Who would have ever thought that I could combine my love of
professional wrestling and politics into one convenient package? I suppose I'm
highly educated but that does not, and will never, affect my love of pro
wrestling. Wrestling is, essentially, a soap opera for men. Storylines play out
over the course of a few weeks. Heels (bad guys) feud with faces (good guys)
and their continued friction is a sure way to make money. And that's what
wrestling is, a business. If you can't make money you either try something else
or get out. The drive for more business puts "asses in seats", sets
up pay-per-views (pioneered by Vince McMahon) and generally can make or break
how a individual wrestler is employed. One minute you are the hot ticket in the
"squared circle" the next you're losing to newbies in matches nobody
sees nor cares about. It's a fickle business, one that is tied to a carnival
atmosphere not matter how serious people try to make it. Put on a good show, a
good spectacle, and you will score a
payoff. Put on a poor show and you could endanger everything.
When Donald Trump first announced his campaign for the
Presidency I laughed. I had too. Trump's business is his name, his brand and
part of that brand was a payout from the 2009 "Battle of the Billionaires" pitted against Vince McMahon, then evil CEO
of the WWE. Believe it or not Trump was the face, the good guy, who would take
down VinnieMac once and for all. In essence, as I watch the RNC, I see a
pro-wrestler as a potential President. Now wrestlers are no stranger to
politics. Jesse Ventura ran Minnesota
for four years after a multi-candidate election that saw him take the top spot
with far less than 50% of the vote. Nikolai Volkoff (Josip Nikolai Peruzović), a
wrestler billed as being from the Soviet Union, ran for a commissioner's
position in Baltimore Country, Maryland.
Vince McMahon's wife, Linda, who has appeared many times in the ring, ran for
Senate in Connecticut.
While the latter two failed, Ventura
won, in part to college students voting for him because that's the name they knew.
Wrestling and
politics have a long history. Often the characters many wrestlers adapt in the
ring are reflections of contemporary events. Evil Soviet wrestlers, evil Nazi
wrestlers, evil Iranian (and later Iraqi) wrestlers and even evil
environmentalist wrestlers all provided good fodder for names like Hulk Hogan
(a REAL American), Hillbilly Jim, "Macho Man" Randy Savage and
others. One important group of characters is the evil rich guy persona. Ted
Dibiase, the "Million Dollar Man" did a fantastic job of angering
crowds with his arrogant rich guy act. Irwin R. Shyster (IRS, get it?) would
accuse the audience of trying to skip on their taxes. Vince McMahon after his
feud with Steve Austin became the boss everyone loved to hate. He pulled
fantastic money in pitting "every-man" Austin against him and his minions, all of
which groveled to him to keep their jobs.
So where does Trump
fit into all this? I've been telling people that throughout the primary
campaign that Trump was a level above his competitors. He would make fun of
them, cut them off and generally act in a way that was outside the decorum of
even cut-throat primary politics. His debate performances were rarely delivered
with facts. In fact, to me, they seemed like wrestling promos before a match,
where wrestlers tell people how awsesome they are and how they will smash their
opponent. A good promo is an art form and wrestlers like Ric Flair and Hulk
Hogan perfected the promo. A good verbal destruction of your opponent does
wonders to fire up the crowd and make your opposite number look weak and
unprepared. Trump rarely presents specifics for his plans and, frankly, he
doesn't have to. He just needs to win the crowd with a damn good show.
If Hilary is going
to win this November her campaign needs to understand one thing: they're not
dealing with a politician. They're dealing with a showman who knows how to play
the emotions of the crowd. That's why the rest of the Primary field was left in
the dust as Trump rolled up damn near ever Republican primary and caucus. He
knows the right promo to deliver at the right time while jabbing his opponents
in such a way that make people swoon over him. The Republic National Convention
is occurring even as I type this and is proving to be a mutated love child of
the GOP and pro-wrestling. The first two days echoed Vince MacMahon's idea that
any celebrity is good celebrity. I
have not heard the words "Scott Biao" used this much in twenty years.
Doesn't matter if they're has-beens. Use them is the McMahon slogan.
Trump is taking a
page from the WWE/McMahon playbook. Spectacle is necessary to draw people in
and promote yourself, no matter what. I honestly would not be surprised that
events like his wife's plagiarism of Michelle Obama's speech wasn't fabricated
to draw attention. What purpose would it serve? In a good wrestling story line,
bringing your spouse into the fray and defending her is good copy, just see
"Macho Man" Randy Savage and his marriage to Ms. Elizabeth in the
1980s after Macho Man defended her on a weekly bases from bad guys like Andre
the Giant. Huge ratings and big bucks for the WWE and Vince McMahon was the
result. Behind every door is an angle that can make money, and I don't think
for a second Trump is going to ignore the potential for such massive exposure
for his name and capital.
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