

Your not alone in the Papa Shango department, I went green goo and flaming boots !!

09:35 / 28.03.02

Once again, Barbelith restores my faith. I thought I was the only person who wanted Papa Shango back.
On the plus side, at least Goldust has returned. Anyone that weird gets my vote.

On the smacking Stef front, I know what you mean. Part of me worries and the other part says 'she hits him, he can hit her back'. Wrestling falls into the old 'well, I know better but some people out there don't' category and, like Steven Segal, I'm starting to worry about the karma.

And Mick Foley would have killed Hogan. He'd have lost the match, but Hogan would have been DAMN NEAR BROKEN IN HALF. OH MY GOD.

09:40 / 28.03.02

Well the draft has happen in the states, I wonder how it'll work out - the viewing figures have jumped up a heap though so it seems that its getting more popular again.. but what about stone cold is he about to quit (for real) ??? Dum dum dum....

ONLY NICE THINGS

09:43 / 28.03.02

He certainly would have been BUSTED WIDE OPEN!

ONLY NICE THINGS

09:43 / 28.03.02

He certainly would have been BUSTED WIDE OPEN!

14:32 / 28.03.02

I want the return of Dillberg!!!

Solitaire Rose as Tom Servo

05:18 / 29.03.02

Geez, I never thought of it as wife beating, simply because Steph was "the evil one" who eventually would get put into a finishing maneuver. That's what happens when you are the heel.

And, to be honest, I think most of ol' Hootie McBoobs's Heel Heat didn't come from her being so good at being a heel, but more the fact that she was painfully annoying, a horrid actress and all of her bits were just painful. HHH's dog? Her endless promos? Utterly killing any of Jericho's push? She's off my TV now and I'm happy about it.

And aftet an amazingly good Wrestlemania, they are doing a horrid little storyline to "split" the federation...While it would be nice if it would get some of the people lower on the roster some TV time (Tommy Dreamer, Raven, Crash Holley) I see it more as something that just won't work. No one who watches AW gets to see The Rock. No one without cable gets to see the NWO.

AND they upped the cost of the monthly PPVs by $5 here in the US. Never a good idea when fans are turning away to raise the price of the product.

16:02 / 29.03.02

My favorite audience sign lately:

"Golddust raped my dad"

That just kills me. Golddust is just dirty. I like him/it.

18:27 / 29.03.02

God, I havent watched wrestling in forever. The Rock slammed the Hulk? Nice. Anyone see the Hulk Hogan True Hollywood Story where he teared up when talking about Andre the Giant?

18:30 / 29.03.02

The Rock? Hulk Hogan? Jesus, when did this happen? Must have been after the Undertaker started his biker thing. At about that point, I completely lost interest.

Molly Shortcake

16:36 / 05.04.02

"Fortunately in the cartoony world of professional wrestling, noone actually gets hurt by such things. Its just like Tom and Jerry, only with real people."

The Pedigree, like the figure four, is one wrestling move that REALLY HURTS no matter what. Chris Jericho always puts one knee down, can't take the paiin.

pointless and uncalled for

17:03 / 05.04.02

Solitaire - the reason people like Raven and Crash are lower on the roster are because they can't wrestle that well.

What we need are people like Steve Carino (possibly the best bleeder in the world), Mikey Whipwreck and the Sinister Minister and, just for entertainment value, the Amish Roadkill.

I can't believe that Vince hasn't seen the value in a wrestler who only ever says "Chickens".

Molly Shortcake

18:32 / 05.04.02

"The subtext of the character is that Bubba is a deranged redneck psycho who doesn't get off other than by putting his head between a woman's legs, and slamming her through a table"

During the end of it's run, this brilliant rape scenario was extended to males as well.

Nobody seems to care when the likes of The Big Show beats up on 150 pound ( yeah right, 130 is more like it ) Spike Dudley. Seems to me the WWF is challenging your notions of violence and gender Puck.

Solitaire Rose as Tom Servo

04:03 / 07.04.02

Raven may not be the best in the ring, but give him a microphone and I am entertained. And Crash IS good in the ring, but just is a bit too small to compete with the big boys...I mean, it's not like X-Pac can do anything in the ring but remind us of why the WCW cut him by FedEx.

Anyone watching Tough Enough 2?

12:24 / 09.04.02

Is it on in the UK yet? They haven't started trailing it, so I guess not. They always put it on at stupid times though, so I tended to miss it last time. And if they give the damn title to Maven, it can't be much frigging cop.
Maven. Gah.

Anyhoo, more excitingly, has everyone seen the draft - all the shite wrestlers (bar Angle, DDP and Tajiri) have been put on suckdown, so I never have to watch the Rock (or Hogan for that matter) struggle to complete a match without using a single bloody wrestling move. Yay for Raw with Undies, Kane, Bubba, Bradshaw, Goldust, RVD, Austin and Brock (fuck me, he picked up Rikishi) Lesnar.
Vince chose Mark Henry. Guffaw.

13:09 / 09.04.02

Yeah Raw seems to be the much stronger show, and that Brock really is a fuckin monster isn't he! Good to see Kane getting a push though, I always thought he was cool.

Its so sad I get all my WWF from the web, I really do wish I had Sky..

16:49 / 10.04.02

One of the kids on Tough Enough 2 already has a contract. He left he show due to a knee injury, but they really liked him and were all like "Don't worry kid, there are other ways to go." Recently, WWF held a separate one day "competetion" with the prize being a contract in. Guess who won it? Sneaky of them

17:52 / 10.04.02

Who did win it??

17:53 / 10.04.02

Doh - I see what you mean now - I was thought you meant that they used it as an excuse to sign some out of contract wrestler!