Professional wrestling and identity construction in the realm of social media

Abstract

The article presents an analysis of the problems that professional wrestlers face in their utilization of social media and the various strategies they employ in order to create a successful cohesion between the identity they present on the ring and their social media presence. Because of the metaphysical split that lies in the very foundation of wrestling the wrestler exists in two different realities—the world of everyday ordinary life on one side and the world of kayfabe on the other. The consequences from that grow in importance with the transition of wrestling into a televised form of entertainment and the conflict becomes even more emphasized when wrestling comes in contact with the realm of social media. The wrestler may choose to avoid social media altogether or she may choose to utilize social media as a continuation of her in-ring persona, or she may choose to initiate an interaction between the reality spheres of social media and wrestling. In the second part, I examine the challenges that the wrestling promotions face in their attempts to create a benign and engaging corporate identity. Historically wrestling has oftentimes exploited various negative stereotypes related to gender and race and this heritage continues to haunt the promotions up to this day. The contemporary problems lay in the field of social justice and the cruel ways in which the promotions treat their workers—the lack of permanent contracts, the uncertainty about health insurance and the attempts to ban wrestlers from utilizing social media.