cRaw in Nashville, Part 2
- From: "the Bede" <rspwsownthebede@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2007 11:31:28 -0500
note: I admire Shad Gaspard's grasp of Aristotelian dramaturgy.
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070430/ENTERTAINMENT07/704300306/1005
WWE's 'Raw' triggers plenty of emotion and pain
By CINDY WATTS
Staff Writer
Kids, don't try any of these at home: A body slam. The swinging neck
breaker. A hip toss. Head scissors.
All are wrestling moves designed to inflict nothing but 100 percent pure
amusement on the audience. If a wrestler gets hurt in the process, that's
just part of the job, said Shad Gaspard, who is one half of the WWE tag team
Cryme Tyme.
[photo of 2 black guys hurting 1 white guy, none labeled by name, "Courtesy
Of WWE Publicity"]
"Getting hurt comes with the business. You try and avoid hurting the people
you work with because they have a family. We all look out for each other.
The best way to keep from getting hurt is just going all out. When you
hesitate and second-guess yourself, that's when you get hurt. You just have
to let what happens happen."
Fans of the sport can see what happens in person tonight when WWE airs its
Monday Night Raw broadcast live from Nashville Arena, WHERE THOSE *OTHER*
CHOKE ARTISTS, THE NHL'S PREDATORS, USUALLY PLAY. At-home viewers can watch
at 8 p.m. on the USA Network.
"We have had WWE events here at the arena for 10 years now," said Hugh
Lombardi, general manager of Nashville Arena. "The level of energy that
fills the arena during these shows is remarkable. Because the shows are such
a great combination of television production, virtual reality, fan
interaction and athleticism, the excitement of the fans is off the charts.
It's truly a great live event to attend."
Gaspard agreed and compared WWE, which stands for World Wrestling
Entertainment, to a religious experience.
"It's that feeling you get from being in church," he said. "It's that
omnipresent, big, huge spectacle, but it's more. Look at what we do.
Anything and everything does happen - that's why we call it Raw."
What they don't call it is "real." Well, at least not in the sense that the
WWE brand of professional wrestling is just as it is presented on TV.
"There's a difference between sports and sports entertainment," Gaspard
said. "We are sports entertainment. People misinterpret my job a lot. They
say it's fake, but it's really like a live play. There's real emotion
onstage, like a Shakespeare play. People can go sit in an arena and be drawn
in. They can cheer for the good guy and boo for the bad guy. We get emotion
out of people more than any other sport. That's what it's all about."
.
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