The war drums are banging, but not for you or me. We look at their escapades as entertainment; a form of escapism, however there is no escape for them. They are fighting a war. The arena is their battlefield and the ring is their trench. We know nothing of their war. Each and every night they charge into battle. The lonely critic that surfaces in a sea of fans is like a sniper waiting for the kill. A single bullet of criticism is all it takes to ruin their emotional momentum. A mortar shell isn’t a form of physical projective in this war, but rather, the denial twist from the fans. There is no escaping the war drum. It rings through the air like the sound of a wrestler's theme music. The pyros and fireworks erupt like the morbid momentum of your comrade entering a minefield. The fans cheer with screams similar to a banshee looking down on a bloody landscape. As the wrestler makes his way down to the squared circle, the ring announcer calls out his name in a dull monotonic call voice similar to that of the Grim Reaper's. Then the bell rings and the moment of battle is upon him. The war drums are banging, but not for you or me.
Treading through the wrestling industry must be like walking into enemy territory. You’ve seen it all mapped out in blue prints. You know where the wrestling arenas are; the field of battle, and you have strict orders to make it to the battle in one piece. However, there is little surprise when the Commanding Offices find you’ve been reduced to shreds. Travelling across the globe to wrestle can be equally dangerous as stepping in enemy territory. That boding stagnates of loneliness weeps over each and every soldier. They are fighting a war miles away from their home, family and friends. This can turn even the most commitment and dedicated wrestler into an AWOL state. We saw it with Matt Hardy. Hardy’s life was all about wrestling. It is openly accepted that this soldier commitment his mind, body, and soul to the war. But when he found out that the woman he shared his passion for war with went AWOL on him, the landscape changed. The love of his life was now sharing a bunker with his fellow comrade. Although things looked bleak for Hardy he carried on fighting, but now he was fighting a different war!
When times become troubled in the trenches wrestlers aren’t always as fortunate as Hardy. He had the fans standing behind him and found the momentum to carry on fighting. However, the misfortunes of war can have an even graver affect on some. These wrestlers look for a short-term victory in drugs and alcohol. It takes their mind off the fighting and the busy schedule away from their loved ones, but in fact only contribute to the grave effects of war. Many have stumbled to drugs and found fallen to their poisonous effects. With the most recent case being with Eddie Guerrero. At first glance we shudder and look down on those wrestlers for using drugs, but we don’t realize the troubles and torments they go head to head with. Injury, insomnia, loneliness, stress, and fear are all shots aimed at these soldiers on a daily base. The way we have looked down on the way William Regal and his drug addiction almost tore his family apart must have crippled his pride. Or the bizarre stories shared between Chris Candido and Tammy Lynn Sytch, are enough to fill our heads with disgrace for these soldiers that are meant to be representing a respected sport. But we don’t know the full picture, and therefore don’t understand the degree of war. Each and every time we misjudge a wrestler based on their personal demons it contributes to the banging of those deafening drums.
Things have never been pretty for soldiers of war, and what every man on the front needs is a strong Commanding Officer backing him up from HQ. However, like the glare in a desperate soldier's eye, the assistance of a Commanding Office is vacant. If war were hell, then the General would be the devil! In this case, the horned man holding the pitchfork is Vincent Kennedy McMahon. Mr. McMahon deserves all the praise he has coming to him. Like a calculated Commanding Officer playing a game of risk he has set up all the right pieces in all the right places. He's put fan favorites such as Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, and Bret Hart in the front line during the family sensitive days of the early nineties. As the tables turned McMahon wiped the board and set up new pieces during the attitude era. Stone Cold Steve Austin, Degeneration-X, Mankind, and the new era Undertaker all took to their guns. Then when the dust had cleared, when the enemy known as WCW were swept off the board McMahon carried on fighting for WWE. However in retrospect, if McMahon has committed any war crimes it is ignoring new recruits and low ranking privates.
Take one Private Punk. He has fought in battles of honor and war of non-stop action. However, despite his experience and keen abilities, McMahon and his fellow Officers disregard him for child’s play. Just because this soldier doesn’t have the height of a high ranking officer, or his image is perhaps too unique for McMahon’s army, he is often neglected in the wars of wrestling. Not only does McMahon ignore his soldiers he also has a tendency to leave them dead on the battlefield. The last ECW Champion and a talented power wrestler Rhino, is the perfect example of this. As soon as this soldier stepped out of line McMahon used this rapid move as an excuse to send him packing! The General of wrestling Vincent Kennedy McMahon, may be branded with medal after medal for his success in this industry, he also has a negative tendency to dishonor his troops and leave them for dead on the battlefield.
Sometimes in the wars of wrestling the enemy is not always clear. Sometimes arguments and conflicts distort the sight like a blurred vision during the eruption of a gas grenade. During this case your fellow comrade; the man whose meant to cover your back and take a bullet for you, becomes as vicious as the enemy on the other side of the trench does. Fighting within the wrestling industry is not uncommon. Young soldiers will do anything to gain the attention of their commanding officers, and then this causes conflict to brew like a bomb! Take the case of Teddy Hart. Following the now infamous Scramble Cage match, Hart went solo and ignored the plan entrusted in him and his fellow competitors. This involved Hart taking to the skies and coming down on his unsuspecting comrades with impromptu moonsault from the top of the cage. This caused confusion and chaos in the ranks, which is something that shouldn't arise in planned warfare. Thankfully other wrestlers were there to make the save, by catching Hart and his shoot wrestling dives. Although Hart’s intentions were to gain the attention of ROH’s high-ranking officers, his comrades rightfully looked down on Hart’s actions. In particular it led to a conflict with fellow ROH wrestler CM Punk, and opened up a grudge on the battlefield that remains to this day!
Privates are not the only wrestlers who cause in-team fights; it is common practice older and more experienced soldiers to do so too! Although these soldiers have established themselves as honoree veterans in the ring, the nature of their in-group battles is to pursue the maintenance of their medals. A popular example is the on-going rival between Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan. Austin looks down on Hogan, and openly contributes Hogan's ranking in the industry as the result of backstage politics. Perhaps this battle shows a bitter Austin whose looking to devalue his fellow comrade Hogan, in order to bump himself up in rank? Or maybe Austin is merely attempting to expose the false credentials of Hogan? The underlying principle is that despite the closure of wrestling companies, the drop in rates, and a barge of Internet critics - who use negative rumors as if they were a missile strike, fights break out within ally terrorities. Although these soldiers are meant to be fighting together, the effects of war can result in both the lowest ranking privates, to the high profile commanders, turning on one and another.
The war drums are banging, but not for you or me. They're banging for the soldiers who are forced to spend months on the road away from their loved ones. As time goes by these beats become faster and faster, and the only way to slow them down is by giving into taboo tendencies such as drugs and alcohol. There is neither escape nor release from the constant banging of these drums, as the same generals and comrades who are meant to provide support only contribute to the heavy sounds. Wrestling is merely a form of entertainment for us, but for those participating it can be a war!
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