Politics And Professional Wrestling

How The Art Of Persuasion Works As An Advantage In Politics And Pro Wrestling

In October of 1980, I was watching TV in my parent’s bedroom. While sitting on the corner of their bed searching through the five channels I was able to get on their black and white TV, I came across a show that featured a large man walking to a four-sided ring dressed like a Marine in wrestling tights. 

His name was Sgt. Slaughter and he presented himself as a Marine drill instructor who would order everyone in the crowd to stand up and salute him, and he would address the audience as “maggots” and pukes”. 

The “character” was played by a man named Bob Remus. Bob had wrestled under a few monikers while wearing a mask prior to becoming “The Sarge”. 

At that time wrestling was catered towards adults. There was a fair amount of people back then who were veterans of either World War Two, the Korean War, or the War in Vietnam. Bob patterned the character after drill instructors he encountered while serving in the military. He highlighted some of their more unpopular mannerisms that struck a chord with many in the audience who had served and experienced the wrath of their respective drill instructor. 

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In real life, Bob is a soft-spoken man who is seemingly normal and mild-tempered. At least that is the impression I have gotten the few times I’ve seen him interviewed out of character. 

However, he has the capability of grabbing a microphone in front of thousands of people and making them so angry it could have caused a riot. 

He showed his range a few years later after returning to what was then called the WWF as a “babyface” after leaving for another promotion after his prior run as a “heel”. In his new role as a good guy, he pivoted to a flag-waving patriot who fought against American adversaries like the “Iron Sheik” from Iran and “Nikolai Volkoff” from Russia. 

He went from stirring up a riotous crowd to receiving an outpouring of adulation. 

The act of persuasion and understanding how to capture and manipulate people’s emotions are paramount for a wrestler who aspires to be a top performer. It’s understanding the art of “Kayfabe”, which is a wrestling term that represents the process of wrestlers selling their gimmick as real to wrestling fans, or as they were referred to back in the day, “marks”. 

The most successful politicians today are the ones who also possess these same characteristics. However, the difference is most of them play the heel and the face all at once. It’s a balancing act. The more contempt they receive from their political adversaries, the more support they will receive from their supporters. 

No one understands this better than Donald Trump.

Donald Trump has been a lightning rod since stepping off that escalator in 2015 and announcing his campaign for the presidency. Since that time there is not one American figure who is more universally loved and hated than Trump. 

He established his base by understanding how to gain the support of a certain subset of Americans who feel they suffer from a lack of representation and have been cast aside by the American government. 

Whether this is a viable stance is up for debate, but he has leaned into this really hard, resulting in unwavering support not seen anywhere else in the current political landscape.

He is also despised by liberals, establishment politicians on both sides and the mainstream media. His alleged transgressions while a private citizen and the numerous investigations while serving as president, culminating in an election he lost in 2020 that he alleges was stolen, have contributed to their contempt. 

You can certainly argue there were instances where his words were taken out of context and the investigation into him being a Russian asset is rooted in the deep state, but he has leaned into these things hard, resulting in an unprecedented wave of opposition not seen anywhere else in the political landscape.

This has come to a head as he was charged with election interference in the state of Georgia. However, he had an interview with Tucker Carlson the previous evening during the Republican debate that has over 250 million views, and he posted his mugshot on Twitter which has amassed over 165 million views. Polls show he currently has an overwhelming lead in the Republican primary and is in a dead heat with Joe Biden in the general election. 

It’s not a coincidence that he is a WWE Hall of Famer. 

However, Donald Trump is not the only one who understands how to play both sides to his benefit. 

Joe Biden and his branding of “Ultra MAGA” to characterize people who support Trump certainly works to rabble-rouse his detractors which primes his base of supporters to circle the wagons and continue to drive his platforms. 

He also has the overwhelming support of Hollywood and legacy media outlets who also understand the game and contribute to this cycle of persuasion and/or manipulation.

The “Kayfabe Era” of wrestling started to fall when “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan and the Iron Sheik were pulled over and arrested for possession of a controlled substance while traveling together in a car. The issue was Jim was a face and the Sheik was a heel who were working a program. 

The era ended when Vince McMahon testified that wrestling was scripted to avoid taxes and oversight from the New Jersey Athletic Commission.

I remember as a kid cheering on Hulk Hogan and Dusty Rhodes, and hating Bobby Heenan and the Four Horsemen. While I still tune in from time to time, wrestling was never the same after the curtain was pulled and the business was exposed. I came to this same conclusion with politics shortly after the 2020 election.

While I have highlighted the similarities between wrestling and politics, the difference between the two is wrestling is a form of entertainment. 

But that’s what we have turned politics into. Politicians are seen as babyfaces or heels, and they see us as marks. And they serve the needs of mega-donors and elitists who are smartened up to how this works. 

We are more enamored by whether our guy or woman is in power, instead of what our government is supposed to represent.

Us.