Wrestling's Long Road to Respectability
For decades, pro wrestling was treated like trash TV, too fake for sports, too rowdy for art. Secrecy around kayfabe didn't help. Wrestling pretended to be a legit sport while everyone kinda knew it wasn't. This weird dance kept it trapped between worlds, unable to claim space as what it was: live theater with incredible athletes performing death-defying stunts.
But something shifted, maybe when The Rock and John Cena went from "WWE superstars" to legitimate Hollywood leading men. Or, when Roman Reigns revealed his leukemia diagnosis, people suddenly realized they were watching Shakespearean-level emotional storytelling. Wrestling stopped hiding, and audiences got comfortable with meta-fictional experiences.
Now you've got A24 making wrestling movies, mainstream critics writing think-pieces about storylines, Netflix throwing money to stream live events, and a President deploying WWE tactics from the White House. The same art form that was once relegated to late-night cable is now analyzed like prestige television.
It's a reminder that cultural bias often has more to do with who's watching than what's actually happening on screen. Wrestling has always been a fascinating blend of sport, soap opera, and stunt work. It just took the intelligentsia a while to catch up.
Respectability isn't always about what you make; sometimes it's timing. If the world doesn't get your work just yet, that doesn't mean it never will.
If you’re curious about how storytelling works in the WWE, check out this enlightening promo for the awesome Netflix BTS series: WWE Unreal.