Half-naked favorites of wrestling grab crowd
Source: Agencies |
August 13, 2012, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE Shanghai crowd howled with delight as half-naked giants in glittering briefs strutted into the ring and began slamming each other to the mat.
The audience came from all over China to watch muscle-bound foreigners with odd names like Rey Mysterio, Jack Swagger and The Big Show kick, punch and pile-drive each other.
It was likely the first time many had ever seen US professional wrestling in the flesh but they clearly knew the script. Some wore Mexican wrestling masks, others carried signs with messages for their favorites.
"I'm here for the hot guys," said one woman carrying a sign with an invitation for a champion known as Sheamus to visit Sichuan Province.
Ed Wells, senior vice president for international operations at Connecticut-based WWE (originally World Wrestling Entertainment), said fans are the same everywhere. "They watch us every week, they know the characters, they know the phrases and they are very ready to participate," Wells said.
Stephanie Wang, an organizer of a WWE fan club, said she found American pro-wrestling on her satellite television. "Boxing is boring but professional wrestling has a plot," she said.
The show, billed as the WWE Smackdown, first passed through China in 2010, when it gave away free tickets. Saturday saw its first full-fledged commercial spectacle in China.
Tickets started at the not-insignificant price of 300 yuan (US$47.17) and went up to 1,500 yuan for a ringside seat. The stadium was not sold out but thousands were packed into the more expensive seats. Wells said growth in China has consistently been in "double digits."
One Chinese microblog dedicated to WWE has more than 30,000 followers, and a search for WWE on Tudou returns more than 50,000 clips, some viewed over a million times.
A question for WWE is whether it needs a Chinese star for success. "We'd love to have a Chinese star and we're certainly open to working with Chinese talent," said Wells, adding he didn't think fans were particularly looking to root for fellow countrymen.
Lu You, manager of a WWE fan club, agreed: "Of course it would be better if there was a Chinese star but John Cena is my favorite."
The audience came from all over China to watch muscle-bound foreigners with odd names like Rey Mysterio, Jack Swagger and The Big Show kick, punch and pile-drive each other.
It was likely the first time many had ever seen US professional wrestling in the flesh but they clearly knew the script. Some wore Mexican wrestling masks, others carried signs with messages for their favorites.
"I'm here for the hot guys," said one woman carrying a sign with an invitation for a champion known as Sheamus to visit Sichuan Province.
Ed Wells, senior vice president for international operations at Connecticut-based WWE (originally World Wrestling Entertainment), said fans are the same everywhere. "They watch us every week, they know the characters, they know the phrases and they are very ready to participate," Wells said.
Stephanie Wang, an organizer of a WWE fan club, said she found American pro-wrestling on her satellite television. "Boxing is boring but professional wrestling has a plot," she said.
The show, billed as the WWE Smackdown, first passed through China in 2010, when it gave away free tickets. Saturday saw its first full-fledged commercial spectacle in China.
Tickets started at the not-insignificant price of 300 yuan (US$47.17) and went up to 1,500 yuan for a ringside seat. The stadium was not sold out but thousands were packed into the more expensive seats. Wells said growth in China has consistently been in "double digits."
One Chinese microblog dedicated to WWE has more than 30,000 followers, and a search for WWE on Tudou returns more than 50,000 clips, some viewed over a million times.
A question for WWE is whether it needs a Chinese star for success. "We'd love to have a Chinese star and we're certainly open to working with Chinese talent," said Wells, adding he didn't think fans were particularly looking to root for fellow countrymen.
Lu You, manager of a WWE fan club, agreed: "Of course it would be better if there was a Chinese star but John Cena is my favorite."
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